“Light green” eligible partners:
Enlarged Scientific Community for Scientific input and dissemination actions
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BE
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Due to a combination of factors, including its geographical position, economic imperatives and a very long historical tradition, the philosophical and cosmopolitan orientation of the Free University of Brussels is a particularly good reflection of this trend in Belgium as a whole. Openness to international cooperation is a longstanding feature of the ULB, as has been demonstrated by the creation of a number of specialised regional centres within the University, including the Centre for African Studies, the Centre for Czech Studies, CRITEME, the Centre for Latin American Studies and the Centre for Canadian Studies. In addition, the University has had at its disposal for several years the International Relations Council [Conseil des relations internationales] and an administrative body, the International Relations Department (DRI), whose task is to develop and administer the University's international relations programmes. The DRI, whose main mission is the dissemination of information, also seeks to encourage, support and coordinate international collaboration. It also administers and manages academic mobility programmes such as Erasmus, Socrates, Tempus, Cime, Alfa, Ciuf, World Bank, Unesco, AUF, etc.
In particular, the Social Psychology Service of the Faculty of Psychological Sciences and Education focuses on the following thematic areas:
procedural justice, micro justice; macro justice; the character of decision-making; either implicit or based in categories; the sources and dynamics of inter-group conflicts; methods of conflict resolution; psychological mechanisms at work in ethnic nationalism.
There has also been an attempt to find connections between two distinct theories: the Social Representations Theory (Moscovici) and the theory of Social Identity (Tajfel). Integrating these two theories should allow for a better understanding of phenomena linked to the collective identity: nationalism, interethnic conflicts, racism, etc. After sensitivity seminars with domestic and exchange students (for example, Erasmus), the University is interested in analysing ideas of difference and cultural identity and how this reciprocal acculturation content favours or impedes the creation of a European cultural identity.
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BG
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The educational philosophy of NBU reflects its firm belief in the importance of the liberal arts foundation to all students, placing equal emphasis on development of skills and acquisition of knowledge, spiritual and social development and professional specialization.
Relations with international academic institutions are among the highest priorities of New Bulgarian University. Since its founding, NBU has been actively working to establish its position in the international academic community. NBU is committed to the idea of creating contacts with foreign academic institutions aimed at developing joint academic and research projects and programs of study, exchange of students and faculty. - Higher Education Support Program (HESP), Open Society Institute. It gives NBU the opportunity to participate in establishing an inter-university network for CEE countries and the former Soviet Republics. It helps NBU to conduct various educational and scientific activities such us joint projects, exchange of students, lecturers and administrative staff; provision of scholarship
- Francophone University Agency (AUF) is an international organization with a network of educational and cultural institution from Europe, Africa, the USA, and Canada aimed at supporting the development and exchange in the field of education and culture. A Francophone Unit has been established within NBU offering a BA Program in Political Sciences taught in French Membership in AUF enables students and lecturers to attend numerous academic events organized by this network as well as to improve their qualification.
NBU collaborates with the French Community of Belgium in the frame of Agreement for Collaboration between Belgium and Bulgaria in the field of education and culture.
NBU actively participates in EU educational programs. In the framework of projects under SOCRATES, Tempus, PHARE etc. contacts with over 90 European Universities have been established.
NBU is the exclusive representative of Open University for Bulgaria.
Some of the major partners of NBU are:
Departments of NBU are members of a number of international organizations: the International Association of Semiotic Studies (IASS), the International Institute of Administrative Sciences, the network of Institutes and Schools on Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (NISPASee), the Informal European Theatre Meeting (IETM), the European Association of Students in Theater (EAST), the European League of Institutes of Arts (ELIA), the International Association in Mass Communications and Visual Arts (CILECT), the European Association of International Education (EAIE), the European University Association (EUA).
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EE
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Tallinn Pedagogical University (TPU) has acted as a promoter of new educational ideas and as a centre for teacher training in Estonia for more than 80 years. During the last decade the University has rapidly expanded, the number of students has grown from 2200 in 1992 to 6976 in 2002. Today, TPU stands as a central training and research establishment in Tallinn, focusing its activities along with teacher training also on humanities, social and natural sciences, and developing programs in sports and fine arts.
The goal of the University is to offer highly qualified and modern education at the Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral levels, to facilitate high level research and to disseminate humanistic and democratic values in Estonian society. The location of the University in the capital city of Estonia has played an important role in its development into one of the leading universities in the country. The intellectual resources of the metropolitan area, its cultural and commercial environment and growing internationalization have benefited the rapid development of TPU.
