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15/03/2010
European Higher Education Area launched
On 11 – 12 March, European ministers responsible for higher education met in Budapest and Vienna to officially launch the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Ministers took stock of the achievements of the Bologna Process. In the Declaration adopted, ministers recognize that while much has been achieved, there are shortcomings that need to be addressed in the coming years. Ministers also welcomed Kazakhstan as the 47th member of the EHEA.
In Vienna on 12 March, ministers met with high level delegations from almost 30 countries outside of the EHEA for the second Bologna Policy Forum to discuss cooperation and joint issues. Participants adopted a statement that outlines further cooperation at political as well as technical level.
The Council of Europe is one of the main contributors to the EHEA and played an active role in the ministerial conference as well as the Policy Forum with presentations on qualifications and quality assurance as well as on recognition and mobility. The Council of Europe delegation also participated strongly in the debates at both conferences, in particular to underline the importance of putting structural reform into its proper context, which should be to meet all major purposes of higher education: preparation for the labour market but equally preparation for life as active citizens in democratic society, personal development and the development and maintenance of a broad and advanced knowledge base.
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15/03/2010
Council of Europe speaks at EURASHE conference
EURASHE – the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education – held its convention on “What has been the impact of the Bologna Process on professional higher education and its institutions?” in Budapest on 9 – 10 March. The convention allowed members to take stock of developments in the Europe Higher Education Area with particular reference to professional higher education. The Council of Europe was the main presenter at a forum aimed particularly at representatives of Central and Eastern Europe countries.
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15/03/2010
Kazakhstan accedes to the European Higher Education Area
At the outset of the ministerial conference of the European Higher Education Area, held in Budapest and Vienna on 11 – 12 March, Kazakhstan acceded to the EHEA as its 47th member. Kazakhstan’s accession was made possible by its accession to the European Cultural Convention on 5 March as well as its commitment to the goals and policies of the EHEA.
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5/03/2010
On the occasion of the publishing of volume 13 of the Higher Education Series entitled Developing attitudes to recognition: substantial differences in an age of globalisation, we are pleased to offer you a 25% promotional discount on all titles of the series [More].
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5/03/2010
New book on attitudes to recognition in the age of globalisation
Volume 13 in the Council of Europe Higher Education Series has just been published. Edited by E. Stephen Hunt and Sjur Bergan, Developing attitudes to recognition: substantial differences in an age of globalisation explores the concept of “substantial differences”, which is the key concept of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention and goes to the heart of how we view qualifications and education: What do learners know and understand and what are they able to do on the basis of their qualifications? How can this be expressed and described, and how can learners carry their qualifications across borders without leaving part of their real value behind? The book addresses philosophical as well as practical aspects of the issue and includes a number of case studies.
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26/02/2010
New publication on national action plans for recognition
Volume 12 of the Council of Europe Higher Education Series is now available. Written by Andrejs Rauhvargers and Agnese Rusakova, Improving recognition in the European Higher Education Area: an analysis of national action plans analyzes the national action plans for recognition submitted by the countries of the Bologna Process. The analysis demonstrates that there is great variety in practice among European countries. While some national action plans provide a clear agenda for further improvement, others merely describe the current state of affairs, offering little indication for further action. This book will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners, and it is hoped that the analysis it provides will encourage further discussion and, above all, improved practice.
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08/12/2009
Council of Europe speaks at launching of Flemish qualifications framework
The Flemish Community of Belgium launched its qualifications framework at a large scale conference with some 400 participants in Brussels on 30 November. The Council of Europe was invited to present developments with regard to qualifications frameworks in the European Higher Education Area.
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20/11/2009
Council of Europe joins in celebrating the international students’ day
On 17 November, ESU and OBESSU celebrated the 70th anniversary of the international Students’ Day. 17 November was chosen to commemorate Czechoslovak student protests against the Nazi occupation and has come to symbolize student commitment to democracy also through student actions against the military dictatorship in Greece in 1973 as well as to the student contribution to the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989. The ESU and OBESSU event include various student activities as well as a solemn session with speeches by prominent actors in European higher education policies. In this session, the Council of Europe was invited to deliver one of the main speeches .
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27/10/2009
5th Informal Ministerial conference of Ministers of Education from the Western Balkans – conclusions
On 20-21 October 2009 the 5th informal conference of Ministers of Education from the Western Balkans took place in Ljubljana. Delegations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” participated in the conference. All participants at the conference engaged in a thorough and constructive discussion of higher education reforms in their countries within the context of the Bologna Process. A set of conclusions was adopted.
