The University of Béjaia had the great honor of hosting the kick-off meeting of the Erasmus+ project “Supporting the Internationalization of Algerian Universities: Diversification of Activities and Exchanges – SALDAE”, which took place on February 10–11, 2025, at the Aboudaou campus.
This major event was marked by the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS), the Rectors of the Universities of Sétif 1 and Sétif 2, all project partners, university officials from Béjaia, and members of the press. It was also attended by the Project Adviser from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, who highlighted Algeria’s strong participation in the coordination of international projects and provided guidance on how to extend the impact of the SALDAE project.
The project aims to strengthen institutional capacities in the field of internationalization among Algerian universities through the transfer of know-how, management capabilities, and best practices to enhance the functioning of international cooperation offices within the vice-rectorates for external relations and cooperation of the partner universities.
During the first day, presentations were delivered by the six Algerian universities and the three European partner universities involved in the project. The second day’s program focused on the presentation of the different project components, including project management, the strengthening of internationalization strategies, training and capacity building, the operational phase and implementation of internationalization activities, quality control and risk management, and finally, dissemination and exploitation.
Following these presentations, project activities officially began with a thematic workshop on strengthening internationalization strategies, led by the Universities of Granada and El Taref. During this second day, participants also developed a project activity calendar. The meeting proved to be highly productive, allowing the SALDAE project consortium to meet, get acquainted, and establish the best strategy to successfully achieve the project’s pre-defined objectives.
The closing of this important event was marked by a cultural excursion, offering consortium members the opportunity to discover the rich heritage of the city of Béjaia—known during the Roman period as SALDAE.
It is worth noting that this international project, which will run for two years, is coordinated by the University of Béjaia and brings together several Algerian universities (Sétif 1, Sétif 2, Ghardaïa, El Taref, and Saïda), European universities (Granada, Spain, and Paris 8, France), as well as the Union of Mediterranean Universities (UNIMED, Italy).