European Higher Education Area research and its prospects

1. 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

2. Overview
1. EHEA – What is it about?
2. Case of Macedonia and prospects
3. Best practices
4. EHEA prospects

3. 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

4. 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”

5. 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)

6. 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

7. Case of Republic of Macedonia
• Full participant in Bologna process since 2003
• Law of Higher education of 2008
• 65,000 students in MK

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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”

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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?

16. 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

17. 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

18. THANK YOU!
Ilijana Petrovska
petrovska@uacs.edu.mk
Zlat Milovanovic
milovanovic@uacs.edu.mk