Newsletter, July 2006

Table of contents

  • 2005/2006: A year in review
  • Fast Facts
    • President of Campus Europe Prof. Noel Whelan in Lodz 
    • Teacher Training Subject Committee Meeting
    • New CE publication on Language Learning
    • Luxembourg University starts implementing CE’s Study Programmes
    • Business Subject Committee Meeting
    • Engineering Subject Committee Meeting
    • Campus Europae Student Council meeting
    • Campus Europae at Greistuff  
  • Turning the spotlight on... Trento

2005/2006: A year in review

While the last article of the CE newsletter opened with references to the thermodynamics of student exchange this month is all about reliving the year that was and the relativity of time from the viewpoint of those who work in the Campus Europae Secretariat to be specific. 2005/2006 passed so swiftly that a quick recap is called for of the project landmarks during this last year.

In September 2005 the rather uninspiring Bergen conference was long gone and the next big topic was set to be the Commission’s Integrated Programme for Lifelong Learning 2007-2013, whose complex budget negotiation would set the tone for many of the discussions to take place throughout the year. Campus Europae lobbied, successfully a number of changes through the European Parliament with a view on facilitating the access of working students to exchange programmes. However while political lobbying is high on CE’s agenda this was, more importantly, the month for the Tour d’Europe 2.

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Picture 1: Tour d'Europe "family photo"

As in 2003 the Tour d’Europe 2 allowed two groups of 26 students to take part in the adventure of a lifetime: for two weeks they traveled across Europe, visiting all the Universities of the Campus Europae network. Their journey came to an end in Luxembourg’s Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art, during a reception where the participants voiced their experiences and views on the practical implementation of CE to the members of the General Assembly and the CE Coordinators. The outcomes of the Tour are wide-ranging: not only it served to enhance Campus Europae visibility with its universities student body as it facilitated that a new generation of student representatives could make their way to the CE Student Council, breeding new life into projects such as the Living Cost Information System.

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Picture 2: evaluation meeting with the Tour d'Europe participants

By mid-October another important event was the relaunch of CE’s website. http://www.campuseuropae.org/ is as always the first stop for all CE prospective students, providing them with continuously updated information, namely on topics meant to facilitate and encourage their stays abroad. International students can also interact in the online forum, while all CE working groups benefit from the ease of use and convenience of the intranet system.

November was the month for yet another CE Seminar, this time on Language Learning. Close to 50 participants convened at the Château de Munsbach to discuss the multitude of issues surrounding multilingualism in higher education and to take a closer look at the language concept of Campus Europae. The Language seminar allowed for the identification of best practices on foreign language learning, demonstrated the feasibility CE language concept and paved the way for much closer cooperation among language experts across the CE network. A booklet on the proceedings has been produced by the CE secretariat.

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Picture 3: Mr. Luca Tomasi, European Comission, during the Language Seminar opening speech

Before 2005 came to a close another significant landmark was the simultaneous publishing of all information concerning the 2006/2007 study programmes. The synchronization of all CE Subject Committees was the outcome of a 30 month Strategy Plan aimed at the consolidation of CE’s internal quality assurance and which has put forward the challenge of an significant increase in the number of CE-movers during the following three academic years. The publication of the 2006/2007 year was followed by an online registration period whereby future CE-movers would express their interest in the exchange for 2006/2007. Upon registration prospective CE movers were contacted by the local CE Coordinators, who then guided them through the completion of final application.

The period between January and May 2006 was occupied essentially with the detailed preparations for 2006/2007. CE Coordinators met a record number of three times during this period, having reviewed extensively all exchange related details to ensure that the 2006/2007 CE-movers will have but only good memories from the first day of their stay abroad to the last. An analogous effort has been put forward by the Subject Committees and the Student Council. All seven Subject Committees convened during this period to ensure a smooth curricular transition, while the Student Council has put in place a trans-national “student buddy” network. Peers from each CE university are being put in contact with all September ’06 incoming students as this article is being published. The peers are not only sharing their know-how by giving advice to CE-movers on how they can best organize their stay abroad as they will also be engaged in orientation activities from their arrival onwards.

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Picture 4: The Administrative Board meeting in Aveiro, June 2006

However there is more to CE than the preparation of the upcoming academic year. In March two new universities have joined the network: Alcalà de Henares (Spain) and the Technical University of Lodz (Poland). Their combined student bodies amounts to about 45.000 students and the wide scope of degrees awarded by both institutions will allow Campus Europae to increase the range of study programmes that are available to its students. Moreover the University of Alcalá and the Technical University of Lodz have a longstanding reputation of academic excellence and their membership is in line with the CE aims insofar as geographical and linguistic diversity are concerned. Already in June the joint meeting of the Administrative Board and CE Coordinators in the University of Aveiro one of the most important points in the agenda was the analysis of the evaluation of the 2004/2005 exchange. The academic year 2004/2005 was the first year that the EUF-CE exchanged students and it was regarded as a pilot year to test the exchange, and to determine the chief obstacles on the path to successfully accomplish the CE student exchange programmes in the future. Results are extremely encouraging, with 69% of the respondents finding their experience “very satisfactory”, 25% “satisfactory” and 6% “fairly satisfied”. The vast majority believed that CE is a well thought out and mature development in European International exchange and all recommendations that stem out of the evaluation have been given maximum attention by the various CE organs.

