Newsletter nr 22
03 October 2002
1. News from the ACA Secretariat
2. News from the European Union institutions
3. News from other sources
4. Bologna Items
5. Publications
6. Upcoming Conferences
ACA is proud to announce "ERASMUS in the SOCRATES Programme, Findings
of an Evaluation Study", the latest publication in the ACA Papers on
International Cooperation in Education. ERASMUS, the "flagship"
among the educational programmes of the European Union, underwent
substantial programmatic and structural changes when it became a
sub-programme under the umbrella of the SOCRATES programme in the
mid-1990s. The role of the center of the university was strengthened at
the expenses of the networks of departments, and more emphasis was placed
on curricular innovation, teaching staff mobility and on involvement of
the non-mobile students. This study, being part of the SOCRATES 2000
Evaluation Study, aims to examine the changes occurred in ERASMUS in the
late 1990s. It draws from available documents and statistics, and
comprises surveys of students, graduates and academics as well as
interviews with those involved in curricular innovation and "thematic
networks". The authors call for efforts to keep academics involved,
to establish administrative procedures based on trust and to ensure a
stronger role of curricular innovation.
The book can be obtained through any bookshop. It can also be ordered
from the publisher, Lemmens Verlag, Königswinterer Strasse 95, D-53227
Bonn, E-mail: info@lemmens.de
Price: 19,80 Euro. When ordering, please quote the full title:
Ulrich Teichler (ed.), ERASMUS in the SOCRATES Programme, Findings of
an Evaluation Study, Bonn, Lemmens Verlag (ACA Papers on International
Cooperation in Education, 2002. ISBN 3-932306-41-4, Price: 19,80 Euro.
On 15 September, Julie Sepulchre, ACA office manager, left ACA
to join the international office of the Medical Faculty of the UCL in
Brussels. ACA would like to thank Julie for her important contribution
over 2 years.
At the end of the same month ACA also had to say good-buy to Natalja
Barkova. Over the past half year Natalja acted as the ACA
information officer as part of her 'stage'-period at the secretariat.
Among other tasks Natalja was responsible for the ACA Newsletter. Natalja
did a great job in improving the Newsletter in to what it is now.
On 1 October ACA welcomed Maaike Dhondt, a young Belgian, who
graduated in 1999 as a business translator from Mercator Hogeschool Gent,
Belgium. In her previous position as International Relations Assistant at
Mercator Hogeschool, she was involved in the administration of European
and International projects like Tempus, EU-US Cooperation as well as
Socrates. After three years it was time for a change of scenery and she is
now traveling from Knokke to Brussels to work as ACA office manager
Mid-October, Angelique Meyer, will join ACA as a new stagiaire.
Angelique Meyer, a Dutch, is a Master student enrolled in the European
Studies programme at the University of Twente and Universitaet of
Muenster. In the ACA Secretariat she will be doing a research on the
success of the Bachelor-Master degree structure across Europe, which will
constitute the basic of her final thesis. The research aims to examine
whether the new degree structure has improved the employability of
students in countries other than their country of origin. The research
will include the survey of central and local governments, private
companies, university teachers and students.
The European Council of Seville, which took place from 21 to 22 June,
took first important decisions on Council reform. Among them, is the
reduction of Council formations from currently 16 to 9. For the affairs of
the Education and Culture Directorate-General, this means that a single
Council will deal with matters of Education, Youth, Culture and
Audio-visual, whereas there were three before: Education, Youth and
Culture/Audio-visual. Only the Leonardo da Vinci programme is not covered
by new Education and Culture Council; it is dealt with by the Council for
Employment and social policy / Labour and social affairs. This reform is
implemented immediately; the first meeting of the merged Education and
Culture Council will take place on 11-12 November.
At a press conference held in Brussels on 16 September, European
Commissioner for Education and Culture, Viviane Reding, has announced the
launch of a European Erasmus Week that will take place in the 30 Erasmus
countries (15 member states, 3 EEA countries and 12 candidate countries)
and in Brussels from 18th to 25th October. 30 students from all
participating countries will symbolise the One Millionth Student and come
to Brussels for the celebration. The Erasmus programme supports students'
and academic staff's mobility in higher education. Named after a popular
Renaissance humanist and philosopher, it began in 1987 and has become one
of the best known EU initiatives in the field of education, and a flagship
of European integration.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=
MEMO/02/190|0|RAPID&lg=EN
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/erasmus/million_en.html
Each year the Education Ministers of 35 European countries meet to discuss
education. This year the main topic of discussion will be on vocational
education and training as well as youth. According to Ms Tørnæs the
Danish EU Presidency is going to promote vocational education and training
in extension of the goals of the Bologna process implementing initiatives
that ensure quality, transparency and recognition of qualifications and
competences within the sphere of vocational education and training in
Europe.