The Department of Psychology has its roots in the Department of Education and Psychology which was established in 1973. In 1979 the Environmental Psychology Research Unit was founded, and in 1993 the Bachelor's Program in Psychology and Social Pedagogy was inaugurated and an independent Department of Psychology was founded in the Faculty of Social Sciences. The first graduate students started in 1991 and a Doctoral program is currently running as well. The department consists of two chairs: Personality and Developmental Psychology and Social and Environmental Psychology. In addition to the Environmental Psychology Research Unit, the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Laboratory of Health Studies are affiliated with the department. A Masters program in Organisational Behaviour was started in 1998. The department has its own library containing about 2000 volumes of psychology literature.
Research areas include: sustainable lifestyles; psychological prerequisites and social consequences; value changes and value preferences in different cultures; the representations of human rights in different cultures; school stress; and psycho-physiological aspects in cognitive psychology.
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IE
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UCD traces its origins to the Catholic University of Ireland founded in 1854 with Cardinal John Henry Newman, author of the celebrated 'The Idea of a University', as its first rector. Since then the University has played a central role in Ireland's advancement as a dynamic and highly successful European state and, in addition, has educated generations of international students from over 50 countries. Today UCD is a vibrant modern university with 11 faculties and over 20,000 students situated on a beautiful leafy campus at Belfield, 4km to the south of the centre of Dublin. UCD today is a research-intensive university where we strive to advance knowledge through cutting-edge research and to communicate knowledge through excellence in teaching within a creative and collegial environment. Through innovative links in Ireland and abroad UCD has exciting educational and research partnerships and collaborations with other academic, industrial and not-for-profit organisations. UCD's staff and students influence the fabric of Ireland's cultural, social and economic development through a range of extramural activities. The Department of Psychology is the largest in the Republic of Ireland and offers a comprehensive range of research facilities. It has an established network of links with local and regional psychological services. Particulary interesting are reserach in: Social psychology including attitudes, widespread beliefs and intergroup relations; media representations, political psychology, psychological aspects of the criminal justice system and the public perception of crime.
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IE
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The IUQB is an association born out of the recent co-operation initiatives that the seven Irish Universities have activated to develop their quality assurand systems and in representing their approach nationally and internationally as a unique quality model that is appropriate to the need of the Irish Universities. As it stands, the autonomy of each university to determine its own quality assurance procedures under the Universities Act (1997) encourages an emphasis on quality improvement and facilitates an emphasis on quality improvement. The quality framework in the Irish Universities is the result of close collaboration between the universities. The framework reflects the commitment of the Irish Universities Association (IUA) to collective action in this important strategic area. Further collaboration is now being achieved by the decision of the governing authorities to establish the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB).
The Board comprises seven nominees of the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and seven external members. The external members include at least two persons from outside Ireland with experience of accreditation and quality assurance of academic programmes in universities in Europe and North America. External members also include a person with experience of professional accreditation and a person with a background in quality improvement and assurance as it relates to management and services. One of the external members acts as Chair of the Board and the Chief Executive of the IUQB acts as Secretary.
- The aims of the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) are:
- To increase the level of inter-university co-operation in developing quality assurance processes
- To represent the Irish universities nationally and internationally on issues related to quality assurance and quality improvement
- To articulate, on behalf of the governing authorities of the universities, the resource implications of recommendations for quality improvement
The terms of reference for the Board are:
- While recognising the autonomy of each university in relation to its quality assurance procedures, to support the universities in the development and implementation of appropriate policies and procedures directed at improving the quality of the education and services they offer
- To facilitate reviews of the effectiveness of such procedures through the establishment of an agreed panel of reviewers/review agencies
- To identify good practice for maintaining and improving quality and promoting its adoption within the Irish University sector
- To monitor and report on the resource implications of recommendations for quality improvement arising from quality assurance reviews having regard to the need to assure that the quality of Irish universities compares with best international standards
- To promote the image of the Irish University sector in relation to quality assurance nationally and internationally
- To interact with the Higher Education Authority in relation to quality assurance and in particular in regard to provisions of the Universities Act (1997)
- To interact with agencies at national, EU and international level in relation to matters of quality assurance in university education including accreditation
- To carry out such other functions consistent with its role as may be assigned to it by the universities.
The Board will have a particular role in regard to protocols for the conduct of the reviews of the effectiveness of the quality assurance procedures in the universities as required by Section 35(4) of the Universities Act (1997). The Board will approve the agencies that will conduct these periodic reviews. Each year, one meeting of the Board will take place in conjunction with a conference on a major theme related to quality improvement.
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FR
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The Laboratoire Lorrain de Sciences Sociales (2L2S) regroups the Research Team in Anthropology and Sociology of Expertise (ERASE) based in Metz, the Research Groupon Education and Employment (GREE) and the Laboratory of Urban Sociology and Social Representations (LASURES) all based in Nancy. The core of the Team was established in 1995; its quantitative development was realized together with a diversification and a reinforcement of the scientific consistancy of research works. The laboratory is ufficially recognized by the Ministry as an équipe d'accueil (EA 3478) since 2005.
