1 news@sefi – 12/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

2011 SEFI Student year

NEWS@SEFI 12/2011

The SEFI newsletter contains information about SEFI’s recent activities as well as a summary of the latest stories in higher engineering education in Europe and worldwide. News@sefi is sent for free to SEFI members. All previous issues are available on www.sefi.be “members only”. All staff and students of an institution, an association or a company member of SEFI are entitled to receive free copies of the newsletter. So, if you know anybody interested in a free copy, please contact us

EDITORIAL FROM MEMBERS AND PARTNERS: EU-DRIVERS CONFERENCE 2011 FROM EUA

- EUA consults membership on EC proposal for next education

and training programme

- EUA Annual Conference 2012: ‘The Sustainability of European

Universities’ FROM GRANTA DESIGN

- 2012 Materials Education Symposia

POLYTECH’ORLÉANS

- 40 years of Engineers

FROM EUROPE:

FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

- E-skills Conference

- EU plans historic rise in research funding

- European Commission, EIB and EIF launch new scheme to

help SMEs get loans for research and innovation

- Eurydice launches Eurypedia

- Thematic Forum on University-Business Cooperation

FROM THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL

- European Ministers adopt conclusions on HE modernisation,

mobility and a renewed agenda for adult learning FROM GERMANY

- German universities discuss importance of full costing strate-

gies and Horizon 2020 proposals

FROM THE NETHERLANDS

- Merger of top universities opposed

- Leader: Together, they are stronger

- New university rankings aims for objectivity

FROM FRANCE

- Prime Minister backs controversial circular to control

“Professional immigration”

FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD:

FROM AAEE

- 22nd annual Australasian Association for Engineering Educa-

tion conference

FROM CITEF

- Training Engineers, Technicians and Managers for sustainable

development

PUBLICATIONS FOR YOUR CALENDAR

Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this issue!

2011, SEFI Student Year is ending. But cooperation with the students continues!

Tomorrow’s engineers – for an attractive Europe: Working Together to Build on Europe's Excellence in

Engineering Education and Research

Organised jointly by SEFI, CESAER and the University of Birmingham

29/30 March 2012

University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Programme available after January 15th

SEFI ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012—THESSALONIKI

23-26 September 2012

Deadline for submission of

abstracts: March 5, 2012

Deadline for submission of

papers: May 10, 2012

More information on:

www.sefi2012.com

IN THIS ISSUE:

2 news@sefi – 12/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

2011 SEFI Student year

FROM SEFI

Editorial

Dear Members of SEFI,

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and

a very Happy Year 2012!

We look forward to actively cooperate

and exchange with you next year, in or-

der to reinforce all together the image

of our Society –SEFI- in Europe and worldwide. Indeed, this can be done

only thanks to your dedication to SEFI. As you know it, and we like to re-

peat it, “SEFI is nothing but its members!”.

We need your inputs, your comments and good suggestions, we need

and wish to share with you new ideas, good practices, experiences, we

want to promote your institution institution/company/association. Please

help us to do it by sending to SEFI Headquarters regular information

about what happens in your organization, in your region, in your country.

In order to efficiently begin the year 2012, several actions will be imple-

mented: in January, you will receive a calendar, indicating the major

events in engineering in Europe and worldwide.

The calendar, published in December, is of course not exhaustive. If you

wish to add an event of the interest of the SEFI’s community, please let

us know it. It is envisaged to circulate an updated version at the end of

the first semester of 2012. Not to be forgotten, this calendar was pub-

lished thanks to the support of our Corporate partner, Dassault Systemes.

In January, together with your membership invoice, we will send you a

short document to be completed, inviting you to let us know your field of

expertise. Indeed, we would like to develop a data base of SEFI’s experts,

experts that might be recommended as invited speakers to other major

conferences in the world.

We also would like to reinforce the communication between the Head-

quarters, the SEFI Administrators and yourself: we need to know your

needs and expectations, we need to know them in order to engage SEFI

in necessary actions to fulfill them, for instance, projects, partnerships,

themes for workshops and seminars, etc.

2012 will be a very busy year! Please note already now in your diaries - or

tablets, or smartphones! - that next March, together with CESAER and

the University of Birmingham, we shall organise our 4th European Con-

vention for Engineering Deans. Immediately after, we shall organise, al-

ways in Birmingham, the first Assembly of the European Engineering

Deans Council – to be known from now on as “EEDC aisbl”) – that will be

hosted at the SEFI Headquarters in Brussels. In September, our 40th SEFI

Annual Conference will be organised in Thessaloniki, by the Aristotle Uni-

versity, on the theme “Engineering Education 2020: Meet the Future”. I

take the opportunity of this editorial to thank in advance both Professors

Hawwash and Avdelas, respectively in charge of the Convention and of

the Conference. Help us to make from these events a huge success, by

promoting them through your colleagues and partners.

The European and international cooperation with partner organizations

and official international organizations was pretty successful in 2011, and

our challenge for 2012 will be to pursue all these successful stories.

Also in 2012, applications for new European projects, with active SEFI’s

partnership, will be submitted (deadline end of January and February

2012) to the European Commission, and our present and interesting pro-

jects, such as EU-Drivers, ECDEAST, MODERN, STECET (TechnoTN), with-

out forgetting EUGENE, will continue. All these projects constitute a

unique opportunity to influence the policies relating to higher engineer-

ing education, to develop our network and to reinforce the visibility of

SEFI.

Speaking about “visibility”, we would like to invite you once again to en-

sure that the mention “member of SEFI – www.sefi.be”, be put on the

web site of your institution/faculty/department… Will you need our logo,

we shall send it to you. So far, SEFI is composed of 408 members from 47

countries. All, they fulfill the prerequisites determined by our Statutes, all

are key stakeholders in higher engineering education in Europe and in

partner countries.

