It was on February 13 this year when I came across the email from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) International inviting applications for the Staff Mobility Programme 2024 under Erasmus+. To be honest, I did not know what Erasmus+ or similar programmes were beforehand. This was simply because I was not able to actually sit down and read about the programme when UTM International shared news about it.

But this one call caught my attention, so I applied. I did not know where the urge came from, especially since I had never heard the name of the university (due to my lack of knowledge). I did a quick search and read about the Universidad de Almeria (UAL) in Spain and I knew immediately that I had to apply!

During the application process, I encountered a few obstacles in gaining access to the online application form. However, I was pleased with UTM International’s prompt and effective assistance, particularly that of the Associate Director (Global Education and Experience), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd. Ariffin Abu Hassan, and the Manager (International Alliances), Dr. Ain Naadia Mazlan. The application process was quite challenging, as it required us to be clear about our goals, motivations, and expectations for the programme, as well as how we could benefit from UTM in return. However, the submission system was very user-friendly, and I commend UTM International for their efforts in developing such a simple yet effective system.

Once the results were announced, everything went smoothly as the Erasmus and Staff Mobility Officers at UAL took care of all the requirements and preparations. UAL is one of the most active universities in Spain in terms of the Erasmus+ programme. They are very professional and organised in handling mobility processes for staff and students. They provided clear instructions regarding agreements, tickets, accommodation, travel insurance, and programme venue. Whenever we reached out to them for information, they responded quickly with helpful answers. Additionally, due to their active engagement with various parties within Erasmus+, they organise the International Staff Week (ISW) every year. During this week, many other Erasmus+-funded university representatives come together on the UAL campus with their own programmes.

I was informed that another non-academic staff member from UTM would be joining the ISW2024 at UAL (this year it was organised from April 22-26, 2024). Mr. Dzulhelmi Mohd Razali from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) will be participating. Together, we were briefed by UTM International on expectations and the programme’s objectives, emphasising the establishment of new networking opportunities for UTM, etc., a day before we left for the programme.

One thing I truly appreciate about Erasmus+ is the emphasis on independence in arranging travel matters, including accommodations. They provided information on the airport, bus/train, hotel/hostel, public transport, and local maps, but we were responsible for booking our own arrangements. What mattered to them was our participation during the programme days!

Travelling to Spain alone was quite an experience for me. Mr Dzulhelmi and I travelled separately as we had booked different flights. It took me three different flights to get from Kuala Lumpur to the city of Almeria. I was initially sceptical about the city’s safety, especially when I missed my flight to Almeria due to a delay from Doha to Madrid. This meant that I would be arriving in Almeria at night instead of late in the afternoon. I emailed the hostel and the Erasmus officer, Mr. Hugo Gonzalez and told him about my late arrival. Reading their replies made me feel assured that everything was going to be fine.

I was completely surprised when I arrived in the city of Almeria. My first steps in the city left me in awe. I was alone in the small airport because I had to file a report at the Iberia counter for my damaged suitcase, and all the other passengers had already left. As soon as I stepped out of the airport, a taxi was waiting for me, and the driver was very friendly and kind. He safely drove me to Residencia Civitas, a private university dorm, around 10 pm. The accommodation was extremely comfortable and equipped with all the amenities one would expect in a hotel. The staff at the front desk were also very helpful and friendly.

The next morning, being a day earlier (Sunday), I decided to walk to UAL (University of Almeria) to prepare for my official programme the following day. I used Google Maps and found that the distance was around 4 km, which was perfect for me as the weather was extremely nice—sunny and breezy, just the way I like it.