The arrival of new professors-researchers these last years have strengthened the laboratory's potential in terms of research and doctoral training. The laboratory's developpement was realized in agreement with the implementation of the "LMD" reform. The partenariat between the universities of Metz and Nancy that concerned the teams ERASE - GREE - LASTES (new denomination of LASURES) was achieved by associating the teachers-researchers in sociology and educational sciences within the new common Master in sociology.
Around sociology, economy and management, philosophy, esthetics and ethnology, the research works regard the following main axis: expertise, experience, action and public spaces, wage system.
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FR
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Faculty of Literature, Art and Humanities - Art, Communication, Langages (A.C.L.) |
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Present in the entire French department of the Maritime Alpes, the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis is the 2nd pluri-disciplinary university in France for number of students. The year 2004 saw the institution welcoming 26612 students of which 17% were international. It is composed of the following divisions:
- Law, Political, Economic and Managerial Sciences – 5949 students
- Institut of Justice of the Peace and Development Law – 212 students
- Institut of Enterprise Administration – 498
- Litterature, Arts and Human Sciences – 8195
- Culture and Environments – 274
- Sciences – 4258
- EPU – 662
- Medicine – 2498
- Orthodontology – 283
- STAPS (Sport Sciences) 1034
- IUT – Institute of Technology - 2559
Other University statistics include 8 UFR (Centers for Research and Training), 2 institutes and 1 politechnic school, which count
among them:
- 10 locations
- 1270.5 in teaching personnel and teaching/research staff
- 775 among engineers, administrative, technical, operating staff or health official and library personnel
- 253213 square meters of built surfaces and 362 000 sqm of non-built surfaces.
10 service centers such as:
- ASURE Training centre
- University Library (BU) and a shared documentation service (SCD)
- IT Center
- Institute of research on the teaching in mathematics (IREM)
- Institut of Languages – Shared Information and Documentation Service (SCUIO)
- Center of Preventative Medicine and Health (SUMPS)
- Center of Physical and Sporting Activity (SUAPS)
- College of doctoral schools (CED)
- Service for commercial and industrial activities (SAIC)
- Specialise service : Observatory of student life (OVE)
Research has an important place in UNSA, and it is recognized at international level for its development with the following
credentials:
- 64 research centers recognized by the French Ministry of Education
- 116 research units and more than 35 laboratories associated to large national research organizations such as the
CNRS, INSERM, INRA and CEA - 6 doctoral schools
- 2 Federate Research Institutes (IFRs)
- 9 multi-disciplinary titles (PPFs)
- 25 teams
- 3 young teams
- 1 Maison des Science de l’Homme (Center of Excellence in Humanities)
- 1 Agrobiotech platform
- 213 doctoral thesis discussed in 2003 and 1300 doctoral research trainees
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FR
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Département des Sciences de l’Education et de la Formation / UFR Sciences Espaces et Sociétés |
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The University of Toulouse-Mirail is inscribed in a long tradition of humanism and disciplinary breadth. Founded as early as 1229, the University became very renowned in the XVIth century, for among its students were prestigious humanists such as Michel Servet, Étienne Dolet, Michel de l'Hospital, Rabelais and probably Montaigne. In 1808, it became an Imperial University and consisted of the Faculties of Catholic and Protestant Theology, of Letters, of Law, of Science and of one Medical School.
In the XXth century, the University of Letters reached its full development : it left the centre of the city in 1968 and permanently moved, in 1971, to the neighborhood of ‘Mirail’—which means ‘Mirror’ in Occitan—after which it was subsequently named. In 1984, the Savary Law gave it its current structure: three Councils and a few Training and Research Units. Since then, its efforts have almost doubled: from 14,000 students in 1984, today it has reached approximately 27,000.
While rigorously maintaining its heritage, the University of Toulouse-Mirail is open to new ideas, to constructing new paths, to suggesting new initiatives. The University intervenes in the professional training of adults through its service of continuous training, ensures a significant long-distance correspondence teaching service, and develops international relations with numerous countries. Currently, the university participates in the great State-endorsed reform in the field of decentralization, de-concentration and land settlement: the relocations, whose aim is to make the University a great public service in the community, are its most striking achievement.
Given the challenges it faces: managing the number, the diversity, and an enlarged environment, the University of Toulouse- LeMirail has made a firm decision in the past few years to begin a process of renovation.
Indeed, the Presidential team has accepted the offers from the regulatory authority:
- by applying the contractual State-Establishment policy;
- by reforming the first and second cycle of teaching;
- by engaging in internal reflection in order to eventually adopt new working structures;
- by renovating the campus.
The UFR Sciences, Espaces, Espaces, Sociétés (SES) is a pluridisciplinary structure and combines Departments and Research Teams.
