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ACA Newsletter nr 201 August 2002
News from the European Union institutions
News from other international organisations
Bologna itemsMembers’ newsPublications
Upcoming conferences
News from the European Union institutions
In a press release of 17 July, EU Commissioner for Education and Culture, Viviane Reding, announced a Commission Proposal of the same day for the creation of “Erasmus World”, the Community’s first ever global higher education scheme. Thus, a process started by the joint Patten/Reding Communication on cooperation with third countries (COM(2001) 385), about which the ACA Newsletter reported regularly, is now likely to result in a concrete funding programme. If approved in its current form, the programme will, in its first phase, run from 2004 to 2008, with a budget of 200 million Euro. It will support a wide spectrum of cooperation measures between EU, EFTA and accession countries, on the one hand, and “third countries”, on the other. The “core element” of the programme will be so-called “European Masters Courses”, to be jointly developed and run by at least three universities on the European side, of which the Commission intends to approve about 20 per year. About 2,000 scholarships for third country postgraduate students (“European Fulbright”) for study in an approved “European Masters Course” will be made available. Likewise, there will be about 500 scholarships for “visiting scholars” (“world class scholars”). There is also a set of measures to create partnerships between European (Master Course) higher education institutions and counterparts from all over the world, with an emphasis on countries with a highly-developed higher education system, amongst them grants for outgoing faculty mobility. Last, but not least, a programme slot labeled “Enhancing Attractiveness”, will support “promotional activities” (marketing) of European higher education institutions, and measures to improve services for foreign students in Europe. Funding of successful applicants, especially for scholarships, is announced to be internationally competitive. The Commission also promises a light form of programme management. The scheme is to be administered by DG EAC’s to-be-created “Executive Agency”, with involvement of existing structures in member states. The ACA Secretariat is proud to announce that the Commission’s proposal reflects, in many ways, the proposals made in ACA’s study “The Globalisation of Education and Training”, to which the Commission explicitly refers in the Proposal text. Various ACA members are also mentioned as having provided helpful advice in the conception phase of the programme. The Proposal is based on article 149, and will therefore undergo the “co-decision procedure”, involving with full rights not only the Council, but also the European Parliament. The decision-making process under the potentially complex “co-decision procedure” will have to be swift and smooth to start the programme still in 2004. Text of the proposal: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/world/world_en.pdf
The EU Council of Ministers adopted on June 27th the final decision to extend the TEMPUS Programme of higher education exchange to the non-candidate Mediterranean Partners: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel (Due to the fact that Israel does not benefit from MEDA bilateral funds, its participation would be on a self-financing basis), Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Lebanon). The TEMPUS Programme was originally launched in 1990 to support higher education reforms in Central and Eastern Europe. It was subsequently extended to the former USSR, Mongolia, and the Balkans. Its extension to the Mediterranean area is part of the Valencia Action Plan, and of the Action Programme for the Dialogue between Cultures and Civilisations. An amount of Euro 43 million has been earmarked for the implementation of TEMPUS in the Mediterranean.
