EU supports higher education cooperation with its neighbours

Source: European Commission (EC)1, published on Monday, July 19 2010.

Today, the European Commission has decided to allocate €30.4 million to support higher education projects in the European Neighbourhood countries and Russia. This will enable enhanced networking and joint projects and partnerships between higher education institutions in EU and ENPI countries.

Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle2 commented: "Investing in people is key objective to our neighbourhood policy. The fruitful cooperation between EU and European Neighbourhood higher education institutions will be continued, enhancing the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas."

The announcement was also welcomed by Androulla Vassiliou3, the Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. "Cooperation is a win-win for the EU and our partners. It makes the European Higher Education Area more visible and attractive in the world, while also helping European Neighbourhood countries to modernise their universities and improve teaching skills."

The money allocated under the Tempus4 Programme will support approximately 50 multilateral partnerships aiming at modernising curricula, teaching methods and management of the higher education institutions and systems in the neighbouring countries. More than 350 institutions from these countries will have new opportunities to collaborate in a structured way with a similar number of institutions from the EU within the framework of 2 to 3-year projects that will commence in 2011. Public and private companies and NGOs will be associated as well to improve relevance and reinforce the links between society and education. Thousands of university staff and students will benefit from new career perspectives. University infrastructures will be reinforced and modernised thanks to new investments in classrooms, laboratories, information technologies and teaching material.

Background

Tempus promotes the development of higher education in the EU’s neighbouring partner countries and provides mechanisms to offer new learning opportunities for students and new career perspectives for academic staff.

Launched in 1990 and now in its fourth phase, Tempus IV (2007-2013) supports the modernisation of higher education in particular in Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Download the ENPI Inter-regional Action Programme Part III (TEMPUS IV):

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/ap/aap/2010_en.htm

More information:

On Tempus:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/external-relation-programmes/doc70_en.htm

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/tempus/index_en.php

On the Inter-regional Programme:

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/regional-cooperation/irc/education_en.htm

On the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP):

http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/index_en.htm

  • 1. 
    The European Commission is the executive body of the EU and runs its day-to-day business. It is made up of the College of Commissioners, 27 European Commissioners, one for each member state, who are each responsible for one or several policy areas. In addition, the 'Commission' also refers to the entire administrative body that supports the Commissioners, consisting of the Directorates-General and the Services.
     
  • 2. 
    De Tsjech Stefan Füle (1962) was in 2010-2014 lid van de Europese Commissie, belast met uitbreiding en buurlanden. Füle is een partijloze diplomaat, die onder meer ambassadeur van Tsjechië was in Litouwen en in Londen. Eerder werkte hij als ambtenaar van Buitenlandse Zaken en was hij delegatielid bij de Veiligheidsraad. In 2005-2009 was Füle Tsjechisch ambassadeur bij de NAVO. In het kabinet-Fischer (2009) was hij minister voor Europese zaken.
     
  • 3. 
    De Cypriotische Androulla Vassiliou (1943) was van 28 februari 2008 tot 1 november 2014 lid van de Europese Commissie. Sinds februari 2010 was zij als lid van de Commissie-Juncker II belast met onderwijs, cultuur, meertaligheid en jeugd. In de Commissie-Barroso I had zij de portefeuille volksgezondheid. Mevrouw Vassiloiu was liberaal lid van het Cypriotische parlement en juridisch adviseur van enkele banken.
     
  • 4. 
    TEMPUS staat voor Trans-European Mobility Scheme for University Studies. Het was een instrument van de Europese Unie voor de ontwikkeling en herstructurering van het hoger onderwijs in Oost-Europa, Centraal-Azië, Noord-Afrika, het Midden-Oosten en de landen van de westelijke Balkan.