At the beginning of 2012, you will also receive the SEFI Annual report that

will describe all our 2011 activities. It will be sent in PDF to all our mem-

bers, and once again, we cordially encourage you to circulate it in your

respective networks.

In March, we will circulate the calls for the candidatures for the 2012 Vice

-Presidency and Administrative Council elections. Don’t miss this oppor-

tunity to candidate and play a more active role in the activities and poli-

cies of your Society. In 2012, the SEFI 2020 Strategy will be finalized, your

inputs and comments will be very well appreciated.

There are for sure many other activities that could have been mentioned

or evoked herewith (the Lisbon Flash Week, the cooperation with the

Students etc), but for the time being, I only would like to sincerely thank

you for your support and interest relating to SEFI, and I wish you all very

relaxing Season’s holidays.

Looking forward to cooperate with you next year for the benefit of the

engineering education and for a more sustainable and better Society.

Françoise Côme

SEFI Secretary General

FROM MEMBERS AND PARTNERS

2011 EU-Drivers Conference

EU-DRIVERS - European Drivers for a Regional Innovation Platform

(www.eu-drivers.eu) is funded by the European Commission under the

Lifelong Learning Programme, is designed to improve regional coopera-

tion between universities, private sector companies and local govern-

ments in order to enhance the innovation capacities of European universi-

3 news@sefi – 12/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

2011 SEFI Student year

ties, working at the level of deans of faculties. It aims to create a regional

innovation virtual community for exchanging good practices among all

stakeholders, to find solutions for improved regional cooperation between

universities, private-sector companies and regional governments, to en-

able the communication and dissemination of reports and recommenda-

tions through conferences and establishing a dialogue with EU authori-

ties.

Expected outcomes are a web-based European virtual community with

relevant literature and examples of good practices, Pilot regional innova-

tion partnership projects with selected groups of three decision-makers

(one dean, one private company and one local government representa-

tive) contributing to the development of a sustainable leadership develop-

ment programme for all relevant stakeholders especially at the regional

level, annual reports on regional innovation issues with case studies and

concrete examples of implementation of the knowledge triangle at the

discipline level and communication and dissemination activities with an-

nual conferences.

Project partners are: ESMU / DEAN (project leader)/HUMANE (Heads of

University Management and Administration Network in Europe)/ EURADA

(European Association of Development Agencies)/ AMSE (Association of

Medical Schools in Europe)/ EFMD (European Foundation for Manage-

ment development)/ SEFI (European Society for Engineering Education),

AAU (Aalborg University),.ACUP (Catalan Association of Public Universi-

ties),BSRUN (Baltic Sea Region University Network) and DUK (Danube Uni-

versity Krems – University for Continuing Education).

The 2011 EU-Drivers conference, the second of its kind, was organised in

Brussels on 1 December and was attended by approximately 100 dele-

gates. The aim of the conference, oh which SEFI will write the Executive

report (F. Maffioli, J. Schibler, F. Côme, January 2012), was to discuss EU

policies, EU programmes and practical initiatives of the EC to support re-

gional specialisation, debate on the mechanisms and critical success fac-

tors to support regional performance, specialisation and competiveness

in a globalized world, building on universities as the driving force of the

process, look into the current obstacles and opportunities for strong re-

gional partnership and capacity building which require “collaborative

leadership” between all stakeholders to implement “make things hap-

pen”. It enabled the participants to listen presentations about the S3 Ini-

tiative, to learn about the mechanisms and good practices for effective

global strategic interactions, to engage in a constructive dialogue with

senior officials of DG Education and Culture, DG Regio and DG Enteripse.

The EU-Drivers background report on Smart Specialisation Strategy Initia-

tive is available on www.sefi.be/from members and partners.

In April 2011 (19-20, dates to be confirmed in January), SEFI should or-

ganise in Leuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the 4th(1) EU-Drivers

Workshop for the project partners. Further details will be available on

our future newsletters.

(1) W. 1, Brussels, September 2010, W. 2, Barcelona, November 2010, W. 3, Riga, May 2011.

Françoise Côme

FROM EUA

EUA consults membership on EC proposal for next education

and training programme

The European Commission (EC) published its proposal for the next Euro-

pean Union Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport ,

“Erasmus for All”, that will cover the period 2014-2020. The EC proposal

will now be discussed with the Council of the EU and the European Parlia-

ment before it can be adopted.

EUA, which recently published its first reaction to the Erasmus for All pro-

posal, plans to contribute actively to these discussions on behalf of its

members. In order to do so it has set up an online questionnaire (for EUA

members) addressing the key issues in the proposal. EUA encourages its

members to participate in this important consultation which has now

been emailed to all EUA members, and is available through the EUA Com-

munity (the online extranet only accessible to EUA members).

Please find the reaction of EUA:

EUA_s_first_reaction_to_Erasmus_for_All_proposals

(Source: www.eua.be)

EUA Annual Conference 2012: ‘The Sustainability of European

Universities’

Registration is now open for EUA’s Annual Conference 2012 - “The Sus-

tainability of European Universities” that will take place at the University

of Warwick, United Kingdom, from 22 to 23 March.

In the context of the major changes taking place in European higher edu-

cation, the 2012 conference seeks to engage university leaders, policy-

makers and other stakeholders in rethinking higher education models.

The objective is for universities to remain sustainable in the 21st century,

in a world of mass higher education and growing pressures for them to

carry out competitive, high-end research.

