Campus Europae Newsletter, March 2007

Table of contents

  • The Campus Europae Certificates – an Award to the Pioneers
  • Fast Facts
    • Hamburg and Greifswald take the first steps towards a new European student mobility financing scheme
    • CE Language Experts network has its "kick off meeting" in Luxembourg
    • Studying and working abroad, the best of both worlds
    • Bologna Process in Serbia: The Best Practice
  • Upcoming events

The Campus Europae Certificates – an Award to the Pioneers

The first CE Certificate Awarding Ceremony took place at the Chapelle of the Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg, on the 16th of February. Eight students coming from Aveiro, Greifswald, Lodz, Kaunas, Minsk, Novi Sad, Riga and Trento were symbolically awarded the first CE Certificates. They represent the 104 CE movers that have taken part in the pilot projects in the academic years 2004/2005 and 2005/2006.

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Picture 1: President of E.U.F-CE Prof. Noel Whelan, President of the E.U.F/CE Student Council Krzysztof Kałużny, Secretary General of E.U.F/CE Prof. Christoph Ehmann, M.E.P Erna Hennicot-Schoepges with M.E.Ps Ljudmila Novak and Doris Pack, all members of the Committee on Culture, Youth and Education with the CE Alumni

MEP Erna Hennicot-Schoepges presented the Certificates at the Ceremony. MEP Erna Hennicot-Schoepges was Minister of Culture, Higher Education and Research in the Luxembourg Government at the time the EUF-CE was established and she has played an instrumental role in the implementation of the project and she remains to this day one of its critical supporters.

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Picture 2: Prof. Noel Whelan with MEP Ljudmila Novak

The CE Certificate confirms the successful completion of an academic year abroad and that the respective CE-movers have acquired sufficient knowledge of the languages of the host countries to be able to communicate on a scientific level in their academic subjects. Upon completion of a second year abroad at post graduate level students will be awarded a Campus Europae Degree. The CE Certificate and the CE Degree play a central role in Campus Europae policy to develop student's awareness of being European citizens and to provide them with opportunities to experience Europe’s “unity in diversity” during their higher education.

During their stay in Luxembourg the CE Alumni had had the opportunity of visiting some of the highlights of the current European Capital of Culture, notably the Modern Art Museum Grand-Duc Jean and the Philharmonie.

Fast Facts

Hamburg and Greifswald take the first steps towards a new European student mobility financing scheme

Following the implementation of the "Bologna Meets Lisbon" project the first contract for establishing CE bursaries was signed in Hamburg on the 22nd of February. The Student Affairs Agencies of the Universities of Hamburg and Greifswald (Studentenwerk Greifswald and Studierendenwerk Hamburg) agreed on the details of a financing programme for outgoing Campus Europae Students with CE’s Secretary General, Prof. Christoph Ehmann.

These bursaries will target students who would have no chance to participate in an exchange programme without additional financial help, because they need to earn a part of their living costs by combining working and studying. The CE bursary will be made available in a form of a low interest loan that, under special conditions, will be repaid by Campus Europae up to 50% of its value.

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Picture 3: Prof. Christoph Ehmann (EUF-CE) with Klaus Wonneberger (Studentenwerk Hamburg) and Karl Schöppner (Studentenwerk Greifswald)

The CE Bursary will also be made available to students from the University and Technical University of Lodz. Campus Europae is working with the PKO Bank Polsky – the oldest and one of the largest banks in Poland – to provide a financial support scheme comparable to the one developed for Hamburg and Greifswald. In the Polish case the loan interest rates should be around 2% and the participation of Campus Europae in the repayment will also be up to 50%.

The strong cooperation of Campus Europae member universities with partner agencies and/or financial stakeholders will ultimately lead to the establishment a student support system that is autonomous and complementary to the resources made available by the European Commission and national governments. This financing solution aims to enhance student mobility, notably with regards to participation of students in the second year of exchange offered by Campus Europae.

More information about the implementation of this project in other universities of the Campus Europae network will be available in the April Newsletter.

For more information please contact:

CE Language Experts network has its "kick off meeting" in Luxembourg

On the 21st February 12 experts coming from the Universities of Vienna, Riga, Alcala, Hamburg, Luxembourg, Trento, Örebro, Greifswald, Kaunas, Novi Sad, Lodz and Joensuu convened in Luxembourg for a day long discussion with the CE Secretariat on the CE language concept and courses . At the center of the debate was the exchange of best practices regarding the experiences in teaching the language of the host country to exchange students.

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Picture 4 – the participants in the first meeting of the network in Munsbach

The participants debated extensively the intensity, duration, and fluency levels of the language courses that are to be provided to Campus Europae movers in 2007/2008. As a general rule, exchange students are expected to become acquainted with the language of their host country before their departure by means of online resources. Upon their arrival, and before the beginning of the academic year, they will attend a 6 week intensive language course. The language training will be continued during the first semester so that by the begging of the second semester they will have at least a B1 level of command of the language of their host country, according to the common European framework of reference for languages. Given that the students will typically have to invest in excess of 200 hours in their language courses, the possibility of crediting ECTS to those who undergone such comprehensive preparations was also discussed.

