Regional specific aspects WS 3 :Neighbourhood eastern countries & Russia

EC Delegation

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EC Delegation to Russia

Nicola ScaramuzzoEducation programme officerSocial Affairs and Civil Society Delegation of the European Commission to RussiaTel. + 7 495 721 20 36Fax + 7 495 721 20 40Email: Nicola.Scaramuzzo@ec.europa.euWebsite: www.delrus.ec.europa.eu

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Topics for discussion

Recognition of study period abroad and exams, diplomas and degree

Promotion and monitoring of the programmeRole of the EC Delegation in the partner country

Follow-up actions of the EC Delegation to Russia

Examples of promotion material

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Recognition of study period abroad and exams, degrees and diplomas

Previous experience in recognising full degrees, in particular master’s degrees

Recognising a study period abroad is however more difficult   There are cases when courses at the host university are similar to those

delivered at the home university

The home university carries out a review of courses offered at the host university and compare them with its own courses

If there is complete similarity, the home university agrees in advance to recognise courses at the host universities and the exams that the students will have to pass

The host university issues a certificate of accomplishment, indicating the courses attended, the number of hours, the content and the exams passed

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Recognition of study period abroad and exams, degrees and diplomas (2)

Courses at the host university are not similar to those delivered at the home university, even though subjects may be similar

The international department at the home university agrees with the dean’s offices and heads of chair of the courses concerned to enable the students to follow “individual” curricula

Students are not freed from the obligation to take a number of courses at the home university in accordance with education standard

However students are allowed to pass light exams either before they go abroad or when they come back

Are there risks that EMECW students could be expelled for not having passed all the exams in the partner country in time?

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Recognition of study period abroad and exams, degrees and diplomas – importance of

EMECW International cooperation programmes like EMECW are very timely and

relevant 

Countries participating in the Bologna process need to introduce changes into the education degree system to fulfil Bologna obligations

Countries need to achieve recognition of degrees

They need to introduce credits following ECTS as credit accumulation and transfer system

Bologna countries need to introduce flexibility into the education programme

Countries are afraid of loosing the current homogeneous education system, lowering quality education

Working together at international level helps developing new curricula, introducing more flexibility and in many respect building trust

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Promotion and monitoring of the programmeRole of the EC Delegation in the partner

country Meeting the Ministry of Education to discuss higher education needs and

priority areas of EMECW

Organising EMECW info day at the EC Delegation in connection with the new call

Developing EMECW leaflets and brochures

Delivering presentation of EMECW within the framework of seminars, conferences and workshop at central and regional level

Regular meetings with the Ministry of Education to discuss new programme priorities, objectives and past results

Meeting with former EMECW students and academic staff asking to share experience with new universities, teachers and students

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Promotion and monitoring of the programmeRole of the EC Delegation in the partner

country Assessing the project proposals: providing inputs on the relevance of the

project proposals and on the eligibility of higher education institutions

Following up the programme implementation with universities in the partner countries (participation in project coordinating meetings)

Supporting visa applications

Visiting the universities participating in the programme

Interviewing students, academic staff and university administrations

Discussing the programme implementation with the Ministry of Education in the partners countries

Providing feedback to Education, Audiovisual and Culture Education Agency and to relevant Commission DGs

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Follow-up actions of the EC Delegation

Mobility starts when outgoing students and academic staff come back to the country of origin

Former EMECW students and academic staff are the ambassadors/best promoters of the EU funded education programmes in the partner country

Former EMECW students and academic staff can provide invaluable information about the implementation of mobility programmes

Increasing attractiveness of higher education in the EU and in partner countries can be best achieved by sharing first-hand experience

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Follow-up actions of the EC Delegation (2)

Developing a database of former EMECW students, academic staff and universities

Getting feedback from former EMECW students, academic staff and universities to promote EMECW programme and to increase visibility of the programme

EC Delegations could organise once or twice a year workshops with former EMECW students, academic staff and universities

Sharing experience about EMECW programme on a website – study in Europe – in the language of the partner country

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Possible topics of the workshops

Topic 1: How can universities, students and academic staff best participate to EMECW

Topic 2: Sharing experiences about the organisation and implementation of different mobility flows, i.e. for BA, MSc, PhD, Post PhD, for academic staff

Topic 3: Development of university cooperation within the framework of EMECW and behind

Topic 4: Employability and carrier perspective (or carrier development) for former EMECW students (and teachers)

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Website “study in Europe” in the language of the partner country

News about EU and EU funded education programme

Deadlines for applications to EU funded education programmes

Sharing experiences about mobility of students and academic staff as well as about university cooperation

Posting evaluation of results, impact studies, qualitative and quantitative analysis, etc.

Links with the websites of all interested stakeholders - Commission services, EU MS education agencies in the partner countries, Ministry of education, education agency, Tempus office, etc.

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Examples of promotion material

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EMECW Leaflet about Russia

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Conclusions

Promoting, monitoring and taking care of the follow-up of the programme are crucial aspects for the success of EMECW

The Delegation has a key role to play vis-à-vis students, teachers, universities and other stakeholders (Ministry of education, EU MS embassies and education agencies, etc.)

The Delegation has the appropriate tools and the right political profile to ensure visibility of the programme and its results

The Delegation shall work together with the main stakeholders in the partner country to help reach the objective of EMECW programme