Students from the University of Salzburg (PLUS) have an exciting new opportunity to spend time abroad at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Under the terms of a new partnership agreement, students of both institutions can apply for an exchange semester in a wide range of subjects. The University of Melbourne is Australia’s leading university and was placed 14 in the QS worldwide rankings in 2023. 

Cooperation between Salzburg and Melbourne grew out of shared research and teaching ventures between Assoc. Prof. Deborah Holmes (German Language and Literatures, PLUS) and Prof. Birgit Lang (German, University of Melbourne), also Prof. Hartmut Stöckl (English/American Studies, PLUS), Prof. Mark Davis and Dr. Sonja Molnar (School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne). Salzburg staff were able to initiate cooperation following successful applications for competitive European funding (Erasmus+ KA171). To date, joint teaching has covered topics including cultural transfer, exile and migrant writing, gender and sexuality, comparative media studies and discourse linguistics. In March 2023, the online symposium ‘Media, Text and Travel’ brought together staff and doctoral students from both institutions. ( https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/mediatexttravel/)

In 2023, the PLUS Faculty of Arts and Humanities signed an agreement with the  Faculty of Arts of the University of Melbourne, swiftly followed in 2024 by the new exchange partnership at university level. This has been designated a flagship project by the Austrian Exchange Service (OeAD), as presented by PLUS Director for International Relations Peter Mayr and Melanie Dunkley (Global Learning, University of Melbourne) at the global conference and exhibition APAIE (Asia-Pacific Association for International Education) in March 2024.

The PLUS-University of Melbourne exchange will give internationalisation at the PLUS vital new impulses. In particular, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, but also other disciplines stand to gain in profile and diversity. For more information and details of how to apply, please contact the coordinators, Deborah Holmes () and Hartmut Stöckl ().