Erasmus Mundus in the Western Balkans December 2013 Table of contents Action 1 – Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes: Masters Courses and Joint Doctorates 5 Participation in Erasmus Mundus joint programmes An example of an Action 1 joint programme Mobility under Action 1 programmes Action 2 – Erasmus Mundus Partnerships (former External Cooperation Window) 8 Action 2 partnerships Examples of Action 2 partnerships Current Action 2 partnerships in more detail Mobility under Action 2 partnerships Combined mobility Action 1 & Action 2 Action 2 project achievements in the Western Balkans Action 3 – Erasmus Mundus Attractiveness projects 18 Participation in Erasmus Mundus Attractiveness projects Examples of Action 3 projects ANNEX 1 Participation by HEIs from the Western Balkans in Action 2 partnerships 2008-2013 ANNEX 2 Action 2 project examples: summary sheets Erasmus Mundus in the Western Balkans – December 2013 3 * Croatia: Under Action 1, Croatian candidates have always been eligible for scholarships and fellowships; until 2012 as Category A candidates, from 2013 as Category B candidates (due to Croatia's accession to the European Union on the 1st July 2013). Croatia was until 2010 a beneficiary country under Action 2. In the 2013 selection Croatia was classified as an EU Member State. These two types of participation are reflected in the statistics. ** FYROM: former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. *** Kosovo: This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence. 4 Erasmus Mundus in the Western Balkans – December 2013 The Erasmus Mundus Programme The Erasmus Mundus programme's objective is to promote European higher education, to help improve and enhance the career prospects of students and to promote intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries, in accordance with EU external policy objectives in order to contribute to the sustainable development of third countries in the field of higher education. It does this through three Actions: Action 1 – Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes (Masters Courses and Joint Doctorates) Action 2 – Erasmus Mundus Partnerships (former External Cooperation Window) Action 3 – Erasmus Mundus Attractiveness projects Action 1 – Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes: Masters Courses and Joint Doctorates Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes are operated by consortia of higher education institutions (HEIs) from the EU and (since 2009) elsewhere in the world. They provide an integrated course and joint or multiple diplomas following study or research at two or more HEIs within the consortium. Masters Courses and Joint Doctorates are selected each year following a Call for Proposals. They also offer EU-funded scholarships or fellowships to top students, doctoral candidates and scholars. Each joint programme carries out five annual selections for these scholarships. Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses have been selected in annual Calls for Proposals, starting in 2004 with the last selection in 2012. Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorates were selected in four annual Calls from 2009 onwards (with the last selection in 2012). There are currently 138 Masters and 42 Doctorates offering scholarships or fellowships to students and scholars. Participation in Erasmus Mundus joint programmes The University of Belgrade is involved as full partner in an Erasmus Mundus Master Course. Organisation Country Title Year selected UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE Serbia AstroMundus - Astrophysics 2009 An example of an Action 1 joint programme: AstroMundus Full name: ASTROMUNDUS - Astrophysics Partners: UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK, Austria (Co-ordinating institution) UNIVERSITY OF PADUA, Italy UNIVERSITY OF ROME "TOR VERGATA", Italy UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN GEORG AUGUST, Germany UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE, Serbia Website: http://www.astromundus.eu/ Erasmus Mundus in the Western Balkans – December 2013 5 Astrophysics (acronym: AstroMundus) is a two-year Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Astronomy and Astrophysics, offered by a consortium of 5 partner universities in 4 different countries: Austria, Italy, Germany, and Serbia. The main objectives of the Master are initiation in scientific research and applied training in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Emphasis is put on the application of modern techniques both in the observational and theoretical/computational domain. The various specialities of the partner institutions result in an increased offer of pathways for the students: Theoretical Astrophysics, Models, Simulations and Computation, as well as Observational Astrophysics based on data from the ground and from space and on the exploitation of modern data archives. The programme lasts for two years (120 ECTS). During the first semester the