In the plenary sessions, a series of high-level keynote speakers (including

philanthropist George Soros) will identify the most important elements of

‘sustainability’ for individual universities and for the sector as a whole.

Working group sessions will enable participants to discuss in more depth

specific issues affecting sustainability such as financing and tuition fees,

sustainable campuses and collaborative research models.

This event will therefore be an opportunity for EUA members and the

wider higher education community to consider institutional, national and

European strategies and action that can be implemented by individual

universities to promote sustainable and successful European universities.

EUA members are also invited to the General Assembly, which will take

place in the morning of 22 March, where they will be updated on key EUA

activities.

The deadline for the early registration fee is 10 February 2012. After

this date, late registration fees will apply.

4 news@sefi – 12/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

2011 SEFI Student year

A provisional programme and further information on the conference are

available on the EUA conference website.

SEFI immediate Past-President, Dr. Anette Kolmos, will be an invited

speaker to this major conference.

More information: http://tinyurl.com/c7xzgh2

(Source: www.eua.be)

FROM GRANTA DESIGN, SEFI Corporate Member 2012 Materials Education Symposia

Materials science, as Prof. Mike Ashby argued in his opening talk for this

session, is a bridging discipline, linking the pure and applied sciences

across many fields. Materials science and materials engineering sit at the

intersection of many different subject areas (see figure, right), and play

an important role in education and industry as they link the pure and ap-

plied sciences across many fields. This breadth makes these subjects

uniquely well placed to contribute to the solution of many of today’s

challenges (see themes). The interdisciplinary nature of materials teach-

ing will be a major focus for the Symposia as we explore how materials

can link different subjects together, and learn from experiences of teach-

ing materials and processes across the curriculum. The independent aca-

demic Advisory Committee will be composed of ASM International, the

ASEE Materials Division, SEFI, FEMS, TMS, California Polytechnic State .

These events for materials educators follow on from the success of the

2011 symposia, which delegates praised for providing extended opportu-

nities for discussion and encouraging the exchange of ideas and experi-

ences related to materials teaching. The symposia fostered an atmos-

phere of community amongst educators involved in teaching undergradu-

ate materials science across disciplines including engineering, design, and

science. The 2012 symposia are being coordinated by Granta Design,

with support from an University, and the Department of Materials Sci-

ence and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge.

Based on positive feedback from participants, the advisory committee

have decided that the 4th International Symposium will be limited to a

similar size as the 2011 event. Similarly, the North American Symposium

will be limited to 100 delegates.

Themes:

‘Innovation and change’

‘Crossing disciplines’

‘Materials, government, and industry’

‘Architecture and design’ (North America) or

‘International Perspectives’ (Cambridge)

The agendas for the two events are now available, and the committee

are still accepting poster submissions.

Each Symposia consists of two days of presentations selected by the Aca-

demic Advisory Committee.

Talks covering teaching in the following topic areas: materials sci-

ence, manufacturing and processes, mechanical engineering, indus-

trial design, aerospace and nuclear engineering, bio engineering,

plastics, and sustainable engineering

Interactive discussion sessions

Socializing and networking over lunches and the Symposium dinner

at a historic Cambridge College

Two poster sessions

Other actvities on the two preceeding days and following Saturday,

including a Presenter’s dinner, short courses, networking, and the

CES EduPack development meeting

More details on the individual events, including travel and housing, costs,

and short cources, can be found through the side-bar on the following

pages:

For all SEFI members they extended the early-bird registration rate from

Dec 16 to Jan 31 and would greatly appreciate any additional publicity

to provide the event.

Reports from the 2011 Materials Education Symposia are available here:

http://tinyurl.com/bwngqee

More details on: www.materialseducation.com

POLYTECH’ORLÉANS

40 years of Engineers

The Engineering school of the University of Orléans (France), is celebrat-

ing 40th years of Engineering Formation, from the 18th to the 21st Janu-

ary 2012.

The celebrations will be composed of public and “private” events, all

settled in Orléans, and will offer a display of Polytech’Orléans achieve-

ments and activities. Some of the highlights will be the exhibitions “What

housing for tomorrow” and “International Involvement” opened from the

18th to the 21st, as well as the following fora and conferences:

- Conference on Research and development of R&D Engineers

(18/01 10:30-12:00)

- Conference on new job opportunities in eco-technologies (18/01

14:30-16:00)

- Conference “Design and Engineers“ (19/01 17:00-19:00)

- Conference on Mobility and Development of English language

Curricula (20/01 10:00-12:00)

- Conference “Present Past and Future of Polytech” (20/01 10:00-

12:00)

More information (in French) is available on Polytech’Orléans website :

www.univ-orleans.fr/polytech

Anne-Marie Jolly , Member of the SEFI Administrative Council , is Director

of Polytech’Orléans.

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2011 SEFI Student year

FROM EUROPE

FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

European e-Skills 2011 Conference

The European e-Skills 2011 Conference was organised by the European

Commission Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry, in partnership

with DIGITALEUROPE, European Schoolnet and other leading stake-

holders. It outlined key milestones and actions that are being taken to de-

liver e-skills for competitiveness, growth and jobs - in particular for youth

in Europe. The event took take place on 13 December 2011 at Scotland

House in Brussels. It brought together experts from governments, acade-

mia, the ICT industry (Digital Europe, Microsoft, HP, NOKIA), associations

(DTI, EuroCIO, INSEAD…), professional bodies and stakeholders (London

Schools of Economics, Edinburgh University, DG Education and Culture,

DG Information Society, DG Enterprise and Industry) …, who intensively

discussed progresses accomplished relating to the implementation of the

EU e-skills strategy, and this in view of the European e-Skills Week, that

will take place from 26-30 March 2012. The conference, attended by ap-

proximately 120 delegates, including myself, was closed by M. Durando,

Executive Director of the European Schoolnet. I was really impressed by

the very high level of the presentations and of the discussions, and I am

convinced that SEFI, and in particular its Working Group on ICT, should

carefully follow the work done in the context of this e-skills group of

stakeholders, notably by participating in the European e-skills week next

March.