The Aveiro meeting also served to bridge the immediate future of Campus Europae. 2005/2006 has been a very active and successful year but even more exciting news should be expected during the next academic year. In Aveiro some organizational changes have been put in place to further strengthen and support the Subject Committees work, as from June on each will have within its remit to appoint its own technical assistant. Moreover all CE actors renewed their enthusiastic engagement in continuing to provide first quality student-centred exchange, and during the upcoming months groundbreaking projects and developments in the fields of employability and articulation of the Universities networks with the Lisbon Process goals and aims are to be expected.

Fast Facts


President of Campus Europe Prof. Noel Whelan in Lodz 

Prof. Noel Whelan President of the European University Foundation was guest of the Central Poland Chamber of Commerce held in the University of Lodz at the Biederman Palace where he presented the concept around Campus Europae’s discussion document Bologna meets Lisbon and illustrating the viability of combining the studying and working related concept drawing upon the experiences of the University of Limerick which has conducted such programmes in the past. Many local employers and entrepreneurs were impressed by this vision and viewed it as a positive development in terms of academic and employment cooperation in conjunction with realising the wealth of knowledge that CE student can have on their businesses.

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Picture 5: Noel Whelan President of Campus Europae meets with Prof. Zbicinski of the Technical University of Lodz.

In attendance at this meeting was the Head of the Central Poland Chamber of Commerce Lodz Dr. Witold W. Gerlicz who discussed with Prof. Whelan the mutual benefits which would accrue from such cooperation. Prof. Whelan also met with Pro Rector of the University of Lodz Prof. Wojciech Katner to discuss its important contribution to the Campus Europae network. In conjunction with his visit to Lodz Prof. Whelan also met with Prof. Zbicinski Pro Rector in charge of International Affairs of the Technical University of Lodz. Commenting on his visit Prof. Whelan said that the addition of the Technical University of Lodz was a most welcome development and thanked them for their participation and engagement.

 

Teacher Training Subject Committee Meeting

The Teacher Training subject committee took place in the University of Lodz on Monday the 26th of June. The participants of the meeting warmly welcomed the news that the University of Luxembourg will join the Teacher Training Subject committee and that they are willing to accept and send students to the CE partner universities. The addition of the University of Luxembourg represents a positive development in the teacher training committee broadening the remit to include a French speaking university. The committee also welcomed Carmen Santa Maria of the Universidad de Alcala who participated in her first meeting. The Teacher training committee dealt with the insertion of the Universidad de Alcala, data into the matrices and exchanged information about this years incoming and outgoing students for 06/07. The next subject committee meeting will take place in the University of Hamburg on December the 10th.

 

New CE publication on Language Learning

The proceedings of the EUF-CE Seminar “How to achieve Multilingualism in Higher Education – Intensive Language Courses as a Feasible Approach” have been published and can be found online.
 
The seminar brought together Experts in the field of learning European languages as a foreign language, Professors of the language departments, university Coordinators for student mobility and students representatives, to exchange experiences and best practices. Its conclusions address concerns and make proposals concerning learning methodologies, financial support for multilingualism and the development of institutional language policies and strategies.
 
Also of great interest in the field of the language learning is the “Nancy Declaration”, which reflects the conclusions of the European Network for the Promotion of Language Learning Among All Undergraduates” (ENLU) closing conference. The Nancy Declaration provides the basis for the creation of, as well as for the activities to be undertaken by the new HELP network, designed to achieve a breakthrough in the generalization of language learning among undergraduates

External link:
“How to achieve Multilingualism in Higher Education” Seminar proceedings (pdf file) 
Nancy Declaration (pdf file)

 

Luxembourg University starts implementing CE’s Study Programmes

Prof. Jean-Paul Lehners, Vice-Rector of the University of Luxembourg, and Deans and Professors from various Faculties met with Professor Christoph Ehmann, Secretary General of Campus Europae on Monday, the 12th of June. The discussion revolved around the participation of the University of Luxembourg, a founding member of the Campus Europae network, in its study programmes. As the University of Luxembourg has already completed the reorganization of its educative offer and because most of the new BA and MA are about to start with their second year is now in position to initiate preparation to articulate its study programmes with CE. The first CE study programmes in Luxembourg will be available from 2007 on.

The University of Luxembourg is characterized for its multilingualism policy (classes are provided in French, German and English) and commitment to student mobility, which is mandatory for all its students.For the realisation of the Campus Europae programme of combining studying and study-related working while staying abroad Luxembourg will be an excellent location for a lot of subjects, Prof. Ehmann added.