students attend courses at the entrance university (University of Innsbruck). The second semester is spent at a second University of choice among the 2 Italian partner universities. The third semester is spent in one of the three partner institutions at Rome, Göttingen, or Belgrade depending on the astrophysical branches which the students will select to specialise on. Finally, the fourth semester is mainly devoted to the Master thesis (30 ECTS) that can be accomplished in any of the partner institutions. Students are given the possibility to attend additional advanced courses/seminars during the fourth semester, especially on topics related to their thesis work. The first semester is focused on basic learning in Astronomy and Astrophysics while the subsequent ones offer to the students the possibility to specialise in different branches. Mobility under Action 1 programmes Each year, students worldwide can apply for Erasmus Mundus scholarships to Masters and Doctorates. Students are selected by the individual consortia on the basis of a transparent selection procedure explained on the consortium website. A special "window" for the Western Balkans (with or without Turkey) has also formed part of the EMMC selections since 2007. This provides additional budget for scholarships for nationals of these countries. In total 799 students from Western Balkan countries have been selected over the 10 annual selections up to 2013 to take part in EM Master Courses. Within the total number of 799, the students selected thanks to the special window for the Western Balkans were 582 (89 from Albania, 47 from Bosnia-Herzegovina, 66 from Croatia, 46 from FYROM, 23 from Kosovo, 31 from Montenegro and 280 from Serbia). 2004-2013 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Albania 132 2 4 4 26 19 19 17 18 13 10 Bosnia- 61 0 0 1 7 7 10 11 7 7 11 Herzegovina Croatia* 95 0 2 0 0 10 13 20 14 18 18 FYROM** 71 0 5 4 0 5 8 12 8 13 16 Kosovo*** 32 0 1 3 7 8 3 2 1 3 4 Montenegro 36 - - - 2 3 8 9 6 6 2 Serbia 362 - - - 30 46 65 61 55 42 63 Serbia 10 1 6 3 - - - - - - - Montenegro TOTAL 799 3 18 15 72 98 126 132 109 102 124 Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses can also invite scholars to teach or research within the EMMC. So far, 30 EM scholars from the region have taken part in the programme. Figures for the nationality of selected scholars only become available once Masters Courses submit their final report, so the latest figures date from the 2010-2011 academic year. 6 Erasmus Mundus in the Western Balkans – December 2013 2004-2010 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Albania 3 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 Bosnia- 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 Herzegovina Croatia* 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 FYROM** 4 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 Kosovo*** 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Montenegro 0 - - - 0 0 0 0 Serbia 14 - - - 2 6 2 4 Serbia 2 0 0 2 - - - - Montenegro TOTAL 30 0 0 5 3 10 3 9 Four annual selections of Doctoral candidates to start research in one of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorates have been made so far. These included 81 fellows from Western Balkan countries. 57 out of the 81 candidates were selected within the Western Balkans window (4 from Albania, 5 from Bosnia-Herzegovina, 7 from Croatia, 5 from FYROM, 4 from Montenegro and 32 from Serbia). 2010-2013 2010 2011 2012 2013 Albania 9 0 1 4 4 Bosnia- 6 0 1 2 3 Herzegovina Croatia* 12 1 4 4 3 FYROM** 9 2 2 2 3 Kosovo*** 0 0 0 0 0 Montenegro 7 0 2 2 3 Serbia 38 0 9 10 19 TOTAL 81 3 19 24 35 Erasmus Mundus in the Western Balkans – December 2013 7 Action 2 – Erasmus Mundus Partnerships (former External Cooperation Window) Action 2 partnerships Under Action 2, Erasmus Mundus Partnerships bring together HEIs from Europe on the one hand and those from a particular region in the world on the other. Together the partnerships manage mobility flows between the two regions for a range of academic levels – bachelors, masters, doctorate, post-doctorate – and for academic staff. Scholarships are awarded to the individuals taking part in the mobility, and a portion of the budget is reserved to contribute to the costs of managing the mobility. For Western Balkan countries, partnerships organise mobility in both directions. At least 70% of the scholarships must go to nationals of Western Balkan countries to come to a university in the EU, and no more than 30% to EU nationals attending a university in Western Balkan countries. Action 2 Partnerships have been selected under annual Calls for Proposals since 2007 (the 2007-2009 Calls were organised under its former name, the External Cooperation Window). Western Balkan countries have been covered by the scope of Action 2 during six annual selections, from 2008 till 2013. The Calls for Proposals ask for partnerships that involve the non-EU partners from a particular country or group of countries – these are known as