Françoise Côme

EU plans historic rise in research funding

The European Commission has proposed an historic adjustment to its re-

search and innovation policies with a view to stimulating economic

growth and shoring up the competitiveness of the European Union. The

plans include a EUR30 billion increase in funding and a 16-fold rise in the

number of higher education students being supported in their training.

Under the proposed Horizon 2020 programme for 2014-20, Brussels has

set out budgets totalling EUR80 billion to push forward the EU's scientific

and research strategies against the background of a difficult and dramati-

cally changing economic environment.

The sums dwarf anything the EU has spent on research before, and may

even challenge spending by the US, Japan and other research-oriented

countries in some sectors. The current 2007-13 seventh framework pro-

gramme is spending EUR50 billion.

But perhaps even more significant is the way in which, as the EU commis-

sioner for research Máire Geoghegan-Quinn put it, Horizon 2020

"provides direct stimulus to the economy and secures our science and

technology base and industrial competitiveness for the future". It focuses

more than ever on turning scientific breakthroughs into innovative prod-

ucts and services that provided business opportunities and changed peo-

ple's lives for the better.

"At the same time it drastically cuts red tape, with simplification of rules

and procedures to attract more top researchers and a broader range of

innovative businesses," the commissioner said.

In broad terms Horizon 2020, which the EU has given the acronym

H2020, will provide a dedicated science budget of EUR24.6 billion, includ-

ing a 77% increase in funding for the European Research Council (ERC).

There will be a budget of EUR17.9 billion for industrial leadership in inno-

vation including an investment of EUR13.7 billion in key technologies,

while EUR31.7 billion will be devoted to the major European concerns of

health, food, sustainable agriculture, marine research and the bio-

economy, energy, transport, resource efficiency and climate action

among other things. EUR2.8 billion are also allocated to the European In-

stitute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) would contribute to higher

education throughout the EU.

Overall, the H2020 programme will require the support of the EU Council

of Ministers - that is, the approval of the 27 EU member countries - as

well as the European parliament, before coming into effect and a lengthy

struggle to get budget approval for all lines can be anticipated.

(Source: www.universityworldnews.com)

European Commission, EIB and EIF launch new scheme to help

SMEs get loans for research and innovation

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group

launched a new guarantee facility for innovative small and medium-sized

enterprises (SMEs) to help them access finance from banks. This builds on

the success of the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), launched in 2007,

that has so far helped 75 companies benefit from over €7 billion in EIB

loans to projects enhancing European growth and competitiveness. The

new risk-sharing instrument for SMEs will be managed by the European

Investment Fund (EIF). In addition, the EIB and the European Commission

are to provide extra resources for research infrastructures.

"Investing in research and innovation carried out by SMEs means that we

will have more growth, sustainability and competitiveness in Europe" said

European Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geog-

hegan-Quinn. "The Risk-Sharing Finance Facility has proved to be one of

the most successful parts of the EU's 7th Research Framework Pro-

gramme, and through co-operation with the EIB has already unlocked sig-

nificant new investment for research, development and innovation."

“Without raising its potential through research and innovation, Europe

will be unable to generate the growth it needs to maintain its place in the

world economy," said European Investment Bank President Philippe

Maystadt. "The Risk-Sharing Finance Facility has already helped many

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2011 SEFI Student year

large and mid-cap companies realise their plans. With the changes we are

announcing, we are confident that SMEs will now also benefit."

The SME risk-sharing instrument (RSI) will be managed by the EIF, the EIB

Group subsidiary that specialises in providing risk finance to benefit mi-

cro, small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe via equity and

loan guarantees. The EIF will offer banks a guarantee on part of their new

loans and leases to innovative SMEs, allowing the banks to lend more and

to do so at more attractive rates.

"Innovative SMEs in their start-up and early stages have particular diffi-

culties in accessing finance," said EIF Chief Executive Richard Pelly. "The

new RSFF guarantee window, the Risk-Sharing Instrument, addresses this

funding gap and helps these dynamic and fast-growing SMEs to start and

grow their businesses."

The amendment to the existing RSFF agreement was signed by Commis-

sioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and by EIB President Philippe Maystadt at

the start of the 2011 Innovation Convention in Brussels. It is expected to

unlock a further €6 billion of loans until the end of 2013, including up to

€1.2 billion for SMEs and up to €300 million for research infrastructures.

From 2014, in conjunction with new instruments for equity finance, the

Commission intends to scale up and expand the RSFF under the proposed

Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

(Source: http://europa.eu/press_room)

Eurydice launches Eurypedia

Eurydice, the Commission’s Network providing information on education

systems and policies in Europe, has this month launched Eurypedia, the

European Encyclopedia on National Education Systems. The online

tool covers 38 European school and university systems within the 33

countries participating in the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme.

By choosing a country from the interactive map, users can gain access to

specific national education system information, either in English or in the

language of the country. The information is provided by the Eurydice Na-

tional Units, working with their relevant education ministry and national

experts.

Find out more under: http://tinyurl.com/cwz9y4s

(Source: www.europa.eu)

Thematic Forum on University-Business Cooperation

The speeches and presentations from the Thematic Forum (see also our

report in News@SEFI 11/2012), which took place at the University of

Twente in the Netherlands on 21-22 November are now available at

http://ec.europa.eu/education/universitybusinessforum.html.

