The „International Staff Training Week” has been offered at the Freie Universität Berlin annually since 2012. It is a week of networking for international academic support staff. The University Library works to promote this exchange and has been offering a library track with its own programming since 2016, in cooperation with the department of International Affairs and supported financially by Erasmus+. Coordinated by the unit for Academic Relations of Freie Universität, the library and other institutions of the university develop a five-day event which offers both knowledge transfer and international socializing with colleagues.

Key Topics and Organisation

For three days of the “International Staff Training Week”, the University Library provides a framework for content specific to the profession, which is offered by experts from the University Library and beyond in talks and workshops for participants. The key topics of the Library Track are developed in the autumn of the previous year and are always relevant both to the The University Library of Freie Universität in particular and to academic libraries generally. In previous years, programmes featured the strategic restructuring of libraries, centering library users, sustainability in library contexts, and the digital transformation of library work in connection to artificial intelligence.

Led by deputy director of the The University Library Andrea Tatai, the trainees in academic librarianship cooperate with the library personnel development team to plan, organise, and moderate the Library Track. The organising team aims to illuminate all facets of the chosen topic and facilitates participation from internal and external experts of all different backgrounds. Interactive workshop formats are preferred and give the participants room for an exchange of ideas as well as individual networking among colleagues.

Program Presentation and Contact Details

Each year’s topic and programme are announced in December of the previous year. Interested colleagues from the international library world can then apply for participation in the “International Staff Training Week” in February. The conference takes place each June. In selecting the 20 participants, the organising team takes into consideration the motivation for that year’s topic, the diversity of the participating group, and the partnerships of Freie Universität Berlin. Acceptances will generally be announced in March. Further information on the application and registration processes can be found on the homepage of the department of International Affairs.

If you have questions about the Library Track of the “International Staff Training Week”, please contact international-week@ub.fu-berlin.de.