On Day 1, we began with registration and received a warm welcome from Mr. Hugo Gonzalez, Mr. Javier Vallelado, and others from the Staff Mobility office. The programme started with two talk sessions: first, an inspiring welcome speech by the Rector of UAL, Professor D. Jose J. Cespedes Llorente, and then an interesting presentation about Spanish culture and language by the UAL International Office. After that, we were taken on a campus tour. I have to say, the campus is absolutely stunning. It’s modern and all the buildings are uniquely designed and within walking distance. The landscaping is beautiful, and there are plenty of benches where students can relax and enjoy the outdoors. Later that evening, we went on an Almeria walking city tour led by two historians hired by the programme. It was fascinating to learn about the city’s history. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded Almeria in 955 and it reached its zenith in the 6th and 7th centuries of the Islamic era. The city became wealthy and was a major world city from the 11th to the 12th centuries. It had a bustling port where silk, oil, and raisins were traded. Over the centuries, the city was occupied by various powers, including Spanish Christians and the French, and it faced threats such as earthquakes and attacks by Barbary pirates and Turks, including Barbarossa. As a result of its rich history, Almeria is now a blend of traditional historical constructions such as forts, ports, and cathedrals, which coexist harmoniously with modern infrastructure.

On Day 2 of the event, we had presentations by Prof. Tomás Lorenzana de la Varga and Prof. Maria Fernanda Rodriguez Heras on the UNIGREEN: The Green European University program. This initiative, which started several years ago, involves 8 Higher Education Institutions in Europe (including UAL) collaborating towards supporting the green economy in the long term through the Erasmus+ Programme. The presentation impressed us with how far they have progressed and how well-organized the program is, with each participating university having their own role and responsibility to ensure that the planned objectives are achieved.

The next session was Testimonies of Erasmus+, featuring two incoming students from Germany and Armenia and two outgoing students from Spain, who had participated in exchange programmes to Chile and Germany. Dzulhelmi and I found this sharing session to be very beneficial, as we were inspired by the captivating stories of their experiences, both the joys and challenges. We were particularly excited to share their experiences with UTM students to encourage them and help them understand how they can benefit from participating in the Erasmus+ student mobility programme.

The day continued with one of the most important sessions, the networking session, where all participants had the opportunity to promote our organisations and establish new contacts. During the session, we received interest from several universities, including those from Albania, Lithuania, France, Tunisia, and several others. We were very grateful to see the potential for collaboration through various platforms and programmes, thanks to this event. Mr. Dzulhelmi gave a presentation about UTM while I had to excuse myself to teach a chemical engineering class at UAL on industrial hygiene and occupational health. Although there were not many students in the English medium class, I felt appreciated as the students were attentive throughout the lecture.

For my teaching activity, I was hosted by Prof. Tania Mazzuca Sobczuk, a very active and productive lecturer and researcher at UAL. Prof. Tania shared with me her approach to teaching the HAZOP subject to students. I found her approach of assigning students as a team in a real company very interesting and intend to apply it to our courses at my university. We also discussed potential future collaborations between our departments, perhaps to establish a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and for her to visit UTM for research work in the future.

Day 3 kicked off with a very engaging tentative, in which Mr. Hugo Gonzalez shared with us (participants from non-EU countries) about the KA171 Erasmus+—the ‘International Credit Mobility With Partner Countries’. For me, this is also one of the best programmes of the week, as we have learned so much about handling Erasmus+, not only from UAL experience but also from other universities. Unfortunately, the time was too short, and we had to quickly dismiss such a lively discussion session to go for our Cabo de Gata Natural Park visit. According to the schedule given to us earlier, the visit will take around 8 hours. At first, I thought to myself, this is impossible. Maybe they just overestimated the duration. But after going through the visit, I understood why we needed 8 hours for the visit. I could not describe how amazing and beautiful the natural park is, starting with the first stop at the beautiful sea area, where we had to climb to the top to see the whole panoramic view of the crystal turquoise-coloured sea. We had lunch there; it was the first time I tasted paella, and it was very good (I made a mistake; I ate a lot of bread before the paella came, so my stomach was full by then, but all agreed how tasty the paella is, even for the vegetarian one!). Before that, we were served salads, and I was drawn to the tomatoes. For the first time in my life, I tasted such sweet and fresh tomatoes, almost dark green in colour with curvy round shapes. And I was being told that Almeria is among the biggest tomato exporters in the EU. Then we continued our visit to the natural park itself, in which we had to walk through a long, desert-like wide field. A very knowledgeable tour guide led us along the trail and explained to us almost everything we saw, including the native plants, the soil, the farming, the windmills, the sea life, the rocks, the stargazing, etc. Finally, we stopped by the beautiful black sand Beach of Monsul, the most famous beach of the Nature Reserve, having appeared in many films and commercials. This beach owes its uniqueness to the lava formations eroded around it, and it best reflects the volcanic origin of it from many years ago. The rocks surrounding the beach Monsul are huge tongues of lava that reached the sea and the wind and water have eroded to form this beach and carve this diamond of the Mediterranean Sea. We were informed that the famous movie Indiana Jones (starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery) was filmed right at that beach!

