Research Snapshot: Collaborations in Erasmus Mundus joint master’s degrees
Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degrees: Exploring third space settings to address the staff ‘divide’
Publication date: 22 February 2026
This research was conducted to better understand how academics, professional staff and other categories collaborate in Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree consortiums. Although these degrees require strong coordination across multiple institutions and staff roles, little research has examined how the people behind the scenes work together. To address this gap, the study used a mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative data collected from 26 Erasmus Mundus consortiums in Europe. Surveys and interviews with staff involved in programme design and management were used to explore collaboration patterns, key factors shaping these relationships, and their impact on programme implementation. The research aimed to highlight the value of cross-professional collaboration and identify the good practices that support the effective development of international programmes.
Every impactful Erasmus Mundus is underpinned by effective collaboration. This research examines how academics and different cateorgies of professional staff work together without hierarchical divisions to achieve a common goal: the programme's success.
María-Elvira Prieto
Maria-Elvira Prieto is the Project Manager of the Erasmus Mundus joint Master in Artificial Intelligence (EMAI) at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain. She is a senior higher education professional with 15+ years of experience in the field, working across complex, multi-institutional, and international academic environments in Europe and abroad. She brings strong leadership experience alongside expertise in European higher education collaboration and is skilled in the strategic design and launch of international academic programmes. She holds a PhD in Higher Education Internationalisation and Educational Strategies and Practices from the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy.
Key findings of the research
- International projects can be described as "Third Space" environments where traditional boundaries between academic and administrative roles become less strict. In these settings, professional staff, academics, and blended professionals (those with skills needed in both administrative and academic fields) contribute with different types of expertise while working towards a shared goal.
- International activities can offer unexpected benefits. More precisely, academic programmes designed to be the flagship of European Education, due to their excellence and capacity to attract the best students worldwide, have demonstrated, in this study, an additional benefit: overcoming the historical "divide" between different staff categories. This is due to the emergence of a collaborative space that encourages mutual respect and shared responsibility, and where the observed team effectiveness is characterised by trust, open communication, and a supportive atmosphere, helping to overcome traditional hierarchies.
- Finally, an effective collaboration between academics and various staff categories is crucial for the successful design and management of complex international programmes. When these groups work as a cohesive team of complementary experts, programmes benefit from better coordination, smoother administration, and more sustainable partnerships.
