European policy developments
10 May 2012
April 2012
On 26 and 27 April the 47 ministers of Education from the European Higher Education Area gathered for the 8th Bologna Ministerial Conference. The outcomes are included in the Communiqué which summarizes the main achievements as well as the goals for the upcoming three years for a.o. recognition, quality assurance, funding and governance, employability and research. Armenia will take over the Bologna Secretariat from Romania in preparation for the next conference in 2015 in its capital Yerevan.
Early April a new Euro Mediterranean research partnership was launched in Madrid. The EC committed for € 40 million for follow up activities to support the new partnership. Another result of the conference was the adoption of the plan to create an observatory of scientific cooperation across the Mediterranean.
The Polytechnic of Milan announced that starting from the academic year 2014/15, the entire educational offering at postgraduate level of this higher education establishment will be available exclusively in English. The decision is a novelty in Italy.
The All European Universities Association ALLEA, called in a Joint Declaration following its policy forum Open Society in the 21st Century for scientific communities and their institutions to make decisive steps towards open science and innovation.
The Internet portal Recognition in Germany helps to assess professional certificates in relation to German equivalents. It also provides information on the recognition procedure.
Flanders and China will work closer together in the areas of research and innovation. Both countries will stimulate mobility of researchers, easier exchange of technology and will focus on social challenges such as changing demographics, renewable energy and mobility.
The Spanish government will make substantial cuts in the budget for research. This year there will be 25% less to invest than last year. At the same time the Spanish government seeks public-private collaborations. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport has signed an agreement with the Fundación Innovación España to encourage excellence and internationalisation on the Spanish campuses.
Joint degrees have been identified as priority of the Norwegian Internationalisation of Higher Education by the Ministry of Education and Research. Government funding is available in 2012 to enable higher education institutions to develop new joint degree programmes at the Master’s or PhD level in collaboration with one or more institutions outside Norway.