External link:
University of Luxembourg

 

Business Subject Committee Meeting

The Business Administration and Economics Subject Committee met at the University of Aveiro on June 16, 2006. The purpose of the meeting was the deepening of the discussion started in Alcalà de Henares and during which the possibility to reach concerted curricula arose. For the Aveiro meeting all the participants in the Committee had to prepare the questionnaires that are the starting point for the construction of the compatibility matrices as a first step towards common degrees. Moreover, the matrices are also a useful instrument for collecting information to be distributed to interested students. To this purpose a simplified version of the matrices will be available this autumn while a more complete version will be available at the beginning of 2007. The meeting was also the occasion to introduce the student representative of the Committee to the committee members: a student from the University of Kaunas who took a year at the University of Liege. He reported his experience as useful and mind-opening for every student and advised that in order to reach a wider number of participants it would be useful to have a more direct contact with the students at the partner universities. On this point it was agreed that the information about Campus Europae should be circulated also through the support of the students unions who should be involved in the initiative of spreading the information about the project.


Engineering Subject Committee Meeting

The finalization of 2005/06 exchange and the preparation for the next academic year were the main topics of the meeting in Aveiro. Great progress has been made regarding the number of students who are taking part in CE exchange as well as in the number of engaged universities. The committee decided to initiate preparations for starting with student exchange in the field of Industrial Engineering and Management from 2007/08 on. The next meeting will take place in the second half of October, in the University of Limerick

 

Campus Europae Student Council meeting

The Campus Europe Student council bi annual plenary took place in Luxembourg on the 10th of June. In an important meeting which focussed on the practical measures to be implemented for the 06/07 CE movers all student representatives resolved themselves to assisting them in every way possible as this will be also the first year that the official CE mentor/buddy system will take effect to welcome and assist movers in their integration into student life wherever they may go. The student council also engaged in discussions regarding their overall promotional strategy and the collation of official welcome packages for the incoming CE movers. The student council examined the important and vital role of the subject committee representatives on the Campus Europe subject committees and explored avenues on how to effectively assist these committees in their work. All members agreed to keep in close contact with their mentor students prior to their arrival in their host university.


Campus Europae at Greistuff  

The now annual Gristuf festival took place this year from the 27th of May to the 6th of June in the University of Greifswald under the theme of U Rope. Being one of the founder members of Campus Europae it was inevitable that the pro active student council of Campus Europe would sit up and take note of such an event. The President of the Student Council led members of the student council travelled to Greifswald with the mission to promote CE to a wider student audience who were already familiar with the idea of Europe. The student council members embarked on a week long campaign leading and participating in various seminars and workshops around the theme of a unified higher education area and propagated their belief that Europe can only be truly realised once a higher education area is established and that Campus Europe is the only body actively pursuing the goals of Bologna at this moment in time. Widespread discussions took place among participants who were enthralled by the ideals behind the project and many contacts were made in regards of interested students who envisaged informing their home institutions about the Campus Europe concept. It is envisaged that these contacts can be built upon for future cooperation.


Turning the spotlight on… Trento

The University of Trento was founded in 1962 and it comprises seven faculties, 23 research Centres, 50 laboratories and provides 27 degree courses to its 15000 students. The University’s research portfolio is undergoing a phase of accelerated growth, as the areas of information technologies, telecommunications, international studies, cognitive sciences and bio-technologies are currently being further developed.


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Picture 6: the Rectorate of the University of Trento, near the Cathedral of St. Vigilio

The University of Trento is renowned for offering courses that are relevant to the students and their future professional career and for fostering links with regional, national and international business partners. The creation of an international network of high quality academic institutions is also seen as the key factor in the ever competitive field of university teaching.

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Picture 7: Piazza Duomo, Trento's historical centre

The University has recently embraced the "permanent education" philosophy and co-operates on a regular basis with companies in the private and public sectors. The University is committed to continue offering high level training to its students in order to enhance their personal and professional lives, today and always.

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Picture 8: the Dolomites mountain range


Being a relatively small university Trento has long strived to differentiate itself on the basis of very high standards in teaching, research and services. Trento’s approach to teaching is straightforward and characterized by careful planning, a close relationship with the local and business community, and puts an emphasis on effective communication and first class training. The outcome of this ongoing investment in quality is that Trento has been consecutively ranked among the best Universities in Italy throughout the last decade.

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Picture 9: Lago di Gardia

Trento is the capital of the autonomous region of Trentino and its was founded back to the 4th century BC. In the 16th century Trento became famous for the Council of Trent (1545-1563) which gave rise to the Counter-Reformation. Nowadays the city lies off the beaten path of mass tourism but as much to offer, namely a unique architecture mix of Renaissance and Germanic influences, visible in many Late-Medieval and Renaissance buildings that have been restored to their original pastel colors and wooden balconies. Must-see museum include the Castel Buonconsiglio and the Museo d’arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto. Trento's surroundings attract summer and winter tourists, thanks to the glacial valley of the river Adige, the nearby lakes (including Lago di Gardia, Italy’s largest lake) and the snow-peaked mountains that characterize this alpine region.

External link:
University of Trento

 

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