Anja Krobath MA BA BA

Schubertstraße 23/II, 8010 Graz
Telefon:+43 316 380 - 1252
E-Mail:staffmobility(at)uni-graz.at

The general mission of the Office of International Relations is to promote a process of internationalization at the University of Graz. The Office develops and co-ordinates activities and programs to enhance the mobility of students and staff members. It serves as an information center for international relations matters and links the university to institutions of higher education world-wide.

This year’s GUEST Week will tackle topical issues and the latest trends in the internationalization of higher education, which have been introduced with the new Erasmus+ program period, such as green mobility, digitalization, inclusion support and Blended Intensive Programmes. Another focus lies on welcome initiatives and services as well as European University Alliances such as Arqus.

The Department of Academic Services & Competence Center for University Teaching [unfortunately, there is no English website available yet] are related to the Vice Rector for Study and Teaching and deal with topics pertaining to the Bologna Process.

The department offers a wide range of support services for students and for university teachers: student information services, seminars and workshops on academic writing, curricula development and quality assurance in teaching. The Competence Center for University Teaching supports the teaching skills assessment during appointment procedures and provides training and coaching on teaching portfolio development and various aspects of university teaching. 

The University of Graz and its library belong to Styria's most important cultural and educational institutions. It is a library with universal standards, scientific orientation, and a social function. Our mission and strategy as a modern library is to make knowledge publicly available. The library provides research support services and resources for the academic staff at the University of Graz. As a "hybrid library", we enable access to electronic resources as well as conserving and preserving printed literature and our special collections. Our main tasks for future development are preserving the cultural heritage of our region while maintaining sustainability and open access in a digital society.

The focus of the GUEST week’s library track lies on the following 3 areas:

• Publication Services:
  The library department Publication Services provide information and support on a wide range of topics pertaining to scholarly communication. Its portfolio of topics for personal consultations and regular workshops includes: open access, funding, visibility and bibliometrics as well as quality aspects in scholarly publishing, including Predatory Publishing.
   
• The Department of Special Collections:
  It is divided into several departments: Styria’s Documentary Heritage, the Center for Digitalization, Conservation and the Center for the Study of Printed and Written Heritage. Their mission is to provide, preserve and maintain access to the special collections and cultural heritage of the region through their various subdivisions and research areas. A recent scientific discovery by conservator Theresa Zammit Lupi was an Egyptian papyrus fragment in the Special Collections which is 400 years older than the earliest known books to date. The find challenges the currently accepted timeline of book history.
   
• The Management of Electronic Resources: How the Kooperation E-Medien Österreich (Austrian Academic Library Consortium) manages Electronic Resources
  Electronic resource management (ERM) is the practices and techniques used by librarians to track the selection, acquisition, licensing, access, maintenance, usage, evaluation, retention, etc. of a library's electronic information resources. In Austria, scientific libraries negotiate and administrate the acquisition of large databases and extensive Read and Publish Deals together in consortia within the Austrian Academic Library Consortium (KEMÖ).

The University of Graz is committed to the support, further education and training of its early career researchers (PhDs & PostDocs). The Doctoral Academy and the PostDoc Office offer a wide range of services, such as courses and events, as well as newsletters, networking opportunities and coaching.

The Research Management Office is the contact point regarding research at the University of Graz. Research Management office provides a comprehensive range of services concerning research funding, project management and financial management of research projects, the preparation of contracts as well as technology and knowledge transfer. Furthermore, it offers support to University’s Fields of Excellence.

treffpunkt sprachen – Centre for Language, Plurilingualism and Didactics makes it possible to bundle all the language-related activities and course offerings of the University of Graz and to optimize the resulting synergies. The cross-faculty centre acts as a meeting place for all those interested in languages and as a hub for language policy, language documentation and language didactic initiatives. The centre’s twin focus on teaching and research is a result of its close ties to the university. The wide range of courses includes language and specialized courses as well as the training and certification of language teachers. In the field of research, treffpunkt sprachen is responsible for initiating and developing research cooperation within the university as well as with external institutions and carrying out bilateral research projects, thus contributing significantly to increasing plurilingualism in Austria. The departments of teaching (language courses) and research (plurilingualism and didactics) will open their doors to interested incoming staff members.

The HR department is the central point for all relevant information about staff members’ working contracts with the University of Graz. We regard it as our responsibility to accompany members of staff in all work-related questions. An extensive range of services is available to staff members; amongst others, a form catalogue containing the most important documents for downloading.

HR development and management also are part of the HR department. By targeted development of CEO programmes and training in different contexts, we make a major contribution to motivating our members of staff.

In addition to personnel administration, there are other areas in personnel and organizational development that support individual employees in their careers and accompany the organization as a whole in change processes (e.g.: onboarding, continuing education, leadership development, dual career service, new working models, counselling).