The Eurydice information network opened two new databases:
http://www.eurydice.org/Glossaire/GlossarySearch3.php?lg=en
http://www.eurydice.org/LifeLongLearning1/frameset_en.html
The Erasmus programme was launched by the European Commission in 1987. Quickly the programme became very popular amongst the European students. Its core idea was to facilitate university students’ mobility amongst European universities. Thanks to the introduction of the new Europe-wide programme, university students had increased opportunity to spend a study period abroad at a partner higher education institution in another European country. The Erasmus programme, together with additional measures such as the European Credit Transfer System and the Diploma Supplement, has made European student mobility a concrete and feasible reality for over a million pioneers. In October the European Commission DG Education and Culture together with the students associations, the National Agencies and the academic networks will celebrate the unique achievement of a million Erasmus students. On October 18, 2002 the "Erasmus week" will be launched all over the participating countries. While at a national and local level the universities will celebrate the event, 30 former and current Erasmus students will be invited to Brussels to participate in the event there. The students will meet Commissioner Reding and the European Council members. On the occasion of the celebration, the European Commission DG Education and Culture will also present the Erasmus Student Charter, a "mobility card" stating the Erasmus student rights and duties, which will be issued to each student from the academic year 2003/04. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/erasmus/million_en.html
The European Investment Bank (EIB) on 10 July announced its intention to co-finance a second Chair of Mediterranean Studies at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. The grant will be distributed over the period 2002-2005. The EIB Chair will be devoted to research and teaching in finance and development economics, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean basin. It will complement the scope of the first Mediterranean Chair (Law and Political Science), created in 1999. The EIB grant will support the Institute's policy in favour of cultural co-operation between the two shores of the Mediterranean. http://www.eib.org/pub/press/2002/2002-055.htm
The Algerian National Indicative Programme (NIP) 2002-2004 has been recently signed. The total indicative amount of MEDA funding under the NIP is Euro 150 million. The 3 main priorities are effective implementation of the EU-Algeria Association Agreement in the context of competitive internal and external markets; support to stability and sustainable socio-economic development through social and political reform, good governance, and civil society involvement. Individual programmes under the NIP include 'Local Development in the North-East'/'Social Fund' (Euro 50 million); Rehabilitation of areas affected by terrorism (Euro 30 million); Education Reform (Euro 15 million); Reform of the Judiciary (Euro 15 million); Support to the Association Agreement (Euro 15 million); Modernisation of the Finance Ministry (Euro 10 million); Participation in the TEMPUS Programme of higher education exchanges (Euro 8 million); and Solid Waste Management (Euro 5 million).
The Commission has adopted the eLearning initiative to adapt the
European Union’s education and training systems to the knowledge economy
and digital culture. This initiative has four components: to equip schools
with multimedia computers, to train European teachers and trainers in the
use of digital technologies, to develop European educational services and
software and to speed up the networking of schools and teachers. The
eLearning Action Plan, adopted by the Commission on March 28th 2001, aims
at presenting ways and means of implementing the eLerning initiative. The
themes for proposals are those identified as priority ones in the
eLearning Action plan and in the 2002 budgetary perspective. The aim of
the call is to support innovative ideas and approaches. Projects proposed
must address one of the listed subjects: The Deadline for applications is 30 September 2002. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/call.html News from other international organisations
In September 2002 UNESCO-CEPES is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education was established in September 1972 with an aim to promote co-operation in higher education among the European countries. The Director of UNESCO-CEPES is the representative of UNESCO in Romania. In pursuit of its aim, the Centre undertakes programmes and projects relevant to the development and reform of higher education, especially in view of the follow-up to the European Regional Forum (Palermo, September 1997), the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education (Paris, October 1998), and the Bologna Declaration (Bologna, 1999). It also promotes research on higher education and serves as a forum for the discussion of important topics in higher education. On this occasion the UNESCO-CEPES Jubilee International Conference on Higher Education in the 21st Century: Its Role and Contribution to Our Common Advancement will be held on 6-8 September 2002 in Bucharest, Romania.
