WEBVTT - generated by Videoportal FH Dortmund

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I am Johanna, I have been employed as a librarian

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at the FH for about five and a half years,

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and I spent a week in Amsterdam as part of
the  Staff Mobility program.

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I applied relatively spontaneously for the
opportunity,

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and thankfully,  I got accepted and

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and went there.  Because it was Amsterdam,

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it wasn't too far away,  so the barrier to
decide

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spontaneously wasn't so high. I was particularly
looking forward

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to seeing other things,  perhaps hearing about

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or seeing issues  that other institutions face.

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We are a relatively small institution here,

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a small university of applied sciences,

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to see how things are at larger universities
and other institutions.

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That was very interesting. So my highlights

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were definitely, above all,  the stay itself,

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the exchange,  getting to know other people

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and the fact that there were people there who
were not only from Europe.

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We had someone from Brazil with us. That was
super interesting

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because it offered a completely different
perspective,

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which I hadn't anticipated. The linguistic
exchange

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was also exciting.  Not only was I able to

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improve my English,  but because it took place

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in Amsterdam, I was also able to use a bit

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of Dutch. I would definitely  recommend

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the Staff Mobility format.  I would do it again

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in a heartbeat if I could, and I would definitely
encourage anyone

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considering it to just send out  the application

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and give it a try.  As for the paperwork here,

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I would say you are  superbly supported

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by both the HR department and  the International
Office.

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When it comes to the stay on-site,  I would

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definitely recommend taking care  of accommodation

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and transportation as early  as possible because,

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depending on where you want to go, that could
be the bigger issue,

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finding something suitable  and affordable

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or reasonably close to the event location.

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During the Staff Mobility week, I definitely
met people

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who work not only in Europe  but also beyond

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its borders.  I've seen that some issues

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or challenges we encounter

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are not unique to us but  are also

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perceived elsewhere.  That definitely helped

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put things into perspective  and made it

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easier to come to terms with the fact that
some things

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are just the way they are and may not necessarily

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be solely influenced by us, but by many other
factors.

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Staff Mobility was definitely a good experience
because

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I realized that  we are not alone

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in what we do,  and that we can definitely

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reach out to others and  see what happens

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when we change certain factors

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or conditions.  I know for sure

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that I now have a few more contacts  I could

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turn to. It was a great experience  in hindsight.