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ACA Newsletter nr 1716 May 2002
The finalisation of the first part of the ACA study on English Language-Based Degree Programmes launched in September 2001 is now completed. The first part of the study aimed at identifying the provision of the English-language-taught programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level at all recognised institutions of higher education in 19 European countries. This part of the project consisted of a questionnaire survey of 1557 universities and other tertiary institutions in all EU and EFTA countries with the exception of the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, as well as in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. 789 out of the 1557 institutions addressed responded to the institutional questionnaire. Of these 227 universities provide English-language-taught degree programmes. A total number of 421 English-language-taught degree programmes was identified. However, the study will not only describe and analyse the status quo. The second part of the study, which has been recently started by the ACA, is intended to help improve the quality of this type of education, and offer guidance to institutions which intend to become active in this field. Site visits to universities and colleges that are among the "market leaders" in English-language-taught programmes will contribute to this objective, by identifying the best practice. Interviews will be held with the key persons responsible for the implementation of the degree programmes and with students attending the courses. Some ten higher education institutions in these countries will be visited. It is foreseen that a full report with the outcomes of the study will be available by autumn.
On 26 April the European Commission launched the @lis programme, its largest cooperation programme with Latin America on the Information Society. Over a period of four years (2002-2005), the programme has a budget of 85 million Euro, of which 63.5 million will be provided by the European Commission and the remaining 21.5 million by the partners taking part in the programme. All fifteen EU Member States are eligible to take part in this programme. On the Latin American side, the participating countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The programme is aiming to reinforce the partnership between the European Union and Latin America in the field of the Information Society. Its objectives are to establish dialogue and cooperation on policy and regulatory frameworks in key areas and to boost interconnections between research networks and communities in both regions. Several innovative take-up projects will also be set up in order to demonstrate the benefits of the Information Society applications to citizens in four thematic areas: e-inclusion, e-learning (including education and cultural diversity), public health and local governance. An invitation to tender for "demonstration projects" has already been published. The deadline for submitting tenders is October 2002. Projects are due to begin in 2003, and the average duration of each project will be around 2 years. Non-profit-making organisations (public or private) will receive support of up to 80% to help fund projects. More information: http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/tender/index_en.htm For further information on the programme: europeaid-alis@cec.eu.int
The European Commission adopted a report taking stock for the first time of its "European training pathways" initiative, which came into operation at the beginning of 2000. Designed to promote the mobility of persons in training, improve employment prospects for young people and raise the quality and attractiveness of vocational education and training, these pathways allow persons undergoing work-linked training, including apprenticeships, to spend a period of training in another Member State. A "Europass Training" document certifies this pathway. Over the past two years 20 000 "Europass" documents have been issued for training courses between 3 and 15 weeks, mostly to young people under the age of 23 years. The main destination for these European training pathways is the United Kingdom, which is way ahead of Spain, Germany and France. The most popular occupations for the "Europass" initiative seem to be the hotel and restaurant trade and tourism. More information on Europass training: http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/europass/index_en.html
Seminar on Recognition Issues in the Bologna Process, Lisbon 11-12 April 2002At the second Ministerial meeting in the Bologna Process (Praha, 18 - 19 May 2001), the Ministers in their communiqué included a list of activities and issues to be addressed in time for the next Ministerial meeting, to be held in Berlin in September 2003. One of the issues identified concerns the recognition of qualifications and the use of credit transfer. The Council of Europe, in cooperation with UNESCO and the Portuguese authorities, addressed this important topic at an international seminar which was held in Lisboa, on 11 - 12 April 2002. More information on the seminar:
The European Commission adopted a Country Strategy Paper, which sets out a five year strategy (2002-2006) for co-operation with Malaysia. Two priority sectors have been set to implement this strategy: trade and investment, and higher education. The strategy is backed up with an indicative budget of € 3.5 million. More: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/w19/6.htm On April 22 the EU and Algeria signed an Association Agreement which covers a wide range of cooperation areas. Among other fields the agreement covers cooperation in the field of education and training with an aim to contribute to the improvement of the education and training system of the country, including vocational training, to develop the level of expertise of senior staff in the public and private sector and to encourage the establishment of lasting links between specialist bodies on the parties' territories in order to pool and exchange experience and methods. More: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/algeria/docs/index.htm
On 28 March 2002, Hubert Védrine, the former French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jack Lang, the former Minister of National Education, launched during a ceremony the creation of a "Conseil national pour l'accueil des étudiants étrangers en France", a foreign student council. The creation of this Council aims at improving the administrative conditions of welcoming foreign students in France. Representatives of the ministries, of universities and of higher education institutions, as well as experts, will pursue three main objectives through the Council: 1) improve the information between the different administrations and organisations promoting higher education in France, 2) evaluate the effectiveness of the tools implemented to enhance the number of foreign students, and 3) reinforce the coordination between the administrations and key actors in the field. ACA member, EduFrance, which promotes the French higher education world-wide, will be in charge of the secretariat of the different activities of the Council. http://www.education.gouv.fr/presse/2002/cnaecp.htm
On April 16, 2002 the European Commission approved European projects and grant applications for cooperation with countries in the western Balkans and Eastern Europe/Central Asia. For the first group, the new projects and grants represent a sum of EUR 14.1 million, while for the second group the amount is EUR 15.3 million. 46 projects and 48 grants were approved under TEMPUS III/ CARDS programme, which provides the basis for joint European projects and networks linking higher education establishments in the EU and the following countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and Kosovo. 43 projects and 74 grants were approved under TEMPUS/TACIS, which also covers the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia participating in the TACIS programme, i.e. Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Moldavia, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. TEMPUS projects aim to strengthen institutions in the partner countries, introduce new courses, improve university management, and establish continuing training options.
