Campus Europae Newsletter, October 2007

European Parliament welcomes CE conference
Fast Facts

Ankara University strengthens ties with Campus Europae
Intensive language courses for exchange students: a recipe for success
The 2007/08 study year in numbers
Dubrovnik Conference on Higher Education Reform

Upcoming events

European Parliament welcomes CE conference

The Campus Europae Student Council and the European People’s Party are jointly organizing a Seminar on “Student mobility in Europe” that will take place in the European Parliament in Brussels on the 8th of November. The focal point of the Seminar will be the mutually beneficial interaction between the implementation of the Lisbon strategy and the Bologna process and the challenges and demands that they will arise for universities, policy-makers and the labor market from the viewpoint of the further development of student mobility and the enrichment of the European Higher Education Area.

The three keynote speeches will address issues of accessibility to student mobility, the trends in organizational reforms vis-à-vis the increasing political, social and economic demand for mobility and the links between fostering employability and language competences, will be delivered respectively by Doris Pack (M.E.P), Prof. Jürgen Kohler (EUF-CE / EUA) and Commissioner Jan Figel. Each keynote speech will be followed by discussion tables that will be chaired by Achim Meyer auf der Heide (Secretary General of the Deutsche Studentenwerk), Ludmilla Novak (MEP) and Prof. Christoph Ehmann (EUF-CE). MEP Erna Hennicot-Schoepges, who has played an active role of Campus Europae ambassador in the European Parliament and is one of the driving forces behind the Seminar, will conclude the session with a summary of the event.

Interested participants should contact Krzysztof Kaluzny at this email address krzysztof.kaluzny@campuseuropae.org

Fast facts

Ankara University strengthens ties with Campus Europae

Prof. Noel Whelan, President of EUF-CE and Prof. Nusret Aras, Rector of the Ankara University, signed a memorandum of cooperation on the 5th of September that envisages an exchange of 40 students by the academic year 2008/2009. This memorandum follows the acceptance of the Ankara University as the 17th university of the EUF-CE network and details how the Campus Europae programmes are to be implemented during the upcoming months.

The following professors have been appointed by the Ankara University to represent it on the CE Subject Committees:

Prof. Dr. Sabri Kemahli in the Medicine Subject Committee
Prof. Dr. Feryal Karadeniz in the Engineering Subject Committee
Prof. Dr. Sekine Karakas in the Humanities and Social Sciences Subject Committee
Prof. Dr. Orhan Çakir in the Natural Sciences Subject Committee
Prof. Dr. F. Çaglayan Dinçer in the Teacher Training Subject Committee
Ass-Prof. Dr. Yalçin Karatepe in the Business Subject Committee
Ass-Prof. Dr. Ali Dursun Ulusoy in the Law Subject Committee

The University will be represented in the European University Foundation General Assembly by Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Ömer Gebizlioğlu.

Intensive language courses for exchange students: a recipe for success

With language learning being one of the cornerstones of the Campus Europae concept, each year the need to provide high standard and quality language courses to incoming students is reaffirmed again this coming academic year across the network. CE movers are required to attain fluency in the language of their host country in order to be eligible for the awarding of the CE Certificate and the upcoming CE Degree. The implementation of the Bologna meets Lisbon project will strengthen this aspect even further as they will be exposed not only to lectures but also to real life working situations in a language different than their own native one. However language courses that go beyond the normative 2 weeks introduction courses are often complicated to organise and expensive to run. For that reason Campus Europae is co-financing pilot language courses in the member universities. These courses are designed with a 6 hours a day strong introductory course that runs up to 6 weeks before the commencement of the study year that will be continued during the first semester – henceforth at the beginning of the second semester of studies abroad the exchange students will attain at least a B1 level of command of the language of their host country, according to the common European framework of reference for languages.

The first results of the course organized by the University of Greifswald are proving to be particularly noteworthy and encouraging. The course is structured so that during the morning the students commence with four hours of instruction on vocabulary, idioms and grammar that is followed by two hours of group work focused on conversation issues – a 'linguistic survival programme for everyday life”, in the words of Stefan Plasa, CE-Coordinator – that is then presented in front of the class. The homework takes care of keeping the student busy even after the end of the classes but the hard work is often tempered with guided tours in German across the historical city centre, the University campus, museums and galleries and on the history of Greifswald, as well as two excursions to Stralsund/Rügen and Berlin. Off course that the guided tours and excursions are an excellent way not only to acquire first hand knowledge about German culture but also to force them to give some usage to their recently acquired language knowledge as they go on buying tickets and souvenirs, ordering meals in cafés or restaurants and asking for the way, as English is only used on the most critical situations, if any.

First evaluatory talks with the students have shown that the intensive language course is an excellent method of preparation, giving these students the confidence to really start their year abroad, although it is difficult for some students to arrive six weeks prior to the term (due to exams). On the other hand the teacher's are working on the issue that students who arrive with a basic or non existent knowledge of the language will not be fully fit to follow courses, even after a six week intensive language course. This will be eased by the continuation of the courses and peer and tutorial support, however it also calls for looking into further detail for the possibility of exchange students attending preparatory language classes at their home universities prior to their departure, as foreseen in the CE language learning strategy. Further evaluation will be conducted by means of questionnaires and interviews in order to report fully on this project.

The methodology of the language course in Vienna mirrors very much the one adopted in Greifswald, with classes taking place from 9am to 3pm which are complemented with a range of guided tours and excursions. A total of 120 contact hours is to be reached by the end of the course. As of the begging of the academic year 2007/08 only the universities of Greifswald, Vienna and Novi Sad are operating language courses along the CE guidelines, but in several others CE is liaising with language learning departments and units in order to prepare more CE intensive language courses that will take into account the strengths and weaknesses of the 06/07 and 07/08 pilots.

The 2007/08 study year in numbers

114 students from 12 universities have embarked in a year long study exchange under the auspices of Campus Europae. Aveiro, Riga and Kaunas are the most active universities, sending 17 students each, with Aveiro (20 incoming students) doubling as the most attractive destination, being joined in the ranking by Lodz (17 students) and Trento (15 students). Teacher training (36 participating students) is the most popular study programme, followed by Business (30 students) and Engineering (26 students).

The total number of exchange students is an increase from the last year record but is particularly meaningful if considered that two universities have ceased their cooperation with EUF-CE during the past months. Nevertheless the network has continued to expand and with St Petersburg and Ankara joining the network and the range of destinations available for the CE study programmes from 2008 on the sustained growth of student participation in the coming years.

Dubrovnik Conference on Higher Education Reform

The University of Novi Sad and the University of Zagreb in Croatia have joined forces to host a European Conference on higher education development. It will be co-organised with the University of Vienna, the Stability Pact and the Council of Europe, and is strongly supported by EUA. This conference builds on foundations laid by the Novi Sad initiative in 2005 – a platform of higher education institutions and partners from both within and outside the Western Balkans region that gives particular emphasis to regional cooperation in higher education development.

The main focus of the Dubrovnik conference will be on the challenges of higher education in South East Europe but set in a wider European context. The Novi Sad Initiative is largely the brainchild of Professor Ladislav Novak from Novi Sad University, who comments:

For more information and registration details visit this website.

Upcoming events

Meeting of the EUF-CE Administrative Board and General Assembly

Luxembourg, 8th October

Natural Sciences Subject Committee meeting

Kaunas, 12th October

"Learning Employability" officers meeting

Luxembourg, 18th October

CE Coordinators meeting

Luxembourg, 19th October

PR officers meeting