On the website you will also find the results of work undertaken these

past months to produce a solid background to the theme of University-

Business Cooperation and get a better understanding of the current

situation of University-Business Cooperation in Europe.

You can download the following:

the final report on a survey, together with 30 examples of Univer-

sity-Business Cooperation, undertaken on our behalf by the Münster Uni-

versity of Applied Sciences.

the final report with 15 institutional case studies on the links be-

tween HEIs and businesses, undertaken on our behalf by Technopolis Ltd.

These activities are part of the development and strengthening of dia-

logue and cooperation between HEIs and businesses; a key aspect of the

Commission's agenda for the modernisation of Europe's higher educa-

tion systems (http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/news3049_en.htm).

This is also reflected in the Commission's proposal for the next genera-

tion of the Education and Training Programme: Ersamus for All (2014 -

2020), which was adopted by the Commission on 23 November 2011

(http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/index_en.htm).

(Source: www.europa.eu)

FROM THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL

European Ministers adopt conclusions on HE modernisation, mobility and a renewed agenda for adult learning

Ministers meeting at the Council of EU (Education Committee) in Brussels

late November adopted a resolution on a renewed European agenda for

adult learning and conclusions on several important HE-related issues in-

cluding the modernisation of higher education and a new mobility bench-

mark. They also agreed to modify the EU's financing instrument for coop-

eration with industrialised and other high-income countries.

The resolution on the renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning

adopted by Ministers aims to continue, complement and consolidate

work in the field of adult learning under the four strategic objectives

identified by the Council in the "ET2020" strategic framework.

The Council also adopted conclusions on the modernisation of higher

education (http://tinyurl.com/cprva3c )in response to the recent Com-

munication from the European Commission: ‘Supporting growth and jobs

- an agenda for the modernisation of Europe’s higher education sys-

tems’ (published in September 2011). The conclusions welcome the com-

munication and emphasise the crucial role of higher education in achiev-

ing the Europe 2020 strategy goals, which set the ambitious target that

"by 2020 the share of 30-34 year olds who have completed tertiary or

equivalent education should be at least 40 %.

Ministers also adopted conclusions on the proposal of a benchmark for

learning mobility, to “complement the five existing reference levels of

European average performance” ("benchmarks"), agreed under the stra-

tegic framework for European cooperation in education and training ("ET

2020") and to be collectively achieved by 2020. The new benchmark

states that by 2020, “an EU average of at least 20 % of higher education

graduates should have had a period of higher education-related study or

training (including work placements) abroad, representing a minimum of

15 ECTS credits or lasting a minimum of three months”. This announce-

7 news@sefi – 12/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

2011 SEFI Student year

ment comes at a time when the Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG) is also

debating how to refine and measure the Bologna Process mobility bench-

mark of 20%, agreed in Leuven/Louvain in 2009.

The Council has also made an important modification to its funding in-

struments for cooperation with industrialised countries (ICI). While in the

past the ICI was restricted to industrialised countries, under ‘ICI plus’

funds can also be used in collaboration with emerging countries (such as

Brazil, China, India and Iraq). This has implications for the Erasmus Mun-

dus programme, for example, and all higher education external actions

that promote international partnerships. Regarding the Development Co-

operation Instrument (DCI) it was stated that, in the future, flexibility for

using funds for covering tax expenses could be granted on a case by case

basis, but not in principle. This has and continues to be an issue, as for ex-

ample VAT charges that incur in cooperation with university partners in

developing countries had to be borne by the universities. EUA has fre-

quently lobbied for changes regarding the DCI, most recently in the EU

consultation on the financing of external actions.

ET2020 strategic framework: http://tinyurl.com/c2aqg2c

(Source: www.consilium.europa.eu/press/)

FROM GERMANY

German universities discuss importance of full costing strategies

and Horizon 2020 proposals

The “EUIMA-Full Costing Country Workshop Germany”, jointly organised

with the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) brought together 60 repre-

sentatives from German universities, research organisations, public au-

thorities and international experts to discuss the implementation of full

costing.

The workshop clearly demonstrated that full costing is an important issue

for German universities. Margret Wintermantel, HRK President, under-

lined the connection between greater financial autonomy and the need

for financial sustainability:“Full costing is not only a technical issue, but it

can be used in a strategic way providing universities with the information

needed to develop approaches towards financial sustainability.”

However, universities first need to be able to implement this tool, which

might also imply changes in regional and national law. The diversity of

possible approaches towards the implementation of full costing was illus-

trated by good practice examples from universities in different German

Länder as well as other European countries, such as Sweden, the Nether-

lands and the United Kingdom.

How cooperation between universities and funding bodies can help in de-

veloping full costing methodologies for research funding was highlighted

by the example of UK universities working together with the Research

Councils. “However, you should not implement full costing just because it

is a requirement from a funder, but because of its strategic usefulness for

your university management” underlined Gareth MacDonald, Head of As-

surance at Research Councils UK.

However, the debate in Berlin showed that funding schemes such as the

EU’s Seventh Framework Programme have also been an important

driver for German universities to start developing full costing method-

ologies. Therefore participants expressed their disappointment and con-

cern about the recent proposal of the European Commission for the rules

of participation for the future EU research funding programme “Horizon

2020” that does not foresee the option to recover the full indirect costs.

“This would be a clear step backwards”, pointed out Thomas A.H. Schöck,

Head of Administration at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and

spokesman of the German Kanzler Working Group on European Affairs.