A second meeting of the network is due in Autumn 2007.

Studying and working abroad, the best of both worlds

From 2007/2008 on Campus Europae exchange students will progressively be offered the possibility of combining a year of studies abroad with “Learning Employability” placements (LEP). Such placements will be study related and will entail a workload of 8 to 16 hours per week, in order to ensure that a prolongation of a students study year does not occur. The combination of studies and study related internships will provide exchange students with an upgraded learning experience and will also make their experience in their country of destination deeper and more effective from a social and linguistic point of view. In addition students who will be engaged in a LEP during their stay abroad will qualify for special repayment conditions of their CE bursaries (see “Hamburg and Greifswald take the first steps towards a new European student mobility financing scheme” article).

In order to facilitate the proceeds of seeking for adequate Learning Employability placements Campus Europae Universities are teaming up with local employers unions and/or Chambers of Commerce. The University of Lodz, the Technical University of Lodz, the University of Greifswald and the University of Hamburg are in the forefront of the preparations and are already accepting application from future CE movers who may be interested in having L.E.P’s in 2007/2008.

  • The University and Technical University of Lodz: L.E.P's will be available for students of Law, Business, Engineering, Natural Sciences, Teacher Training and Humanities / Social science For applying and further information please contact krysztof.kaluzny@campuseuropae.org
  • University of Greifswald: L.E.P's will be available for students of Law, Teacher Training, Medicine and Humanities / Social Sciences. For applying and further information please contact stefan.plasa@uni-greifswald.de
  • University of Hamburg: L.E.P's will be available for students of Law and Teacher Training. For applying and further information please contact whartmann@uni-hamburg.de

Bologna Process in Serbia: The Best Practice

In the year when it celebrates its 47th anniversary, the University of Novi Sad has grown to become the second largest university in Serbia with 170 study programmes and almost 40.000 students studying at 14 faculties. It is the only state university in Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, with the University Campus located on the banks of the river Danube where seven of its faculties are located. Today it is recognized as a leader in the field of reform among Serbian universities, with growing interregional and international cooperation in the fields of education, staff and student mobility and scientific research projects established through participation in programmes such as TEMPUS, WUS, INTERREG, CEEPUS, FP5, FP6, EUREKA and, of course, Campus Europae.

Some of the crucial elements of its sucess include a strong determination to accept and adapt to the new standards in the field of higher education, as well as shifting the focus of its overall activities to introduce the basic principles promoted in the Bologna Declaration. The process of restructuring and reform begun even before the new national regulations were adopted. The Law on Higher Education, enacted in September 2005, offered a wider range of possibilities for further changes. Furthermore, the new laws on scientific and research activities introduce a reformed institutional framework on the national level.

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Picture 5 – Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad

The new Law on Higher Education has an important purpose, the attainment of higher levels of efficiency and quality, as well as better integration in the European Higher Education Area. The basis of the reformed system lies on the three-cycle system of studies, ECTS, quality assurance and accreditation of study programmes. Moreover, it promotes further university integration combined with the possibility of establishing its own modes of internal organization.

The new Law introduces new modes of partnership in the academic community. Never before in the history of higher education in Serbia had there been a student representative body and, as far as the University of Novi Sad is concerned, it was formed several months ago. These are the student parliaments with the University student parliament as the highest representative body of the student population at a university.

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Picture 6 – Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad

The government of the Republic of Serbia has recognized the role of the universities in the Stabilization and Accession Process to the European Union. Side by side with other state universities, the University of Novi Sad has signed an agreement on cooperation with the EU Integration Office.

Many examples of the good practice can be found throughout the University activities. One of them is the Faculty of Philosophy, which organizes the Summer School of Serbian as a Foreign Language. The Faculty of Technology offers a seven-day laboratory work, within its Summer School on Environmental Analysis, and on the International School of Ceramics. The Academy of Arts hosts a student art festival – Sartfest, in order to establish the communication channels between the art academies of the Danube region.

Each of the fourteen faculties of the University strives to combine its specific characteristics with the new and increasing opportunities for the benefit of the whole academic community. There initiatives enable the University of Novi Sad to take a leadership role and, in cooperation with its international partners, approach the on-going reforms with more decisiveness.

Upcoming events

Meeting of the Medicine Subject Committee

Luxembourg - 18th of March

Campus Europae Coordinators Meetings

Luxembourg - 18th of March

Campus Europae General Assembly and Administrative Board Meetings

Luxembourg - 19th of March

Meeting of the Law Subject Committee

Luxembourg - 29th of March

Meeting of the Engineering Subject Committee

Nancy - 30th of March

The next Campus Europae newsletter is due for the 2nd of April. To unsubscribe please visit this link.