Departments :
- Geography and planning ("Institut Daniel Faucher")
- Mathematics, computer science
- Economics and Managerial Sciences
- Education and Training Sciences
- Social Sciences ("Institut Raymond Ledrut")
Research Teams :
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Urban and Sociological Research (CIRUS) :
- Study of rationalities and facts (CIRUS-cers)
- Urban Studies (CIRUS-cieu)
- "Techniques, Organisations, Pouvoirs" (CERTOP) Study and Research Centre
- Research, Education, and Insertion Centre (CREFI)
- Rural dynamics
- SAGESSE-Simone Team: Facts, Type and Social Gender Relationships (SAGESSE)
- Envrionment Geography (GEODE)
- Group of Socio-Economic Research (GRESOC)
- Group of Mirail Computer Science and Mathematics (GRIMM)
- Establishment of a Template, Decision-making Assistance, Operational Research for Aerial Transportation (MARTA)
Main activities :
- General and Professional Training;
- Research : conception and definition of research support and research and teaching;
- Welcome and student information;
- Development of libraries and availability of documetation systems;
- Coordination of the pedagogical policy in the fields that consitute it;
- Applying the social policy to the students;
- Mastery, development and availability of the computer tools.
Disciplinary fields :
- Social Economics, Management, Solidarity Economics, ...
- Education, Training, Insertion, Evaluation, Expertise, Activities, ...
- Sociology, Ethnology, Social Anthropology...
- Computer Science applied to social sciences…
- Geography, Planning, Urbanism, Habitat, Mountain, Environment, Sustainable Development, SIG, ...
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GR
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The University of Crete, is multi-disciplinary, research- oriented Institution, situated in the cities of Rethymnon and Heraklion. It is a University with a well-known reputation both nationally and internationally, with state-of-the art curricula and graduate programmes, considerable research activity and initiatives that reflect its dynamic character. It was established in 1973 and operated during the academic year 1977-1978. Today, approximately 10628 students attend the University. The University's staff consists of 580 Teaching and Research Staff members. Its' operation is supported by more than 400 administrative staff. The University of Crete is developed in two cities and three campuses:
- At Rethymnon Faculties operate in the recently constructed University Campus, located in the area of Gallos. The buildings cover an area of approximately 30,000 square meters.
- At Heraklion the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Departments of Physics and Biology operate in the recently constructed facilities in Voutes, in an area of 49,000 square meters (Voutes Campus). The remaining Departments and the administrative offices operate at Knossos, in prefabricated facilities (27,0000 square meters). The gradual relocation in the Voutes University Campus will be completed within the next four years.
The Department of Psychology of the University of Crete is located at the Rethymno campus in Gallos, just outside the city of Rethymno. The first university-level Department of Psychology to operate in Greece, it was established and accepted its first student enrolments in 1987. The first class of graduates earned their B.A. degree in 1991. Currently the department has 580 undergraduate students and 17 Ph.D. candidates.
The department offers a Programme of Studies in psychology leading to the Bachelor’s degree (B.A.). The standard period of time required to complete studies is four academic years or eight semesters. Courses offered are on a semester basis; two (thirteen week) semesters per academic year, i.e. Fall and Spring. Courses are categorised into compulsory and optional courses. Not all courses are offered on a regular basis. Courses can take the form of: i) Lecture courses, ii) Seminars, iii) Laboratories, iv) Foreign Language Instruction, v) Internship, and vi) Senior Year Dissertation. For each of the above, there may be prerequisites. To receive the Bachelor’s degree, a student must take 44 courses of which 11 are compulsory, four are compulsory in foreign languages, and three are related to the student’s area of specialization. The remaining courses are optional, of which at least six should be seminars. Most courses are three hours in duration per week. The Department follows the European Community Course Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The different types of classes offered within the Department, explained in more detail, are as follows:
i) Lecture courses provide an overall and general introduction to a particular area of study and are open to all students. Most lecture courses carry three credit units.
ii) Seminars have prerequisites and are open mainly to 3rd and/or 4th year students and the number is limited to 25 students. In seminars students are required to research and study in depth a particular theme within a defined subject area, make a presentation on it in class, and finally, submit a term paper on the given theme at the end of the semester. Seminar titles may change to meet the developing interests of study areas. Seminars carry three credit units.
iii) Laboratories have the same characteristics as seminars (described above) with the exception that laboratories have a practical and experimental character within laboratory settings. Laboratory titles may change to meet the developing interests of study areas. Each laboratory carries three credit units.
