EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION

AREA (EHEA) AND ITS PROSPECTS

доцент д-р Илијана Петровска

февруари 2013

Zlat Milovanovic, PhD & Ilijana Petrovska, PhD

7th UACS International Academic Conference 2014

Overview

1. EHEA – What is it about?

2. Case of Macedonia and prospects

3. Best practices

4. EHEA prospects

European Higher Education Area

EHEA

• Within the Bologna process, March 2010, at

Budapest- Vienna Ministerial Conference

• Towards European Integration with

comparable, compatible & coherent systems

of higher education by 2020

• 49 countries participants

• 10.000 institutions

• 36.000 million students

Objectives of EHEA

• Creative, Innovative and Integrated Europe

with (Communiqué Louvain-Louvain-la-Neuve,

2009) :

– 20% of EHEA students to study abroad by 2020

– 40% of Europeans aged 30-34 to have tertiary

education by 2020

– To become “Europe of knowledge”

Opportunities for EHEA

• Mobility in all three degrees

• Joint degrees

• Recognition of degrees

• Visa and permit issuance

• Grants availability

• Balance of incoming and outgoing students

• Student’s standards (dormitories, restaurants and travel)

Undertaken actions

• Bucharest Ministerial Conference, 2012 –

“Mobility for Better learning”

• Bologna Follow up group (BFUG) meeting

regularly

• Lisbon recognition convention, 1997, ratified

by 53 countries for recognition of all degrees

and

• Next - Yerevan Ministerial Conference, 2015

Case of Republic of Macedonia

• Full participant in Bologna process since 2003

• Law of Higher education of 2008

• 65,000 students in MK

Report on Academic mobility in MK

• Exchanges occurred through:

– TEMPUS programs, 2007

• Sts Cyril and Methodius University - 115 Tempus programs in 2007

• St Kliment of Ohrid - 48

• SEEU – 16

• State Uni of Tetovo - 12

– Erasmus Mundus

• 62 partnerships in 2008

• 65 in 2009

2012 UNESCO report

• 5166 Macedonian students abroad to:

– Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Austria and Turkey,

Slovenia and USA

• 1431 foreign students in MK from

– Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey

Newest developments

• National Agency for European Education Programs and Mobility, 2013

• Erasmus + Charter started since January 2014

• but still…

• How will Macedonia send 20% of University students to study abroad?

• Needed is cooperation between Government, universities both state and private, teachers and students associations, NGO’s.

Europe’s best practices

• Milovanovic (2007) proposed International University Center for European and Balkan Study

• WUT (1991) as a joint venture of HEC School of Management Paris, London Business School, Norwegian School of Business

• Dual PhD program at University of Utrecht and University of Lille

• University of Lorraine joined the Grand Region (Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and NE France)

• Canada granting foreign students from Asia

• Russia granting students for study abroad

• USA IIE program - “Generation Study Abroad”

Macedonian’s best practices

• Sts Cyril and Methodius University Law School Justinijan I, participate in network of 18 law schools

• UACS participates in Resita network in 12 countries for entrepreneurship program development

• St Paul University from Ohrid agreement with OAS for scholarships for 15 students from USA

• Many direct exchange agreements

• Government support for studying abroad at top ranked Universities

OECD Report, 2013

• International student mobility is growing and changing its facet

• 4.5 million international students

• Largest number from: – China, India and South Korea, as Asian students count

53% of all international students

• Receiving countries are: – U.S.A., U.K., Germany, France, Canada, Japan, Russia

and Spain.

• New countries of interest: – Australia, New Zealand, Brazil

Factors of choosing a country

• The language of instruction

• Tuition fee

• Cost of living

• Visa, Government and immigration policies

• Source: OECD Report Education at a Glance,

2011

Prospects: How to reach EHEA?

• Macedonia as a bridge between Bologna

process and Regional countries, (West and

East)

• Still countries that didn’t signed the Lisbon

Recognition Convention, opposite of Australia,

New Zealand and Israel that signed, and not

EU members

• How to achieve 20% of students mobility?

Recommendations #1

1. Bologna process support by universities and governments

2. Mobility should not count as an immigration

3. Acceptance of diploma in different languages

4. Bilateral agreement or mutual recognition of diplomas

5. Digital passports for academic usage

6. Liberalized & simplified visa system

7. Financial support

8. Life long education

Recommendations #2

1. Equal opportunities for Financial support

2. Same status of teachers

3. Development of Cultural centers

4. Encourage study of languages of EHEA

5. To establish Central office for University Exchange

6. Reconsider students’ standards of living

7. Following students governments

8. Participation at professional organizations for mobility

9. Further collaboration of EHEA and other areas in the World

THANK YOU!

Ilijana Petrovska

petrovska@uacs.edu.mk

Zlat Milovanovic

milovanovic@uacs.edu.mk