BFUG10 9h

Updates on UNESCO-CEPES activities for BFUG, Berlin, 5-6 March 2007

1.In the context of the follow-up of the Bologna Process Official Seminar on “The Cultural Heritage and Academic Values of the European University and the Attractiveness of the European Higher Education Area” (30 March – 1 April 2006, Vatican City), a special issue of the review “Higher Education in Europe” (vol. 31. no. 4) is prepared jointly by the Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See and UNESCO-CEPES based on speeches and papers presented at the meeting. It is being planned that the English printed version will be made available at the London Ministerial Conference. In the latter stage the French and Russian versions are going to be produced.

2.In May 2006, UNESCO-CEPES together with the Institute of Higher Education Policy in Washington D.C., and the CHE - Centre for Higher Education Development in Gütersloh, organized a Second Meeting of IREG (International Ranking Expert Group). One of the main achievements of the meeting was the elaboration of the Berlin Principles on Higher Education Institutions Ranking, a document [see which setsout a common and accepted framework for the elaboration and dissemination of rankings, whether they are national, regional or global in scope. UNESCO-CEPES, in collaboration with its partners, is currently assisting development of ranking methodologies in compliance with the Berlin Principles (e.g. Romania and Ukraine). The selected papers presented at the meeting will be published in No. 1, 2007 volume of the review Higher Education in Europe.Current work in this area should be presented at the 3rd Meeting of IREG to be held from 29 to 30 October 2007 in Shanghai, China.

  1. In the above context it should be mentioned that in January 2007 was presented the volume entitled “The World-Class University and Ranking: Aiming Beyond Status”, edited by Jan Sadlak and Nian Liu [jointly published by UNESCO-CEPES, the Cluj University Press and the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China]. This book was published within a UNESCO-CEPES book series [in collaboration with the Cluj University Press] called - Higher Education for A Knowledge Society. The second volume published within the series is entitled “The Rising Role and Relevance of Private Higher Education in Europe”, edited by Peter Wells, Jan Sadlak and Lazar Vlasceanu.
  1. As follow-up of the International Seminar on Contractual Regulations and Institutional Practices related to "First Place of Employment” and Additional Teaching/Research/Consultancy Contracts of Academic Staff, organized by UNESCO-CEPES in collaboration with the Observatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum (October 2005, Berlin, Germany), UNESCO-CEPES published selected papers and conclusions of the above seminar in No. 3, 2006 volume of the review Higher Education in Europeunder a collective and self-explanatory title “Complex Realities:Contractual Regulations and InstitutionalPractices for Academic Staff”.
  1. Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region - Lisbon Recognition Convention, which was signed in 1997, is an important international legal framework for issues directly relevant for the Bologna Process. UNESCO-CEPES is assuring, together with the Council of Europe, the Secretariat of the European Network of National Information Centres on Academic Mobility and Recognition (ENICs) while the European Commission supports the similar centres – NARIC, in the member states of the European Union. As a statutory responsibility, UNESCO-CEPES is one of the co-organisers, along with the Council of Europe and the European Commission, assisted by the local ENIC/NARIC, of the annual joint meetings of the ENIC and NARIC Networks. The 14th Joint Meeting of ENIC/NARIC Networks, and the Convention Committee of the Convention will be held from 17 to 21 June 2007 in Bucharest, Romania.
  1. As Co-secretariat to the ENIC-NARIC network, UNESCO-CEPES works closely with the Working Group on Electronic Communication of Information for Recognition (ELCORE). With effect from June 1st 2007, CEPES will host and maintain the ENIC-NARIC web site ( which provides vital information and resource links for credential recognition evaluators in the 54 countries belonging to the Networks, as well to other regions of the world. To coincide with this handover, a new design and formatting of the site will include a new ‘Public Section’ aimed specifically at other stakeholders, and will provide essential information for mobility purposes relating to both further study and labour markets.

7.UNESCO-CEPES is a member of the consortium for the EC-funded project – the European Benchmarking Initiative (EBI) together with ESMU-European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities in Brussels and CHE - Center for Higher Education Development in Gütersloh, Germany. The two year project outputs include:

- a comparative analysis of existing benchmarking arrangements in Europe, their organization, methodology, appropriateness and cost effectiveness for different higher education institutions;

- a handbook and publication on benchmarking standards; and

- an interactive website with wide information for “fit for purpose” benchmarking approaches responding to various needs of European universities. The website will provide the benchmarking model which is most applicable to the defined needs of the user.

8.In the context of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, UNESCO-CEPES is providing support to a certain number of UNESCO Chairs directly relevant to enhancement of governance and management of higher education at the institutional level through promotion of entrepreneurial practices and studies. In this context, UNESCO-CEPES and the University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen (Fachhochschule Gelsenkirchen) organized the workshop on “Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship”, 8-11 February 2007, Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The main outcome of this meeting was launching of the UNESCO Network of Chairs on Institutional Entrepreneurial Management and Entrepreneurial Studies in Higher Education - UNESCO Network CIEMES, for which a focal point is going to be the UNESCO Chair for Entrepreneurship and Intercultural Management at Fachhochschule Gelsenkirchen.

9.A progress is being made in the project on Demographic Trends and Life Cycles Changes: Their Impact on Policy and Functioning of Higher Education Institutions in Europe. The project should provide empirical evidence about already existing “reactions” at the system level as well as “institutional behavior”. Such evidence should provide the basis to formulate policy recommendations on:

- how should higher education institutions function under such estimated demographic developments;

- what kind of changes are needed in order to properly serve an increasingly different, broad and diverse spectrum of the population.

UNESCO-CEPES is implementing this project in collaboration with the OECD and the Institute of Knowledge Society in Warsaw, Poland and other relevant national bodies and experts.An International Conference will be organized by UNESCO-CEPES in collaboration with the Elias Foundation of the RomanianAcademyand OECD, 12-13 October 2007, Bucharest.

10.As a continuity of the project on Doctoral Degrees and Qualifications in the Context of the European Higher Education Area and the European Research and Innovation Area, UNESCO-CEPES and the German Rectors Conference – HRK organized an International Workshop entitled Form Follows Function – Comparing Forms of Doctoral Training in Europe and North America,8-11 November 2006, Frankfurt /Main, Germany. The outcomes of the meeting will be presented in one of the next issues of the review Higher Education in Europe.

For supplementary information on activities presented in this report, as well as on others not referred to here, please consult the UNESCO-CEPES website, <

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