iv) Foreign Language Instruction is open to all students. In the Department of Psychology, English is offered as a foreign language. All students must take an English Placement Test before they register for any English course, to determine their level of English and thus be placed in the appropriate course. There are two courses in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and three courses in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). All Courses focus (in accordance with the level of English skills) on specific subject areas and issues within psychology (e.g. General, Social, Developmental, Pedagogical, Clinical Psychology). The compulsory number of foreign language courses is four, unless placement test results lead to an exemption from the EFL courses. In such cases, students take only the three ESP courses. Foreign Language courses carry a total of six credit units. Students may elect to take French, German or Italian courses offered by other Departments of the University.
v) Internship is open only to 4th year students. In their final year of studies, students are required to do 150 hours of internship (both semesters) in Social, Clinical or Pedagogical Psychology. It is recommended by the Department that students choose two of the three areas (75 hours in each). The Internship is carried out in various institutions in applied psychology (e.g. in counselling centres, health facilities, psychiatric institutions, research centres, work centres, schools, hospitals). Students who wish to do their Internship must satisfy the prerequisites for each area that are listed below:
- Social Psychology Internship Course: General Psychology I, Social Psychology III (Practice and Application), Methodology of Scientific Research I.
- Clinical Psychology Internship Course: Clinical Psychology: Theories of Personality, Adult Psychopathology I, Psychometrics I.
- Pedagogical Psychology Internship Course: Pedagogical Psychology I, II & III, Developmental Psychology I & II, any Seminar in Pedagogical Psychology.
vi) Senior Year Dissertation is open only to 4th year students. Students in their final year of studies are required to write a dissertation on a specific topic within their major, under the supervision and guidance of a teaching staff member, serving as an advisor. The dissertation must incorporate and present the student’s theoretical, methodological and research ability and knowledge of the topic that has been selected.
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IT
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Milan's Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart) was founded on December 7, 1921. Conceived by Father Agostino Gemelli as a university with a indissoluble human, spiritual and cultural bond, from the very first courses offered in Philosophy and the Social Sciences at its historic via S. Agnese site, it has become an irreplaceable part of Milan's intellectual life. From the original 68 students enrolled then, it has grown today to approximately 30,000 students. These numbers bear witness to how the Milan campus of the Catholic University has given birth to an impressive academic community divided into 9 faculties (Economics; Jurisprudence; Philosophy and Letters; Psychology; Banking, Finance and Insurance; Education; Linguistics and Foreign Literature; Political Science; Sociology) which include 13 departments, 16 institutes and 36 research centres. With other campuses in Italy located in Brescia, Piacenza/Cremona, Roma and Campobasso, Milan remains the principal campus of the Catholic University. The Chancellor's Office and the administrative offices for the entire university are located at Largo A. Gemelli, 1, in the heart of the city near the Basilica of Saint Ambrose. In recent years the European Union has developed a series of programmes that have contributed greatly to strengthening cooperation between various actors on the European scene. In this section we present a brief summary of information on some of the principal EU programmes that have contributed substantially to cooperation between institutions, commercial enterprises and organizations on both intra-European and extra- European levels. In particular we present those programmes that are geared towards instruction and university and professional education. Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, Tempus, Alfa, EU USA, EU Canada.
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IT
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The University of Milan was established by a charter that was last amended in 1996 and is governed by the Rector, the Deputy Rector and the Board of Directors.
Following the foundation of the two new universities, Milan-Bicocca and Insubria, Milan University is now composed of eight Faculties, offers 25 undergraduate degree courses and 21 professional dilpoma courses. There are 60,000 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,500 and a non-teaching staff of 2,000. There is an arrangement between Milan University and Milan-Bicocca "to work in reciprocal collaboration" with the aim of " building an inter-university system which promotes collaboration and integration and at the same time allows for complete judicial, managerial, scientific and didatic autonomy, in order to rationalise the use of the resources available and to provide a wider range of courses and services to the university community and its social context. The University of Milan has been part of the ERASMUS programme since it began. The rate of student mobility among universities in Europe has increased enormously due to the ERASMUS programme.
In the academic year 2003/2004, the University of Milan established agreements on student mobility with about 300 European Universities. International mobility towards Europe and other countries is organised by the EU training programmes office.
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IT
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The University of Parma today counts approximately 29,000 students, 1,079 instructors and researchers, 984 technical and administrative personnel units, and is divided into 12 faculties, which include 56 degree courses, 5 specialized degree one-cycle courses, 46 specialized degree courses, specialization schools, improvement and master’s courses. The Athenaeum participates in approximately fifty doctoral courses, many of whose administrative chairs are in Parma.
The University location is of particular importance: it is composed of seventy-seven hectares on Via Langhirano-Parco Area delle Scienze-where the degree courses of the FF.MM.NN. Faculty of Science, engineering, pharmaceutics, agriculture, architecture, centres of inter-faculty services, tennis courts and other athletic initiatives related to the C.U.S. (Centro Universitario Sportivo) are carried out.