To enhance mobility within the sphere of vocational education and
training, officials and experts will meet several times during the Danish
EU Presidency. The first meeting took place on 19-21 September, when
representatives of national education authorities and social parties met
in Elsinore for a seminar on the quality of vocational education and
training. The following meetings on vocational education and training will
also be held during the Danish EU Presidency:
- 7-9 October, conference on lifelong learning in Elsinore,
attended by officials
- 21-22 October, a conference in Aalborg on vocational
education and training, attended by directors general
- 11-12 December, meeting in Copenhagen of the Council's
Education Committee
The Education Ministers of EU Member States and candidate countries
will meet in Copenhagen on 29-30 November. Here, the Danish Minister of
Education expects the Ministers to sign a declaration on increased
co-operation in the field of vocational education and training. Finally,
the Minister of Education is working to expand the current Erasmus scheme
for European students, so that it also encompasses students and
researchers from countries outside Europe. This will be one of the items
on the agenda on 15 November in Copenhagen, where Cirius has invited
Ministers and Commissioners to celebrate The International Day of
Education.
http://www.eu2002.dk/news/news_read.asp?iInformationID=22402
Philippe Busquin, EU Commissioner for Research, and Soledad Alvear,
Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed a scientific and technological
cooperation agreement between the EU and Chile on 23 September. This is
part of a process aimed at an association agreement, and both the EU and
Chile have agreed to combine efforts on scientific matters. The agreement,
which sees Chile become a partner under the Sixth Framework programme will
allow scientists to take part in the other side's research programmes and
joint research projects and also provides for visits and exchanges of
technical experts, joint conferences and workshops, scientific networks
and training, and the exchange and sharing of facilities and equipment.
Initial joint initiatives will focus on the genome, biotechnology and
health, information technology, food safety, sustainable growth and
climate change. The agreement will be managed by a joint steering
committee.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc
=IP/02/1352|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/iscp/index_en.html
The European Commission has launched a call for tenders for impact
assessment of Marie Curie fellowships. The objective of the tender is to
assess the impact of the Marie Curie fellowships, of all the specific
programmes awarding Marie Curie fellowships in the Fourth and Fifth
Framework Programmes. The deadline for submitting tender documents is 11
November 2002.
To see the full call text, please consult the following Web address:
http://ted.eur-op.eu.int/
OJ No S 178-140832 of 13.09.2002, RCN 18940
The Commission is inviting applications with a view to constituting a list
of experts to assess the proposals received in response to the annual
general Call for Proposals and specific calls for proposals published
under the programme. Whilst the main recourse to this list of experts will
concern the Socrates programme, it may also be used for other actions in
the field of education.
The task of the experts will be to assist the Commission in the appraisal
of proposals with reference to the objectives of the programme, the
priorities and criteria laid down in the respective calls for proposals
and the Guidelines for Applications.
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/call/expertsoc/call_en.html
A report (A5-0183/2002) on universities and higher education in the
European learning area, prepared by the Committee on Culture, Youth,
Education, the
Media and Sport, was adopted by the European Parliament on 5 September.
To access the report please go to http://www3.europarl.eu.int/omk/omnsapir.so/
calendar?APP=PDF&TYPE=PV2&FILE=p0020905EN.pdf&LANGUE=EN
On 30 September the Competitiveness Council gave the decisive go-ahead
for the EU's new €17.5 bn 6th Framework Programme (2002-2006). This
means that activities can be launched before the 5th Framework Programme
expires by the end of this year. The new Framework Programme has been
negotiated for more than two years. It contains a number of novelties,
both with regard to areas eligible to Community funding and the types of
instruments that will be used for its implementation.
Seven priority themes have been set up covering a broad range of fields
from genomics and information technologies to food quality and global
change, just to mention some. Fields within the nuclear energy sector are
covered by two specific programmes based on the Euratom Treaty. Activities
at the Joint Research Center will also be financed through specific
programmes. Moreover, the 6th Framework Programme is the first Framework
Programme to explicitly address the ambition of creating a European
Research Area. Coordination and networking of national RTD policies will
constitute an important part of the civilities.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/index_en.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/documents_en.html
France, one of the few OECD countries with stagnating, if not declining
foreign student numbers over the last 20 years, has managed to enhance its
attractiveness again. Strong marketing action by EduFrance, and quality
service provision by EGIDE and CNOUS, as well as a
"debureaucratisation" of the framework conditions of entry into
and stay in France for study purposes, have contributed to this reversal
of the long-term trend.
