Page 77 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

AEI Insights: An International Journal of Asia-Europe Relations, Vol 5, Issue 1, 2019, ISSN: 2289-800X

Experiences

ARCHITECTS FINDING INSPIRATION IN EUROPE: ERASMUS

MUNDUS PROGRAM EXPERIENCES

a+
Naziaty Mohd Yaacob
Pacilia Tan Saw Kun b

a Department of Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment,
University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

b Perkhidmatan Akitek, G-01 Scott Sentral Service Suites, 28,
Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

+ Corresponding author: naziaty@gmail.com

Abstract

The European Union has run its higher-education exchange program “Erasmus Mundus” to
enable the mobility of students and academics between Europe and other continents, including
Asia since 2004. The benefits of studying abroad are multifold, but for most people it gives the
once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience what they have read in books or heard about in lectures.
In this paper we share our own study-abroad and staff mobility experiences which were enabled
by the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus scholarship programs for 1. A senior lecturer of
architecture at Universiti Malaya (UM) to conduct research as a visiting scholar at the
University of Porto. 2. A recent graduate in architecture degree from UM to study for a master’s
degree in the same discipline at the Milan Polytechnic. For the young student, living and
studying outside of Malaysia for the first time was exciting and challenging, whereas for the
experienced academic, who used to live and study in the U.S.A. and U.K., her month-long
experience in Porto was rejuvenating her passion for architecture, travel and life despite her
disability. After finishing their programs, they both returned to Malaysia. In this paper, they
share the impacts of their Erasmus Mundus programs on their personal and professional lives.

Keywords: Erasmus Mundus, architecture, study-abroad, disability

Introduction
It is no secret that many Malaysian architects study in Europe, and their years spent in this part
of the world might influence their careers (Yaacob and Hashim, 2018). The Erasmus Mundus
program allows students and academics from the East to experience life in the West (EU
countries). In this case, the program had enabled the journeys of two architects, Naziaty, a
disabled academic, and Pacilia, a post-graduate student. In 2015, Naziaty attended a staff
mobility program for a month in Portugal, whereas, Pacilia enrolled in a two-year master’s
course on architecture conservation in Italy. Both women faced particular challenges based on
their needs and circumstances during their programs. The details of each architect’s journey in
Europe is shared below, in the hopes that others (architects or not) will benefit from our
accounts and anecdotes.

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