Campus Europae Newsletter, May 2010

Mobility and citizenship: Campus Europae raison d’être
Fast Facts

Campus Europae ECTS Label workshop announcement
University of Alcalá elects new Rector
Student Council elects new President
Eyjafjallajokull disrupts Teacher Training and Education Subject Committee

Turning the spotlight on... Cyprus
Upcoming events

Engineering Subject Committee Meeting
Natural Sciences Subject Committee Meeting
Business Subject Committee Meeting

Mobility and citizenship: Campus Europae raison d’être

Campus Europae has been, since its inception, more than just another exchange programme. Its commitment to high quality student mobility is underpinned by a fundamental politic aim: fostering the idea of European citizenship amongst university students by exposing them to Europe’s unity in diversity through a deep understanding of the culture and language of different countries.

The problem with such an ambitious goal is that it is relatively hard to assess whether it is being achieved, and to what extent, for changes in attitudes and values are not so directly measurable as academic success and employability. However the evaluation of the 2008/2009 does provide some valuable insight on such questions.

Each year CE Movers are asked to fill in detailed surveys, which are used to monitor aspects as varied as their academic performance, recognition of ECTS earned abroad, acquisition of foreign language and overall satisfaction with the various aspects of the exchange. Incidentally such surveys also address the fundamental issue of whether their understanding of the host country society has improved.

The graphic above illustrates exchange students knowledge of the custom, traditions and religion of their host countries after and before spending a year abroad, and results could hardly be more encouraging. The “Campus Europae cocktail” of combining longer stays abroad with an emphasis on language learning and cultural immersion seems, at least on the basis of the data currently available, to be producing very tangible results.

cenews_may_01

CE Movers are also reporting an overwhelming improvement of their knowledge about the key social issue of host societies, reinforcing the impression that a well organized student exchange is much less about “vacation abroad” as it is an important component of young adults civic education.

cenews_may_02

Exchange students only have a superficial – if any – relation to their exchange destination in advance of their stay, and while there is no doubt that awareness and contacts peak during their year abroad it would also be important to understand whether they are maintained upon return. Data currently available offers admittedly limited answers to such questions, but even 6 months upon their return CE Movers still seem to be display a sustained interest in the contacts made abroad and their host countries.

cenews_may_03

cenews_may_04

The findings detailed above provide a strong encouragement to the further development of CE as an instrument for the education of European citizens, as well as on the paramount importance of longer stays abroad. Furthermore they provide food for thought on why Erasmus financing guidelines should seriously contemplate the possibility to let students to go abroad a second time in the course of their studies.

Fast facts

Campus Europae ECTS label workshop announcement

At the last Board meeting the University of Aveiro and the Technical University of Lodz offered to conceptualize a workshop on the ECTS label. The European Commission awards this label to those universities which excel in committing themselves to academic mobility under the systemic framework of the Bologna Process. Following and an invitation by the University of Cyprus the workshop will take place in Nikosia on 15-16 June 2010.

The University of Aveiro and the Technical university of Lodz are among the distinguished 23 universities in Europe who have been awarded the ECTS label. In the course of the workshop representatives from both universities will give an overview of the application process and the institutional implementation of the necessary measures to be taken for the label.

The EUF encourages all member universities to apply for the ECTS label in order to demonstrate their commitment towards enhanced student exchange; the realizations of the conditions for the label are instrumental to enable a smooth exchange of students and recognition of academic achievement s within the Campus Europae network.

University of Alcalá elects new Rector

Prof. Fernando Galván has been elected Rector of the University of Alcalá on the last 10th of March, having taken office on the 23th of the same month. Prof. Galván has joined the University of Alcalá in 1994 and is a cathedratic professor of English Philology, having already served as a Vice-Rector from 2002 to 2008.

Student Council elects new President

The Campus Europae Student Council convened in Luxembourg on the 1st of May and elected has its new President Julian Walkowiak, from the University of Vienna, who succeeds Nikola Lakovic. Julia Höltge, from the University of Greifswald, will continue her mandate as Vice-President.

Eyjafjallajokull disrupts Teacher Training and Education Subject Committee

The majority of the Teacher Training and Education subject Committee members were unable to attend the meeting which was scheduled for the 18th and 19th of April in Ankara due to the air traffic pandemonium that ensued the Eyjafjallajokull eruption. The meeting will thus be rescheduled in accordance to its member’s availability.

Turning the spotlight on... Cyprus

The University of Cyprus (UCY) was established in 1989, in the capital city of Nicosia, as the first public university of Cyprus, and accepted its first students in 1992. Although newly established, UCY has managed to become the leading educational institution in Cyprus, and one of the most respected institutions in the Mediterranean, hosting today more than 6000 students. At the same time, it is internationally acknowledged for its strive for excellence both in teaching and research. UCY comprises six Faculties. All academic Departments offer 31 undergraduate programmes of study, as well as 43 postgraduate programmes at Master level (some of which are taught in English) and 33 at PhD level, most of which can also be offered in the English language.

cenews_may_05

Clock tower at the University of Cyprus campus

Academic excellence at UCY is supported by strong, global associations. It currently holds the Presidency of UNICA (Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe), the Presidency of EAEC (European Association of Erasmus Coordinators), the Vice-Presidency of HUMANE (Heads of University Management and Administration Network in Europe) and it is an active member of more than 30 university networks world-wide. Additionally, the UCY has signed Bilateral Agreements of Cooperation with 77 educational institutions worldwide, which have promoted research activities as well as the exchange of students and staff. The University has developed an international profile in teaching and research, with its priorities geared towards creativity and innovation, acting catalytically in transmitting applied research results directly to the society.

External links:

University of Cyprus

Upcoming events

Engineering Subject Committee Meeting

Ankara, 14-15th of May

Natural Sciences Subject Committee Meeting