Participants called upon EUA and the HRK to voice this concern in the on-

going debate at EU and national level and to put out clear statements.

(Source: www.eua.be)

FROM THE NETHERLANDS

Merger of top universities opposed

Plans for three major Dutch universities to merge are opposed by more

than half of their academics and students, according to a survey pub-

lished on Thursday.

The University of Leiden, Delft University of Technology and Erasmus Uni-

versity Rotterdam hope to collect more research money by cooperating

intensively and may even merge in due time. But they face strong opposi-

tion.

The survey shows that 61% of academics are against the merger. Only 7%

of scientists and 10% of students think merging is a great idea. The survey

was conducted by Erasmus Magazine, the university magazine of Rotter-

dam.

At Delft University of Technology even more people oppose a merger. A

survey by the university newspaper Delta shows that 72% of scientists

and students are against it. Most people are concerned that the three

universities - with 55,000 students between them - will become a gigantic

moloch, destroying its constituent parts. They fear bureaucracy, redun-

dancies and the loss of their universities' good names.

The three universities all have different areas of excellence. Delft is espe-

cially known for applied technology, Rotterdam for economy, manage-

ment and medicine and Leiden for fundamental beta sciences, law and

humanities. "The specialties of the three universities complement each

other," said the president of the executive board of Delft University of

Technology, Dirk-Jan van den Berg. "By cooperating we could attract

more research money, better scientists and students."

He emphasised that universities in emerging economies are getting bet-

ter every year and the rich universities are getting even richer. The three

universities have stressed that it is too early to talk about merging.

"Currently we are looking at how different departments could comple-

ment and strengthen each other. We're not discussing a merger at the

moment," said Jacco Neleman, spokesperson for Erasmus University Rot-

terdam. The survey held at Rotterdam shows that only 4% of academics

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2011 SEFI Student year

and students oppose cooperating at all. "There is definitely support for

more cooperation," Neleman concluded.

Cooperation has been discussed, partly in secret, by the three universities

since 2009. The discussions related to a strategic agenda that every uni-

versity has to provide in May 2012 to Under-secretary of Education Halbe

Zijlstra. The universities decided to develop this agenda together.

"The merging of universities has become an international trend," said

Frans van Vught, internationalisation expert and former rector at the

University of Twente. "Several universities in Denmark, Germany and

England have merged, for example. All for more or less the same reason:

to compete internationally and to create a larger investment capacity,

particularly in research.

"I believe the merging of the three Dutch universities could result in an

excellent university. But only if they focus on bringing the best depart-

ments together. "To be successful internationally as a university one has

to be rich, rather than very big," Vught said. Many oppose merging be-

cause of the poor reputation the Netherlands has regarding mergers in

higher education.

In 2003 several universities of applied sciences (hogescholen) merged as

Inholland, becoming an institution with 37,500 students. In 2005 an edu-

cation inspection concluded that the level of education of several courses

had declined. In 2010 the Dutch press reported cases of diploma fraud at

Inholland.

(Source: www.UniversityWorldNews.com)

Leader: Together, they are stronger

To compete on the world stage, universities are increasingly considering

mergers as a way to enhance status and expertise

International competitiveness is stepping up. Universities are trying to

enhance their reputations and research standing, increase their visibility

and climb the world rankings, both straightforwardly and in more uncon-

ventional ways. Building a world-class institution takes time, but in Saudi

Arabia where there is much cash but little patience, academic big-hitters

are being offered incentives to add the name of an institution to their re-

search papers in a bid to propel it up the rankings. "Universities buy peo-

ple's reputations all the time," astronomer Gerry Gilmore of the Univer-

sity of Cambridge and now a King Abdulaziz University affiliate told Sci-

ence. "In principle, this is no different from Harvard hiring a prominent

researcher."

In Sweden, where mergers are very much the order of the day as educa-

tion minister Jan Björklund tackles a demographic decline in the univer-

sity-age cohort, three institutions - the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology - have announced

that they are in merger talks. This super-university would be the largest

in northern Europe, specialise in four areas that would be responsible for

40 per cent of all Swedish research, and have a budget of more than SEK9

billion (£841 million). And, of course, would boast combined rankings

power.

Another country eyeing mergers is the Netherlands, already a rankings

star, being third behind the US and UK with 12 of its 13 research universi-

ties in the top 200 in this year's Times Higher Education World University

Rankings, and second only to Switzerland (seven universities) on a per

capita measure of value for money. But the government is not satisfied

with that and wants a Dutch institution in the top 50. To this end it is try-

ing to get institutions to pool their research expertise by specialising in

certain areas. A merger between the universities of Erasmus, Delft and

Leiden is being considered, looking at a model similar to that of the Uni-

versity of California. Leiden's rector Paul van der Heijden insists that this

is the only way to break the US-UK rankings dominance. But he admits it

is "not a very Dutch thing to do" and is a controversial move in a country

that is fiercely egalitarian, where "if you say you want to be the best, peo-

ple think you are an arrogant prick", as one professor says in our cover

story.

"This is a world where the winner takes all," says Pauline van der Meer

Mohr, president of Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is well aware of

the risks of a merger, especially when staff and students are not in fa-

vour, as a survey there shows, but writes in her blog: "Sometimes it feels

as though we spend more time relaxing the sceptics than chasing the

dream."

Successful as the Dutch are on the world stage, though, how are they far-

ing in attracting UK students? The lure is, of course, an undergraduate

tuition fee of about £1,500 and the fact that much of the teaching is in

English. The oft-quoted example is that of Maastricht University, which

has been all over the UK media in the past year. Apparently, a record

number of UK students took up a place in September, more than double

that of the previous year and seven times that for 2009. But UK universi-

ties need not panic just yet: the figures are not as exciting as the percent-

ages, at just 137, 49 and 19.

