Campus Europae Newsletter, February 2006

Student exchange designed by... students
Fast Facts

Online pre-registration until the 15th of February
CE Coordinators convened in Vienna

Turning the spotlight on… Liège
Upcoming events

Teacher Training Subject Committee Meeting
Engineering Subject Committee Meeting
Law Subject Committee Meeting
EUF-CE General Assembly

Student exchange designed by… students

Campus Europae has a relatively short but successful record of student participation. The General Assembly unanimously endorsed the creation of the CE Student Council as an organ of the Foundation in the wake of the first Tour d’Europe, held in September 2003. The Council convenes three times per year and has a seat in all General Assembly, Administrative Board, Coordinators and Subject Committee meetings. The fact that the Council has been given a clear mandate to voice student’s perspectives across the decision making process and full autonomy to set up its own agenda asserts that Campus Europae doesn’t regard students as mere consumers or users of its educational programmes.

Since its creation the Council has ignited crucial debates, namely on the need to rethink the financial support provided to mobile students. This ultimately lead to the establishment of LIVIS (Living Cost Information System), an online database that tracks and allows comparisons among the living costs in all cities where a CE member university is to be found. The figures are periodically reviewed by the Council, in order to reflect a student-oriented perspective of such living costs. The Council has also been active in enhancing CE’s visibility among the student body, academics and political authorities, by means of information sessions, International Days and the Tour d’Europe 2005. Under the presidency of Katharina Miller (University of Greifswald) the Council has also strived to consolidate its internal organization: the student representatives who have a seat in the Council are legitimated and accountable towards the student organizations in their University of origin.

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Picture 1 – Student Council at Örebro

On the 10th and 11th of December the Student Council gathered in the University of Örebro in order to deliberate on their 2006 agenda. Upon the election of Natasha Gajic (University of Novi Sad) and Michal Skrzek (University of Lodz) as President and Vice-President the 28 representatives went on to set their strategies for the current year. Given the increasing numbers of Campus Europae exchange students the Council has adopted as its chief priority their “welcoming & monitoring”. The objective is to have a buddy-network in place well before the start of the academic year, so that all CE-movers may be put in contact with fellow students before their arrival, thus smoothening their transition and adaptation. This network is also to serve as an early warning system for any academic or integration problems that CE-movers may encounter, bringing redundancy to the monitoring that is normally done by the Universities themselves. Other than this the Council has reiterated its intention to remain active in the ongoing discussions and projects and will continue to play a central role in the promotion of CE. The Council also encouraged all member universities to keep up their commitment to the goal of realizing the Campus Europae global action plan of 1000 students by 2008 and calls for continued support and cooperation among student representatives and stakeholders throughout the network.

Students have consistently excelled in their role as critical and participative partners in the implementation of Campus Europae. Their enthusiasm has proven vital to sustain support for ground-breaking initiatives often and anon and the EUF-CE organs would like to take this opportunity to express their appreciation for their continued engagement. Campus Europae is meant to be benefit and be at the student’s service - and it is committed to continuously improve itself by taking their suggestions and remarks in the highest account.

External links:

Fast Facts

Online pre-registration until the 15th of February

Students interested in taking part in the Campus Europae study programmes are invited to pre-register here until the 15th of February. Upon submitting the pre-registration form the students will be contacted by the respective CE Coordinator who will guide her/him in the preparation of the final application.

CE Coordinators convened in Vienna

Coordinators from all universities of the Campus Europae Network met in Vienna from the 20th to the 22nd of January. On the top of the agenda were the preparation of the 2006/2007 study year and stocktaking of the current academic year. Organizational routines have been revised and deadlines adjusted and as for the current academic year no problems have been reported, apart from sporadic communication breakdowns. Also of utmost importance was the discussion that took place on the forthcoming Campus Europae projects that relate with the Lisbon Strategy. Additionally the meeting served to compare how the different institutions are currently addressing matters as Alumni associations and student grants.