[More]
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23/09/2009
Irish study on qualifications frameworks
The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland has just published the Framework Implementation and Impact Study Report [embed http://www.nqai.ie/framework_study.html], which was prepared by an external Study Team of national and international experts. The Study covers the first five years (2003-08) of the operation of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) and its purpose was to:
· assess the extent to which the NFQ is being implemented
· support deeper implementation of the NFQ and policies on access, transfer and progression
· identify progress in implementation
· identify gaps and drivers/obstacles in respect of implementation
· assess the initial impact of the NFQ.
The report puts forward 19 recommendations.
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3/09/2009
Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Moscow – Conference report available
The report from the conference on “Universities as Actors of Intercultural Dialogue in Wider Society”, which was held at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in June, is now available.
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08/06/2009
Successful conference on universities as actors of intercultural dialogue
On 2 – 3 June, the Council of Europe organized a conference on “Universities as Actors of intercultural Dialogue in Wider Society”. The conference was coorganized with and hosted by the University of Peoples’ Friendship of Russia, whose Rector, Professor Vladimir M. Filippov, was a driving force behind the conference.
In her keynote speech, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Director General of Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport and Coordinator for Intercultural Dialogue and for the Anti-Discrimination Campaign, emphasized that “universities cannot be universities unless their mission and the education they provide is greater than the sum of its individual academic disciplines”. A key mission of higher education must be to develop the kind of societies in which we can live together as equals in dignity and which are fluent in intercultural dialogue. [more…
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26/02/2010
Council of Europe contributes to ENQA publication on quality assurance in transnational higher education
ENQA – the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education – has just published a report on Quality Assurance in Transnational Education. The report is available in printed form as well as online and gathers contributions from a number of authors, among them Sjur Bergan of the Council of Europe, who contributed a chapter on “The UNESCO/OECD Guidelines: A Governmental perspective”.
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08/12/2009
Denmark certifies its qualifications framework
Denmark has now self certified its national qualifications framework. The Danish self certification report is available on line, and Denmark becomes the seventh country to self certify its national qualifications framework for higher education against the overarching framework of qualifications of the European Higher Education Area. For more information on qualifications frameworks, see the dedicated web site of the Bologna Process.
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30/11/2009
Sarajevo Conference on higher education: conclusions
On 30 and 31 October 2009, on the invitation of the Universities of Sarajevo, Novi Sad and Zagreb and under the auspices of the Regional Cooperation Council, participants from European higher education institutions and public authorities gathered for a conference to take forward the recommendations of the Novi Sad Initiative launched in 2005, and further developed in Dubrovnik in 2007. A set of conclusions was adopted. [Link to the conference website]
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18/11/2009
Council of Europe on intercultural dialogue at IAU conference
The Council of Europe contributed a plenary presentation on “Instilling the Culture of Dialogue in Higher Education” at the 2009 conference of the International Association of Universities. The conference was held at Notre Dame University in Louaize, Lebanon on the topic of “The Role of Higher Education in Fostering the Culture of Dialogue and Understanding”. It gathered some 180 university leaders and academics from 38 countries as well as representatives of IGOs and NGOs active in higher education policies. The Council of Europe White paper on Intercultural Dialogue was widely distributed at the conference, where Sjur Bergan, Head of the Department of Higher Education and History Teaching as well as Ana Persona-Fjeldstad, Executive Director of the European Wergeland Centre, gave presentations.
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29/10/2009
Spain deposits the 50th ratification of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Lisbon Recognition Convention
On 28 October, Spain deposited the instrument of ratification of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, also known as the Lisbon Recognition Convention. The Convention will enter into force with respect to Spain on 1 December 2009. This brings the number of ratifications to 50, while another 3 countries have signed but not yet ratified the convention.
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26/10/2009
Educating for personal and social responsbility
The Council of Europe participated in two sessions at the conference on “Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility: Deepening Student and Campus Commitments” organized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Minneapolis on 1 – 3 October. [More]
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28/08/2009
International Association of Universities Conference on Intercultural Dialogue
The International Association of Universities will organize a conference on the role of higher education in fostering intercultural dialogue and understanding on 4 – 6 November 2009 at Notre Dame University in Louaize, Lebanon. This conference links very well with an important priority of the Council of Europe as demonstrated through the White paper on Intercultural Dialogue adopted in 2008 as well as with two recent conferences organized by the CDESR on the role of higher education in promoting intercultural dialogue on campus and in broader society.
Further information on the conference as well as on registration may be found here.
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23/07/2009
Belgium ratifies the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications
On 22 July, Belgium ratified the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (ETS no. 165), which will entry into force on 1 September 2009. This brings the number of ratifications of the Convention to 49.
The Convention has been jointly drafted by the Council of Europe and UNESCO and aims to facilitate the recognition of qualifications granted in one Party in another Party.
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07/07/2009
European Wergeland Centre: opening conference report available online
The opening conference of the European Wergeland Centre took place in Oslo on 28-29 May. The report of the conference as well as the presentations are available on the web site of the Centre.
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