Day 4 began with a presentation by Prof. Diego Vazquez-Brust from the University of Portsmouth (UoP) on the U-GREEN Growth Transition. He highlighted the facts and findings from their studies that have been done so far related to the green initiatives in the EU as well as some other countries in the world, especially focusing on sustainable practices in the education and training of the participating universities. Then we visited the Festival of Nations, which is the International Students Fair. This is another new experience for us to witness how lively and interesting student fairs can be. There were booths of students from different countries, each promoting their culture and offering local delicacies and food to the visitors. It was so much fun that Dzulhelmi and I visited the festival twice! Later that evening, we were entertained with a flamenco show—the well-known singing and dancing of Andalusian folklore. We had never seen such a performance before—full of energy, melodies, and stories to tell. Our last dinner session by this programme is the most memorable one. Finally, I was able to try out what Tapas is. At first, I thought tapas was a specific type of food like pizza, fried rice, or lasagna. I never knew that “tapas” is a type of serving dish like appetisers, desserts, or entrées. However, after experiencing it, I define tapas as snacks or finger foods that offer a variety of choices, and I just love them so much. We were served around 7 to 8 dishes, ranging from vegetarian to seafood, and from fresh to deep fried—basically all sorts you can ask for! I was told that you cannot claim to have visited Spain unless you have tried out paella and tapas. I am now proud to have experienced both of these Spanish delicacies, and they are too tasty to be true!

On Day 5 of UAL’s Erasmus+ programme in Spain, UAL organised a visit to Mini Hollywood for the participants. Although I was interested in this visit as a movie enthusiast, I had to make a tough decision. I chose to excuse myself and go to Granada and Alhambra instead. As a Malaysian, these places have always been on my bucket list due to their historical significance. I felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t miss. The visit to Granada and Alhambra was indeed worth it, but we wished we could have spent more time there.

In conclusion, participating in the Erasmus+ programme at UAL was a blessing for me. I gained valuable insights that will benefit me both professionally and personally. I am eager to share my learnings with the UTM community through various platforms, such as sessions, forums, conferences, and webinars. I am thankful to UTM International for selecting me and Dzulhelmi for this programme, and I am committed to giving back to UTM in any way possible.

We are extremely grateful to Erasmus+ and UAL for their efficient, helpful, and warm assistance and hospitality. The programme has transformed me into an academic staff member who fully appreciates the great benefits of the Erasmus+ programme. Personally, my visit to Spain has opened my eyes to the country. Having previously studied in the UK and Finland and travelled for work throughout Europe, I had never visited Spain before. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a well-developed country with superb infrastructure, modern facilities, and incredible safety. The people were kind, friendly, and always willing to help, despite language barriers. Almeria offers a diverse range of experiences, from its historical and modern cityscape to its beautiful natural landscapes and beaches, along with delicious food and warm hospitality. I am grateful for the opportunity to witness the amazing city of Almeria through this programme.