The Coordinators and the Secretariat would like to express its appreciation for the warm welcome and impeccable organization provided by the University of Vienna and by our hosts Prof. Ilse Schrittesser and Mr. Gerhard Wagner.

Turning the spotlight on… Liège

The University of Liège is the only french speaking public university in Belgium which offers a complete range of university courses at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Its foundation, in 1817, is the outcome of a long intellectual tradition that dates back to the origin of the Principality. As of the 11th century schools in Liege constituted a pole of attraction for students and researchers who came either to earn their first degrees, or like Petrarch, to avail themselves of the particularly rich libraries. The reputation of its medieval schools earned Liege the name of the 'new Athens' and the Collège opened its doors in 1496. In 1808 Napoleon issued an decree to organize an imperial University and designated Liege as the seat of an Academy, which was to include both a Faculty of Letters and a Faculty of Sciences. This was the first university charter of Liege. It was this prestigious past that lead William the 1st, King of the Netherlands, to choose Liège when deciding to establish a State university in Walloon territory.

Picture 2 – Chateau de Colonster at the Sart Tilman Domain, University of Liège

The University has around 17000 students, including 3000 foreign students coming from 80 different countries, 2400 faculty members involved in teaching and research, 800 administrative and technical support staff and it is divided into seven faculties: Philosophy and Letters; Law and School of Criminology; Sciences; Medicine; Applied Sciences; Veterinary Medicine; Psychology and Educational Sciences; and three Schools: Economics and Management; Social Sciences and Criminology. Research and knowledge transfer play a central role in the university’s day to day business: the university hosts about 400 research units, 20 large scale multidisciplinary research centers, eight technological parks and three interfaces that combine research centers and companies incubators.

Picture 3 – research being conducted at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Liège

The University of Liège is also deservedly proud of its intense international networking: the institution plays a pivotal role in more than six European higher education networks and has strong partnerships with Universities from all over the world. Tradition and modernity go hand in hand also when it comes to the University location: most of the buildings sit in the beautiful Sart Tilman Domaine, a 1820 acres wooded area just outside the town where more than 120 works of art can be seen in a open air museum – and yet the University Main Building remain on the exact spot where the Collège opened its doors in 1496, connecting the city and its university in a umbilical way.

Picture 4 – the Rectorat of the University of Liège

The city of Liège is the third largest in Belgium and the most populated in the whole Walloon Region. Liège was once a potent steel-making center that boasted numerous blast furnaces - although this era is long gone the city is still know as “la cite ardent” (the fiery city), an epitome for its animated character. Liège abundant charms include its own "Quartier latin", next to the “le Carré” (a long time favorite among students looking for bustling nightlife), a Modern and Contemporary Art Museum that sits in a former hall of the 1905 World Fair (with works from Picasso, Gaugin, Monet, and Chagall, among others), a 4km long Sunday market held on the wharves of the river Meuse, know as “la Batte”, and the world famous 'Gaufre de Liège' (Waffle of Liège).

Picture 5 – the city of Liège and the river Meuse

The Liège-Guillemins TGV station will soon become another of the city’s landmarks, as well as a symbol of its transformation from a industrial stronghold into a cutting-edge economic center. And while this architectonic wonder by Calatrava may encourage many to discover the nearby Ardennes mountain range, Netherlands (30km), Germany (45km), Paris (2h30) or London (3h30) many more will certainly continue to arrive to the most important metropolis the French speaking part of Belgium.

External links:

University of Liège

Upcoming events

Teacher Training Subject Committee Meeting

The Teacher Training workgroup will meet in the University of Limerick on the 13th of February.

Engineering Subject Committee Meeting

A Engineering Subject Committee meeting will take place in the University of Novi Sad from the 24th to the 26th of February.

Law Subject Committee Meeting

A Law Subject Committee meeting will take place in the University of Örebro on the 20th and 21st of March.

EUF-CE General Assembly

The next General Assembly of the EUF-CE will take place in Luxembourg, on the afternoon of the 27th of March. Prior to that the following meetings will take place:

CE Coordinators Meeting: 26th of March
Administrative Board Meeting: 27th of March