Moreover, the University is involved in developing an intense cooperation project within European Union programs and other international projects. This also regards the activities of the European Board, which aims at training experts in the issues of the European Union and at providing a particular contribution to the construction of a European society based on the recognition, the preservation, and the promotion of rights, old and new, of the human person and of the people.
The department of Psychology is an academic institution involved in teaching and research activities. Namely, in the socio-psychological area, the main topics are: Family and gender studies, Social Representations, Social and Cultural aspects of identity and group belonging, social stratification and social hierarchies, social psychological dimensions of health and health services fruition, migration studies on the self.
In relation to the So.Re.Com. Thematic Network, the department of psychology of Parma can contribute with both teaching and tutoring activities.
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NL
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Utrecht is a real university city, with over 50,000 students.
Utrecht University is a truly international enterprise. Every year, hundreds of international students come to Utrecht to take courses taught in English. Such courses are offered in nearly all disciplines and at all degree levels. Present-day scientific and societal issues are becoming increasingly complex; more and more often, they require a multidisciplinary approach. In the field of research, Utrecht University is seeking to enter into new partnerships, and to participate in both nationally and internationally recognised research programmes. By becoming an internationally active partner, Utrecht University, with its unique combination of scientific disciplines, is helping to address these complex issues.
Research at Utrecht University takes place in the research institutes of the faculties, in national research schools, in top technological institutes and in companies.
Groups of researchers from various Dutch universities and non-academic institutes collaborate in the national research schools. These schools are assessed every five years by the Royal Academy of Sciences and Humanities. They train the next generation of researchers to PhD level.
In addition to these research schools, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has created six top technological institutes, bringing together the country’s most brilliant minds in key scientific and technological fields.
Utrecht University participates in several research schools and top technological institutes, listed under the following five headings, their fields of activity. Please note that on the following pages UU means Utrecht University is the coordinating university, topschool means it is a top technological institute.
- Biomedical Sciences
- Natural and Exact Sciences
- Human and Social Sciences
- Humanities
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
- The companies started within the holding structure of the UU Holding BV and were founded by employees of Utrecht University.
The Research Institute for Psychology & Health (P&H) is a Dutch research and training institute, formally accredited by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Science (KNAW). P&H includes 100 senior researchers and about 80 Ph.D.-candidates from several Dutch and Flemish universities.
P&H was founded in 1995 by the faculties of Social Sciences and Medicine of Utrecht University, and the faculties of Social Sciences of Leiden University and Tilburg University to cooperate in (the programming of) research into psychology and health as well as in the training of Ph.D. candidates in this field of research.
Since 1995 research groups from the Netherlands Institute of Primary Health Care (NIVEL), Free University Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Groningen University, Leuven University, Ghent University, Cats Polm Institute and Helen Dowling Institute have joined P&H, while researchers from Maastricht University, Twente University of Technology and TNO became affiliated members.
The research mission of Psychology & Health focuses on the theory-guided study of psychological factors which influence health and illness, and on the psychological consequences of somatic conditions. Psychological theories, methods and empirical findings are used in fundamental and applied research on these issues.
The research program is divided into five research lines. For an overview of international scientific publications (1994-1998) by research area see publications.
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PL
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The University brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines. It is a place of diversity in scientific research. In direct contact with teachers, young researchers develop their research awareness and improve their methodological skills. At the same time, the University disseminates this multifaceted knowledge and these sophisticated skills throughout society. New communication technology allows this dissemination to take place regionally, nationally and worldwide.
Warsaw University belongs to the community of universities and accepts its universal aims. Its name is bound up with the capital of Poland. In response to the challenges arising from the transformation of the country, the new position of Poland in Europe and the world and the education of a knowledge-based society, the University of Warsaw has open to European programs Socrates and Erasmus.
The Jean Monnet Project 2003 is a new initiative which aims to support setting up of academic initiatives in European integration studies in universities from the academic year 2002/2003. The project launched in the candidate countries aims to strengthen the academic resources and expertise in these countries in the perspective of their future membership of the European Union.
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RO
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The Bucharest’s University Faculty of Political Sciences was founded in the year 1991. From the very beginning, the Faculty established as its main goal to participate in setting up the Romanian political sciences as an autonomous field of study and research. Thus, the Faculty of Political Sciences engaged itself in shaping professionals in the various sub-disciplines of the political sciences: political theory, comparative politics, political and constitutional history, international relations, voting behaviour, political discourse analysis, as well as elaborating and evaluating public policies.
During the first four years the teaching language was exclusively French, the Faculty being built after the model of a French Political Studies Institute, with the support of a university consortium: Université Rennes 2 through Centre de Droit Européenne (CEDRE), Institut d’Études Politiques de Rennes and Université Libre de Bruxelles, support financed by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF).
