GIULIANO AUGUSTI

The Process and transparency in European : increased chances for equal opportunities

SUMMARY

It is well known that the “Bologna process” started in 1998 aiming not at uniformity of the various European HE systems, but at creating “a system of easily readable and comparable degrees”. By 2010, this objective has been achieved to a large extent, and the 47-country “European Higher Education Area” (EHEA) has been established. However, not all problems are yet solved and the mobility of students and graduates is still often hampered by lack of trust and/or knowledge of the actual situations: to remove these remaining obstacles will be a great contribution to the increase of equal opportunities for all genders and nationalities. In engineering, a field in which internationalization is essential, a great effort in this direction is being made by the “European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education”(ENAEE), that has devised and is implementing a decentralized accreditation system (the “EUR-ACE” system), described in this lecture. As of June 2011, seven national QA Agencies participate in the EUR-ACE system and have awarded approximately 800 “EUR-ACE labels”, testifying that the accredited programmes satisfy a common set of “European Standards”; about the same number of Agencies have applied to join the system and are being assessed by ENAEE, entitled to authorize an Agency to award the EUR-ACE label. The strengthening and the development of the EUR-ACE system will be small but significant contributions to transparency and transnational recognition of the outcomes of European higher education, hence to the increase of opportunities for all European citizens.

Introduction

I am grateful, first of all to my old-time friend Jean Michel, and quite happy to be here and have the opportunity to speak at this Conference to an audience quite different from the ones I am used to. But before starting my Lecture, let me confess my embarrassment. When I gladly accepted to speak at this Conference, I did not pay much attention to the “gender” environment I would meet. Then, I thought about it, and have realized that at this moment, notwithstanding that engineering is traditionally a “male-

A. B´eraud et al. (eds.), GIEE 2011: Gender and Interdisciplinary Education for Engineers, 11–19. © 2012 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved. GIULIANO AUGUSTI dominated” environment, there are a great number of women in top posts in Engineering Education and Professional Associations, for example: • SEFI (European Society for Engineering Education): woman President and Secretary General; • IFEES (Intern. Federation of Engineering Education Societies): woman Past- President; • WFEO (World Federation of Engineering Organizations): woman President; • LACCEI (Latin American & Caribbean Consortium of Eng. Institutions): woman exec. Director; and I certainly forget others… On the contrary, no women hold significant posts in ENAEE, the European Network I have founded (and will chair until 31 March 2012): I am ashamed… I have indeed suggested to have women candidates for the next ENAEE Administrative Council to be elected in February 2012, but I confess I have little hopes of success in this direction… unless some new entry comes into the picture in the next few months… perhaps even at this Conference… Actually my Lecture does not tackle explicitly “gender” issues: its relevance in this context is based on the assumption that any move towards transparency increases the chances of equal opportunities…

The “Bologna Process”, 1998-2010 and beyond.

It is well known that the “Bologna process” started in 1998 aiming not at uniformity of the various European HE systems, but at creating “a system of easily readable and comparable degrees” and - in parallel to the “European Research Area” - an “European Higher Education Area” (EHEA), much wider than the . As ascertained by the HE Ministers of the participating countries in the “Anniversary Conference” held in and in 2010, this objective has been achieved to a large extent, and the 47-country EHEA can now be considered as established. However, not all problems are yet solved and the mobility of students and graduates is still often hampered by lack of trust and/or knowledge of the actual situations: therefore, as the Ministers pointed out, “adjustments and further work, involving staff and students, are necessary at European, national, and especially institutional levels to achieve the European Higher Education Area as [envisaged]”. To remove the remaining obstacles to mobility will be a great contribution to the increase of equal opportunities for all genders and nationalities. In particular, we suffer from the lack of a European accreditation system of engineering education accepted on the continental scale: to fill this lack is what ENAEE is trying to do with the EUR-ACE system, as it will be briefly described in the following.

Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Higher Education

One of the most important achievements of the Bologna Process has been the development and implementation of specific Quality Assurance (QA) procedures for

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