On 3 April, the European Commission's EuropeAid Office launched a new higher education cooperation programme, ALBAN, in the form of a "call for proposals". ALBAN, which was already announced in the Patten/Reding Communication on third country cooperation in the summer of 2001, will provide scholarships for study in Europe to Latin American postgraduates and young professionals, for period ranging from 6 months to three years. The call seeks a university consortium which will implement the scheme, and provide matching founds of 25 million Euro. First scholarships are expected to be awarded in the academic year 2003/2004. The call is open until 21 June 2002. http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/tender/index_en.htm
On 23 April 2002 the European Commission and Japan launched a call for proposals for a European Community/Japan pilot cooperation project in the field of higher education. The main purpose of the project will be to set up a framework for student mobility at postgraduate (Masters) level. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2002. On 26 April 2002 the European Commission and Australia launched a call for proposals for an EU-Australia pilot cooperation project in the field of higher education. The main purpose of the project will be to set up a framework for student mobility at postgraduate (Masters) level. The deadline for applications is 17 June 2002. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/australia/australia.html http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/japan/japan.html
The European Commission launched on 30 April 2002 a call for proposals on dissemination of the results of Socrates projects. The aim of this call for proposals is to support some disseminate activities about the results and the achievements of projects realised within the « actions » of the Socrates programme, in order to increase the visibility, and therefore the whole efficiency of the programme. It invites to submit projects devoted specifically to dissemination, and by doing so across the programme as a whole. The deadline for applications is 1 October 2002. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/socrates/diff_en.html
The Institute of International Education's IIENetwork has created a new research opportunity to help universities around the world become more globally connected. The topic of this research support program is: "Challenges in Internationalizing Higher Education in Southeastern Europe: Policy and Practice". With this new research opportunity, the Institute wishes to support policy-focused research from individuals and institutions that will in turn help other institutions in their internationalization efforts. This research program will culminate in a Research Symposium in Thessaloniki, Greece in October 2002, the first in a series of regional research symposia held by the Institute. The IIENetwork Research Symposium will bring together in Greece leaders in the field of higher education to engage in a dialogue aimed at exploring the way that higher education can serve the economic, social, and political development of the nations in Southeastern Europe. The research grant opportunity is open to individuals and institutions from North America and Europe and the deadline for submission is 15 July 2002. For more information on thematic areas, eligibility and awards, please click here: http://www.iienetwork.org/?pg_v=pg&pg_fid=15565&pg_pid=6865&pg_pos=1&g=1710&ct=v2pages
E-learning and training in Europe, A survey into the use of e-learning in training and professional development in the European Union, The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, ISBN 92-896-0106-X, Cat No: TI-41-01-931-EN-C In order to ensure that the EU will become 'the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-driven economy in the world' e-learning was assigned a key role by the Lisbon Summit in March 2000. E-learning has the potential to completely change education and training, to open new ways of learning and assist people in acquiring new skills. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational training (Cedefop) carried out a survey online in 2001, on the European Training Village which addressed the following issues: the types and size of organisations involved in e-learning, whether they are providers or users of e-learning or both, the importance of e-learning in relation to classroom tuition, the use of e-learning in different subject areas, the amount spent on e-learning compared to other forms of training over the last three years, the revenue earned by providers over the same period. The conclusions to be drawn from the survey provide a valuable insight into the nature of e-learning and the way that it is developing. Available in German (DE), English (EN) and French (FR). Education and training, Project fact sheets (Second updated and enlarged edition), The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, ISBN 92-894-1591-6, Cat. No: KK-39-01-603-EN-C Information and communication technologies have significantly changed the way in which individuals live and work, and organisations operate. E-learning is an essential tool of technology. It ensures that information available is translated into relevant knowledge for the citizens, industries, communities and organisations of Europe. The European Commission has launched initiatives like the information society technologies (IST) research programme, which can support, guide and stimulate research, technological development and innovation in education and training. The education and training initiative incorporates a variety of projects that include: open platforms and tools for personalised learning; the flexible university; advanced training systems; the learning citizen; school of tomorrow; consensus-building for education and training (accompanying measures). Users' views on e-learning, Cedefop online surveys, The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, ISBN 92-896-0109-4, Cat. No: TI-41-01-939-EN-C Information on developments in e-learning and people's perspectives of it is crucial. This publication unites the results of seven surveys dealing with e-learning. These surveys were carried out by the European Training Village, an interactive web site, administered by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). The surveys identify trends in e-learning at a European level and their aim was to collect data of interest to specialists and researchers in vocational education and training. Each survey was online for six weeks from December 1999 to September 2001 and the following were carried out: technology-supported learning, e-mail in e-learning, trainers' skills for e-learning, economics of e-learning, e-learning and adult basic skills, e-learning for people with disabilities, training of trainers and teachers. The publication reports on each survey and provides good insight into certain aspects of e-learning. Available in German (DE), English (EN) and French (FR).
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