(Source: www.timeshighereducation.co.uk)

New university ranking aims for objectivity

A new university ranking seeks to use a sophisticated set of bibliometric

indicators to rate scientific performance to establish the world's top 500

research universities.

The Leiden Ranking 2011/2012 aims to provide highly accurate measure-

ments of the scientific impact of universities and of universities' involve-

ment in scientific collaboration.

Of the top 20 universities, 18 are from the United States and two from

Switzerland (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and ETH Zurich).

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology heads the table, followed by

Princeton with Harvard in third place. Cambridge is the top UK university

in 31st place, with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

the highest placed university outside the US and Europe in 58th place.

The US has 127 universities in the 500, followed by Germany (39), the UK

(36), China (31), Italy (25) and Japan (24).

The ranking, based on more than 25 years of bibliometric experience at

the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden Univer-

sity in The Netherlands, is claimed to offer more advanced indicators of

scientific impact and collaboration and uses a much more transparent

methodology than other rankings.

Unlike the Times Higher Education or QS World University Rankings, it

does not draw on reputational surveys or on data provided by the univer-

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2011 SEFI Student year

sities themselves, which it dismisses as subjective.

Among the improvements in the 2011-12 ranking are an impact indicator

based on the proportion of top 10% publications, collaboration indicators

based on geographical distances, fractional counting of collaborative pub-

lications, and the possibility of excluding non-English language publica-

tions.

"Comparing the impact of non-English language publications with the im-

pact of publications written in English may not be considered fair," the

compilers say. "Non-English language publications can be read only by a

small part of the scientific community, and therefore these publications

cannot be expected to receive similar numbers of citations as publica-

tions written in English."

The ranking also makes use of a statistical technique known as bootstrap-

ping to smooth out variations in the data.

Its reliance on bibliometrics places the Leiden Ranking closer to the

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities in

approach. An exclusive focus on research metrics opens the ranking to

the criticism of painting a partial picture of a university.

More information on : www.leidenrankings.com

(Source: www.universityworldnews.com)

FROM FRANCE

Prime Minister backs controversial circular to control

“Professional immigration”

France's Prime Minister François Fillon has defended the controversial

tightening up of residence and employment rules for non-European stu-

dents and graduates in the face of concerns expressed by higher educa-

tion leaders.

They had articulated anxieties over a circular to control 'professional im-

migration' that has led to many highly qualified foreigers being refused

permission to remain and work in France.

In a letter to the heads of the three bodies representing presidents of

higher education institutions, Fillon wrote that France was "extremely at-

tached" to its tradition of receiving foreign students and that he had or-

dered reexamination of some cases, most of which had been - or were

about to be - settled. Minister for Higher Education and Research Laurent

Wauquiez and Interior Minister Claude Guéant, principal proponent of

the contentious circular, have also sought to clarify the government's pol-

icy towards foreign students.

The circular, issued in May by the ministries of the interior and of health,

ordered préfectures to examine "rigorously" requests for work permits

from students, and to carry out extensive control of non-European for-

eigners applying to change their status from that of student to employee.

Many foreigners who had graduated from French higher education found

themselves refused permission to stay in the country when they were of-

fered a first job with a French company. Students organised protests

against the circular, and leaders in the higher education community

voiced alarm.

In his letter to the organisations representing university presidents (CPU),

the grandes écoles (CGE) and engineering schools (CDEFI), together with

the Association Française des Entreprises Privées, Fillon wrote: "France is

extremely attached to its tradition of welcoming foreign students, who

represent an important element of the international attractivity of its

schools and universities. "Our objective is to attract the best students in

the world, especially in masters and doctorates, to heighten the influence

of our higher education and our country. In addition, certain French com-

panies need, for their international development, to acquire the skills of

foreign students at the highest level”.

Fillon said the policy of being attractive and competitive corresponded to

the need to control professional immigration better, to take into account

the realities of France's employment market and unemployment among

young graduates. "It equally takes into account the necessity to fight

against abuses and misappropriations that can sometimes be the object

[ive] of student mobility." The circular of 31 May combined these three

objectives of influence, competitiveness of companies and control of im-

migration. Recalling the terms of the law, it asked commissioners of po-

lice to regulate the flow of professional immigration by adopting some-

times a 'qualitative and selective' approach and in so doing taking the

qualifications of the applicant into account.

In a joint statement the CPU, CGE and CDEFI (1) welcomed Fillon's clarifi-

cation, noting in particular that all foreign students graduating with at

least a masters degree could ask for provisional residence authorisation

so they could stay for a first professional experience. They understood

from a meeting with relevant ministers that the process to review individ-

ual situations was under way and had produced important preliminary re-

sults. Wauquiez told a press briefing the so-called 'Guéant circular' was

simply a reminder of existing law and had been badly interpreted by

préfectures in its application, which had not conformed to the govern-

ment's policies on foreign students. "I think we have drawn lessons on

what was not working. We had some difficulties in its application, and we

have corrected them," he said.

Guéant explained that the circular merely reiterated an existing law of

2006 that gave masters and doctoral graduates the right to a salaried six-

month stay "for a first professional experience in an activity correspond-

ing to the education followed", and this right had not changed.

He added: "If the applications from foreign nationals correspond to the

qualifications or professions in which France has labour shortages, au-

thorisations will be granted. If that is not the case, they are refused."

Guéant also drew attention to the problem of brain drain: "I cannot bring

myself cynically to assume the pillaging of brains in the countries of origin

which often need to build up a class of managers." It was an approach

that was contrary to the government's policy of development solidarity,

he wrote.

