Title: Virtual team work: case study of the European commission programme Erasmus Mundus Action 2

Authors: Anna Sadecka

Addresses: University of Warsaw, International Relations Office, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, Warszawa 00-927, Poland

Abstract: The European Commission programme Erasmus Mundus Action 2 provides support for cooperation partnerships between European and Third Country higher education institutions. The purpose of this paper is to present how these partnerships operate as virtual teams and what common challenges they face. The study described in this paper was conducted among coordinators of 47 Erasmus Mundus Action 2 projects for different geographical regions. It consists of a short survey and semi-structured interviews. The results prove that Erasmus Mundus Action 2 virtual teams are able to work efficiently across geographical areas, time zones, organisational structures and cultures. They encounter similar challenges connected with virtual communication, including: adherence to the communication plan and code of conduct by all the partners, equal participation, misunderstandings and misinterpretations, technical problems. Further educational programmes, such as Erasmus+, are likely to result in a great number of innovative projects that will be developed by multinational virtual teams.

Keywords: communication; EACEA; European Commission; Erasmus Mundus; higher education; innovation; teamwork; virtual teams; case study; education partnerships; multinational teams; cooperation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2014.067937

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2014 Vol.2 No.2/3/4, pp.207 - 223

Received: 15 May 2014
Accepted: 03 Jan 2015
Published online: 09 Mar 2015 *

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