Beginning with the academic year 1995 - 1996, a new department was added to the initial one: a section in which the teaching language was Romanian. Two years later the English Political Sciences Department was also created. All three sections were approved by the National Council for Academic Evaluation and Accreditation.
During 1995-2000, The Faculty of Political Sciences co-ordinated two European Tempus programs, within this framework developing partnership relations with the political science departments of several prestigious European Universities such as Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université Paris XI, Università degli Studi de Genova, Sussex University (Brighton), Panteios University (Athens) and Institute of Social Studies (The Hague). The fact that the Faculty of Political Sciences was elected as the academic co-ordinator for Romania is a proof that our department became established as the academic Romanian institution capable of assuming the task of co-ordinating the national program of promoting political studies in the Romanian higher educational system. Under this title and program, our department co-ordinated the activity of curricular development in the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Cluj, and of the political sciences tracks in the University of Iasi and of the University of Timisoara. Starting with 1995, the Faculty teaches MA courses. These are currently organised within the Institute for Political Research, with the following majors: International Relations and European Studies, European and Romanian Politics, Comparative Politics.
Since January 2004 the Institute for Political Research attained the quality of the Doctoral School of the Faculty of Political Sciences, organising cycles of post-graduate studies in the field of Ph.D. in political sciences. Currently, the Faculty reunites almost 1,200 students (undergraduate and graduate) and over 50 instructors. The professorial body is organised in two chairs: political sciences and, respectively, European studies and international relations.
International Programs
Due to the fact that it was the first Faculty in Romania to adopt the European system of transferable credits (ECTS), starting with the academic year 1996-1997 the Faculty of Political Sciences was able to participate in the Erasmus-Socrates program since its very beginnings. Within this framework our Faculty has institutional co-operation contracts with 90 prestigious universities and faculties from France, Belgium, Italy, Canada, England, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Finland, Germany and Norway. In turn, the Faculty hosts international students, grantees of the Romanian state (from the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Albania), grantees of other countries states’, individual international students (from France, USA, Switzerland, Austria, Lebanon, Turkey, Tunis, Iraq, Albania, Congo Democratic Republic, Guinea, Azerbaijan) as well as Erasmus-Socrates students from Western European Universities.
Since 1997 the Faculty of Political Sciences took part in the Civic Education Project (CEP). This program consists of involving visiting scholars (from USA, India, United Kingdom, Germany) in teaching and research within the Faculty; in placing graduates of a post-graduate type of specialisation in a Western higher education in a Romanian institution – through the program Eastern Scholar; in the participation of the students of our Faculty in national and regional conferences (Balkan Debate Forum, CEP International Student Conference, Central and East European Moot Court). Moreover, the Faculty of Political Sciences hosts Fullbright University Scholars from the United States on a yearly basis.
Endowments
The Faculty is endowed with a computer lab of 30 working stations with an internet connection. The Faculty’s Library counts 12,000 volumes (mainly the most recent French and English literature in the field) and 30 collections of periodicals. The Library of the Faculty of Political Sciences is integrated in the network of the Central University Library. Within this functions the AUF francophone space of the Faculty.
Alumni
The professional engagement of the first geneations of graduates proves the the scientific and educational mission of the Faculty has been properly formulated, and that the proposed objectives started to be reached already. That is to say, 18% of the graduates work in the higher education and scientific research, going for postgraduate studies; 35% work as experts in central and local public institutions (Presidency of Romania, the Romanian Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Government’s Public Information Department, the National Bank of Romania, mayories, etc.); 40% work in the private sector (capital market, public and judicial audit offices, print and audio-visual media, etc.); 7% work as consultants within different political parties. Very many graduates continue their education with MA and doctoral studies. Some of them have already obtained the doctoral title from prestigious universities in Romania and abroad.
The Scientific Board
The activity of the Faculty of Political Sciences is developed under the academic authority of a Scientific Board of 17 members (13 instructors and 4 students). The Board reunites at least once a month and adopts decisions regarding educational, scientific and management issues.
The Executive Board
The management of the Faculty is made out of Prof. Dr. Cristian Preda (Dean), Lecturer Dr. Alexandra Ionescu (Vice-Dean) and Lecturer Dr. Florin ?urcanu (Scientific Secretary). The two tracks are chaired by Prof. Dr. Daniel Barbu (Political Sciences) and Prof. Dr. Lauren?iu Vlad (European Studies and International Relations).
Within the Bologna System: The New Academic Structure
Starting with the 2005-1006 academic year, the studies in our Faculty are to be organised according to the formula adopted follwing the 1999 Bologna Declaration, a document that opens the way to an ample process of creating until 2010 of a “European space of the higher education”.