(1)CPU is the National Board of University Presidents; CGE is the Board of

the Grandes Ecoles Directors, CDEFI is the Board of Engineering Schools

Directors

(Source: www.universityworldnews.com)

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2011 SEFI Student year

FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD

FROM THE AUSTRALASIAN ASSOCIATION

FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION

22nd annual Australasian Association for Engineering Education

conference

The 22nd annual Australasian Association for Engineering Education con-

ference was held this December at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle,

Western Australia. Over 200 delegates from academia and industry came

together to explore the conference theme of "Developing Engineers for

Social Justice".

The conference began with Juan Lucena's thought provoking keynote

presentation on the purpose of engineering, and the way in which the en-

gineering mindset impacts on how we as a profession engage with hu-

manitarian issues. Throughout the three days of the conference there

were over 100 papers presented and nearly 20 workshops on a range of

issues dealing with Engineering Education.

A highlight of the event was the National final of the Engineers Without

Borders Challenge, where freshmen engineers work in teams to solve hu-

manitarian engineering problems, and are judged on their technical de-

sign, cultural sensitivity and suitability, and presentation skills.

This year the conference kept a video diary, with delegates asked to give

short interviews which have been uploaded to the conference youtube

channel.

If you want to see what you missed, check out http://www.youtube.com/

aaee2011conference

For more information on the conference more broadly, see the confer-

ence website: www.aaee.com.au/conferences/2011

(Source: www.aaee.au)

Study given on the Modernisation of the Professional Qualifications Directive The study purpose was to assess whether education reforms in the EU add value to the recognition of Professional qualifications. Two reforms were consi-

dered in the scope: the Bologna process (degree cycles, credit systems, learning outcomes) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

The complete study is available online: "Impact of the recent educational reforms on the Professional Qualifications Directive" / http://tinyurl.com/bpszanl

Higher Education's Commitment to Sustainability

This fourth report, Higher Education's Commitment to Sustainability: From Understanding to Action, includes papers by 85 authors from 38 countries. The

publication presents the current situation and its implication for higher education (HE), analyzing the link between sustainability and HE. It shows a map of

how the regions are advancing with regard to the subject; complemented with trending topics, networks' experiences and good practices. The report

offers different visions that contribute to the transformation of HE. The publication also includes a study to identify the main barriers that prevent the

transformation of higher education institutions (HEIs) towards contributing to the sustainability paradigm, and highlight possible solutions in a global fra-

mework to advance from understanding to action.

Link to the publication: http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=280841

The e-skills manifesto, A call to Arms by Ade McCormack

Europe’s economic future is highly dependent on having a highly skilled workforce. In order to remain competitive in a global marketplace, Europe’s IT

functions and technology service providers need to have ready access to an e-skills-proficient labour force. Increasingly the e-skills capability of end users

will also determine the sustainability of Europe’s collective economy. But we must be careful not to create an underclass of people who are not only un-

employed but unemployable. This manifesto provides insight and actionable content from a broad cross section of perspectives. Ade McCormack has

written this guide for those that have influence over the acquisition, development and consumption of 21st century IT professionals and their counterparts

in the user community.

Link to the publication: http://files.eun.org/eskillsweek/manifesto/e-skills_manifesto.pdf

PUBLICATIONS

CITEF-INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF FRENCH

SPEAKING ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS.

« Former des ingénieurs, des techniciens et des cadres pour un déve-

loppement durable »—“Training Engineers, Technicians and Managers

for sustainable development”

12th - 14th April 2012, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The Call for Interests is available here: http://tinyurl.com/br6jdrh

For more information please contact:

Prof. Michel TROQUET mtroquet@polytech.univ-bpclermont.fr

The conference as well as all documents are in French only

11 news@sefi – 12/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

2011 SEFI Student year

In January and February

FOR YOUR CALENDAR

30 January 2012, Brussels, Belgium Project MODERN Conference—ESMU « Engaging in the Modernisation Agenda for European Higher Educa-tion » SEFI is partner of the project MODERN More information: www.esmu.be/modern.html

2-3 February 2012, DIT, Dublin, Ireland E3M project conference: Universities’ Third Mission: Indicators and Good Practices. The Dublin Institute of Technology, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the University of Porto, members of SEFI, are partners of the project E3M. More information: www.sefi.be/?p=2722

09-10 February 2012, Madrid, Spain CLAIU-EU Conference “The Engineering Doctorate” With the active participation of SEFI, represented by Professor A. Avdelas and Professor J. Steinbach More information: www.claiu.org

23-24 February 2012, Fondation Universitaire, Brussels, Belgium ENAEE General Assembly 2012

19-20 January, Paris France ECO-Campus CPU-CGE More information on: www.cpu.fr

1-3 February 2012, Orlando, USA Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration (CIEC) - ASEE More information: www.asee.org

12-13 February 2012,Issy-lès-Moulinaux, France Annual Colloquium Commission des Titres d’Ingénieurs More information: www.cti-commission.fr

12-13 January 2012 Dublin, Ireland EUA Conference “Supporting Individual Paths of Doctoral Candidates - Experience, Skills, Guidance “ More information on : www.eua.be/events

20 January 2012, Brussels, Belgium. ACA event: “What's new in Brussels? Recent developments in Euro-pean policies and programmes” More information on www.aca.be

18-21 January 2012, Orléans, France. 40 years of Engineering Formation in Orléans More information on: www.univ-orleans.fr/polytech

12 news@sefi – 12/ 2011 – SEFI – www.sefi.be – info@sefi.be

2011 SEFI Student year

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