Professors and lecturers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have agreed to post on the Internet, free of charge for all the world’s higher education institutions and students, the contents of the courses given at this prestigious US university - lectures, tests, assignments, textbooks, reading materials, bibliographies, simulations, experiments, demonstrations and study programmes. In a few years, 2,000 MIT courses will be available free (for non-commercial use), starting with about 50 to be put online in the next few months. The project, mostly funded by the William and Flora Hewlett and Mellon foundations and by MIT, will cost about US$100 million over the coming decade. This is not distance learning. Consulting these courses will not give students MIT degrees. Nor will they have direct contact with the MIT professors whose work they see on the Internet. The main goals of this project are to help university students and teachers in developing countries as well as to improve the quality of university teaching both at MID and at other universities. http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-fea16e.shtml
The European Secretariat for the Design for All e-Accessibility Network (ESDeAN) was established in July 2002, in accordance with one of the specific goals of the eEurope 2002 Action Plan. One of the action points included in the plan was to “ensure the establishment and networking of national centers of excellence in design-for-all and create recommendations for a European curriculum for designers and engineers”. The goal of this action is to raise the profile of Design for All and emphasize its importance in achieving greater e-Accessibility. The (ESDeAN) secretariat was formed to aid and support the newly formed network of European National Contact Centers (NCCs), which are working with Design for All, e-Accessibility and Assistive Technology issues. This European Network has been primarily created to provide:
On July 25th 2002 OECD Secretary-General Donald J. Johnston announced the creation of a new Education Directorate within the OECD Secretariat, as part of a drive to enhance the OECD's work in this area in response to the needs of citizens and governments. The new Education Directorate will focus in particular on issues of lifelong learning, the development of human capital and the role of education in social cohesion. http://www.oecd.org/EN/document/0,,EN-document-590-17-no-12-32603-590,00.html
The European University Association (EUA) memo on the Bologna Process and the GATS Negotiations of 10 June 2002 is now available on http://www.unige.ch/eua/ Memebers' news
Following a meeting in Hungary on June 2 of the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee and the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference, a formal agreement on cooperation was signed between the two organisations. The agreement provides for cooperation in staff and student exchange, research collaboration, staff development, information exchange and qualifications recognition. Under the new agreement Hungary will be participating in a university senior administrators shadowing program with Austria, Sweden, Norway and Australia commencing in early 2003. Following the meeting in Hungary, the AVCC delegation travelled to Paris where a formal agreement on cooperation was signed between the AVCC and the Conférence des Directeurs D’Écoles et formations D’Ingénieurs (CDEFI). The agreement complements those already signed between the AVCC and the two other higher education peak bodies in France, the Conférence des Présidents d’Université and the Conférence des Grandes Écoles. The AVCC delegation concluded its mission to Europe with the signing of an agreement on the mutual recognition of university qualifications with the Austrian Rectors’ Conference in Vienna on 3 June. http://www.avcc.edu.au/news/public_statements/media_releases/2002/ Publications
The Mediterranean Directory of research and cultural centres working on Mediterranean issues can now be accessed on the web. The Directory is a data base which brings together the names and details of 814 organisations in 43 countries, both in the Mediterranean Region and in non-Mediterranean European countries. It is published by the Réne Seydoux Foundation in Paris, France.
The World Higher Education Database 2002/3 CD-Rom, which came out in July 2002, combines the latest editions of the International Handbook of Universities and the World List of Universities, with descriptions of the educational systems and qualifications awarded in 180 countries. According to the publisher the World Higher Education Database 2002/3 CD-Rom, which provides exhaustive coverage of more than 16,000 higher education institutions worldwide, as well as descriptions and definitions of over 1,700 degrees and diplomas, is the most comprehensive reference tool available in the field of higher education worldwide. Completely cross-referenced (from an institution you can directly refer to the system of education of the country), fast and user-friendly, it is the most efficient way to find information about any higher education institution throughout the world. The Guide contains details on the educational system of 46 African countries, their institutions of higher education (more than 800 institutions) and, for each country, the national bodies concerned with higher education. This volume is the result of a partnership established between the Association of African Universities (AAU) and the International Association of Universities (IAU) to jointly collect and disseminate information on higher education in the continent.
Undoubtedly, higher education is now a global enterprise, and although significant differences still exist among nations and continents, the fundamental challenges created by technology, globalization, and competition impact colleges and universities around the world. This publication explores the forces shaping change in higher education in the United States, Canada, and Europe; analyzes how institutions and policy makers are responding; and assesses the costs and benefits of these responses. http://www.acenet.edu/bookstore/pdf/2002_brave-new-world.pdf
The 2002 edition of OECD in Figures contains key data on OECD countries, ranging from economic growth and employment to education and migration. There are comparable tables on the environment, science and education. OECD in Figures is an original, simple to use, pocket data book. Electronic version: http://www1.oecd.org/publications/e-book/0102071E.PDF Upcoming Conferences6 - 8 September 2002 8 - 11 September 2002 11 - 14 September 2002 06-12 October 2002 07-09 October 2002 08-11 October 2002 11-12 October 2002 23-26 October 2002 24-25 October 2002 www.odo.tudelft.nl/conference.html 24-27 October 2002 30 October - 1 November 2002 |
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