The Bologna process aims organizing studies on two main cycles: undegraduate (University degree) and graduate (MA, PhD); the target is :
- The promotion of mobility by overcoming obstacles to the effective exercise of free movement with particular attention to
- for students, access to study and training opportunities and to related services;
- for teachers, researchers and administrative staff, recognition and valorization of periods spent in a European context researching, teaching and training, without prejudicing their statutory rights; - Establishing a credits system compatible in all European countries;
- The adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees, also through the implementation of the Diploma Supplement, in order to promote European citizens employability and the international competitiveness of the European higher education system; the document is to be issued in an European circulation language
- The promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance with a view to developing comparable criteria and methodologies;
- The promotion of the necessary European dimensions in higher education, particularly with regards to curricular development, inter-institutional co-operation, mobility schemes and integrated programs of study, training and research.
New objectives are added to the Bologna Declaration through the Prague Communiqués (2001) and the Berlin Communiqués (2003) that add other important objectives for the higher education within the European space:
- Lifelong learning
- Reorganizing the doctoral studies
- Synergy between the European higher education space and the European research space.
In Romania these changes in the structure of the higher education are settled through Law no. 288/June 10th 2004 regarding “the organization of university studies” and the Government Decision no. 88/February 10th 2005. More precisely, Law 288/2004 establishes a new organization of studies as follows:
- University Degree Studies (for 3 years), summing up 180 finalized credits for obtaining the University Degree Diploma.
- Master of Arts Studies (for 2 years), summing up 120 finalized credits for obtaining the MA Diploma
- Doctoral Studies (for 3 years), summing up 180 finalized credits for obtaing the Ph.D. Diploma.
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SK
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Comenius University consists of thirteen Faculties, which enjoy a great deal of independence. Every Faculty determines its own criteria for admitting of students, the extent of lectures offered in the English language, etc.
As a higher education institution which aspires to be a member of leading European centres of academic excellence and an internationally oriented university, Comenius University has a core strategic objective to support the development of the European dimension and to contribute to the creation of the European area of higher education.
The university's core strategic objectives are: to sustain and develop its identity as a research and teaching institution of the highest international quality; to provide an outstanding educational environment, supporting study across a broad range of academic disciplines; to produce graduates not only with high personal and professional achievement but also with high human qualities; to enhance the scientific and cultural vision of society as well as its economic well-being. For that reason the university has developed several European projects: COMENIUS, ERASMUS, GRUNDTVIG, LINGUA, MINERVA.
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SI
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The University of Ljubljana is famous for the quality of its curricula both in the humanities and in scientific and technological fields.
The University of Ljubljana is an institution with a very rich tradition. With its 56,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students participating in more than 130 undergraduate and 110 post-graduate programmes, it ranks among the largest universities on a world scale. A total of 20 faculties, 3 art academies and 3 university colleges employ approx. 1,700 full-time university teaching staff, assisted by nearly 600 technical and administrative staff.
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SE
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With about 116,000 people, the Jönköping area is the eleventh largest municipality in Sweden and includes Huskvarna, the twin city of Jönköping, and the picturesque and scenic town of Gränna on the eastern shore of Lake Vättern. The university was founded in 1994 to provide basic education (bachelor and master degrees) and research education (PhD degrees), as well as to conduct research in the field of business and economic studies. JIBS has the right to award bachelors and masters degrees in Business Administration, Economics, Business Informatics, and Commercial Law. It also has the right to grant PhD degrees in Business Administration, Economics, Commercial Law, and Political Science. Three main profiles are found throughout JIBS’s activities: Internationalisation, Business Renewal, and a focus on Small and Medium Sized Companies/Entrepreneurship. Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) at Jönköping University. Members of the faculty of the “School of Education and Communication” have developed research on development psychology and its relation with the Social Representations Theory, which he introduced in Sweden for the first time.
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Psychology is one of the longest established academic disciplines at Keele University. Its first Professor (Ian M.L. Hunter) was appointed over 50 years ago and since then thousands of students in Psychology have graduated. Today the School offers one of the most popular undergraduate degree subjects in the university. It currently has about 600 undergraduate students studying for a dual honours degree in either Psychology or Applied Psychology combined with one of 30 other subjects.
All dual honours degree combinations with Psychology are accredited by the British Psychological Society as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC), provided the minimum standard of qualification of second class honours is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
In addition to undergraduate psychology degrees the School also offers a growing range of courses at certificate, masters and doctorate level. In Psychology it offers taught masters degrees in Psychological Research with specialisms in Clinical Psychological Research, Social Development, and Psychology of Health and Wellbeing. In counselling the School offers courses at certificate and at masters level. The Counselling programmes are fully accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
There are approximately 20 full-time academic staff in the school all of whom are actively involved in a wide range of research activities. Details of their researchwork can be found elsewhere on this website.
The School is constantly improving its facilities and services. It has new computer labs and a new Learning Resource Centre.