In 2002, France has 195.000 foreign students, 18.000 more than the year
before, and 30 percent more than in 1998. It is again the second most
popular destination for foreign students in Europe, leading Germany and
led only by the United Kingdom. Enrolment rose particularly strongly in
the "troisième cycle" (DEA), where foreigners now represent 29
percent of all students. The overall percentage of foreign students in all
cycles is 11.4 percent. More than half of all foreign students in France
come from Africa.
As is the case in other countries of "academic immigration",
too, this success also entails problems. Forged credentials are only one
example.
For more information, read under
http://www.lemonde.fr/imprimer_article_ref/0,9750,3226--288594,00.html
26 September, a day declared by the Council of Europe as the European Day
of Languages, was marked by events across the continent. It is a follow-up
to the European Year of Languages 2001 which saw thousands of events
organised in 45 countries with the aim of raising awareness of and
celebrating Europe's linguistic diversity. The theme of the European Day
of Languages 2002 is lifelong language learning.
http://www.coe.int/T/E/Cultural_Co-operation/education/Languages/Language
_Policy/EuropeanDay_of_Languages/default.asp#TopOfPage
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/languages/day26_en.html
On 12 September, the Director-General of UNESCO welcomed the US
President George W. Bush announcement on the return of the United States
of America to UNESCO following an 18-year absence.
The statement of the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura on
this occasion is available on http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/messages/2002/02-24e.shtml
During a meeting in Tromsø between August 15 and 17, Nordic University
leaders issued a statement on the "Nordic Space for Higher
Education", which specifies the position of higher education
institutions of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden within the
wider "Bologna Process". The statement underlines the importance
of the Bologna Process, which it supports, stressing the autonomous role
of the university vis-à-vis government and demanding that convergence be
brought about by recognition, not by harmonization.
The Nordic Space for Higher Education", as a regional sub-area of
the overall "Bologna area", should involve the students in any
policy formulation and reform, should make it possible for students with a
Bachelor Degree from one Nordic country to be accepted more or less
automatically on a Master Degree in another, and should put a particular
emphasis on research training and on lifelong-learning issues.
Furthermore, the statement argues for close Nordic cooperation in quality
assurance and accreditation, and it expresses concern over the GATS issue,
speaking in favour of higher education as a public good and against a
lowering of quality standards.
The text of the statement can be found under: http://www.uhr.no/internasjonaltsamarbeid/utskrifter/NUS%20Uttalelsetromsoaug2002.htm
Also available as an E-book in PDF format:
http://www1.oecd.org/publications/e-book/8902041E.PDF
Today's university students are drawn from a highly diverse set of
backgrounds. Students appear in various guises as citizens, consumers, and
clients. They are fitting university study around increasingly busy lives,
often alongside paid employment. In many countries students are paying
more for their university education, and expect high levels of standards
and service. Universities are institutions with multiple roles, and must
balance the needs and demands of their students with the expectations
placed upon them by government, industry and the wider community. Such a
balance must be struck in the face of increasing pressure on university
budgets. Effective action to meet student expectations therefore poses
major management challenges for universities.
This volume arises from two seminars, held in Brisbane and Paris
respectively, to examine some of the key issues facing universities as
they confront these challenges. It offers perspectives and experience
drawn from contributors from Australia, Europe and Canada, including the
views of student leaders.
Pdf format: http://www.acenet.edu/bookstore/pdf/2002_one-year-later.pdf
This new report examines the public's attitudes toward international
education since September 11, 2001. Comparing results from a survey
conducted before September 11 with three polls conducted after, the report
finds generally high support for international education and foreign
language training, but also reveals some areas in which the public has
concerns and reservations.
Survey on Master Degrees and Joint Degrees in Europe, by Christian
Tauch and Andrejs Rauhvargers, European Commission - EUA Joint
publication, September 2002,
Pdf format: http://www.unige.ch/eua/En/Publications/Survey_Master_Joint_degrees.pdf
This survey represents the first attempt to describe and analyze
systematically the present state of the art in respect of Master level
degree programmes and joint degrees offered across Europe. The results
show that in these two important, and often interrelated areas, further
reflection and action are needed to clarify and define both the
architecture of Master degrees and the "joint degree" concept in
Europe.
02-06 December
Congregation for Catholic Education and IFCU: Globalization and
Catholic Higher Education: hopes and challenges
Vatican City
www.fiuc.org
10-12 December
2002 SRHE Conference: Students and Learning: what is changing
University of Glasgow, UK
Contact: katy@in-conference.org.uk
11-14 December
ASEAN Student Leaders' Summit 2002: Developing Student Leaders Towards
a Century of Peace and Humanity
Philippines, Angeles University
Contact: wilsonsolis@hotmail.com
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