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Beautiful May weather added special charm to already great atmosphere which is so characteristic of the Campus Europae committee meetings. Again, Natural Sciences and Engineering joined forces and held their meetings at the same university. Both committees had the pleasure of getting acquainted with the outstanding Gazi University: outstanding for its beauty, facilities, results, potential, and above all, for the warm hospitality of the hosts who welcomed us in Ankara. The Subject Committees had the honour of meeting with the Gazi University Vice-Rector Prof. Duran Altiparmak, who briefly presented the University’s structure, mission, and vision. Especially pleasant  was the guided tour around the Gazi Campus, which proved Gazi the university that EUF-CE can count on.

One of the key points on the agenda for this meeting was the EUF-CE promotion. Both Committees joined in presenting the study programmes and individual universities in the network. Mr. Joao Bacelar gave an overview of the Campus Europae concept, mechanisms, strategy and goals, stressed the outcomes and the advantages of this exchange programme. He then left the floor to the Chairs, Prof. Neda Mimica-Dukic (Natural Sciences) and Prof. Vladimir Katic (Engineering). Chair’s Assistants Gordana Vlahovic and Ana Joza had the pleasure of presenting their own universities, and other professors were glad to present theirs. Judging by the faces of the students present at the venue, the presentations were interesting, informative, and definitely inviting! 

As for the Natural Sciences Subject Committee, this meeting was important for many reasons. First of all, it is the wish to most actively include Gazi in the exchange and ensure movers for the next academic year. In addition, the committee extensively discussed the reasons for the existence of “sleeping partners” and how to engage them fully. Participation of students and the number of CE movers in the upcoming academic year was discussed in depth, with several members noting the constraints imposed by the Bologna Process in mobility at the BA level. On the other hand, the financial support for students is still the “hot issue” and the committees believe that there must be a way to overcome this problem. This is especially a problem for the University of Novi Sad, since Serbia as a country is not a part of the Erasmus funding scheme. Key item on the agenda has always been the matrices, but this time only within the framework of updating them.

The focal question of adopting the Recognition Act will have to wait for some more time, since there are issues which need to be resolved on the level of individual universities in the network. Nevertheless both EUF-CE and its subject committees remain commited to its implementation and will continue their work in ensuring faultless recognition for its CE Movers.