EU-US cooperation in higher education and training

 

The current agreement on EU-US cooperation in higher/vocational education & training (2006) runs until 2013 and will ultimately fund over 200 projects, enabling 6,000 students and teachers to take part in exchanges of one type or another. Activities under the agreement include:

Atlantis programme

Atlantis has funded:

• Transatlantic degree projects – which establish joint study programmes (including joint/double degrees and exchanges of students/staff) involving EU and US institutions
• Excellence in mobility projects – which fund institutional partnerships that help students study abroad
• Policy-oriented measures – which address comparative higher education and vocational training issues, as well as promoting dialogue on recognition of qualifications and accreditation.

For budget reasons, the US has cancelled all current and future calls for proposals until 2013. The European Commission and the US Department of Education are currently exploring ways to strengthen their exchanges and cooperation in the field of education with a view to ensuring their smooth integration with the future Erasmus for All programme. For more information, see EU-US Atlantis programme.

Schuman-Fulbright scholarships

Financed by the US State Department and DG Education and Culture, Schuman Fulbright grants provide scholarships for 1 semester or 1 year of study, research or lecturing overseas to highly qualified professionals from the EU and the US.

For more information, see Schuman-Fulbright programme.

OCEANS network

The OCEANS network promotes links between students and alumni, staff and faculty members, partners and promoters of exchange programmes and joint/double degree projects.

Its main purpose is to promote friendship, cooperation, understanding and professional development by creating long-term relationships.

Policy dialogue

EU and US education policymakers meet regularly to discuss ways to increase how they can cooperate and exchange ideas on challenges and trends, including:

• Bologna process for university reform
• university-business cooperation
• quality in higher education
• schools and teacher development
• skills for tomorrow
• the 21st-century student
• qualifications frameworks
• student learning.

The 2012 EU-US Education Policy Forum will examine how higher education contributes to the knowledge economy and society.

One outcome of the policy dialogue has been a joint EU-US "Tuning" project. Tuning involves examining academic programmes in a particular discipline and identifying what knowledge and skills students should have once they complete their degree.

The joint project has helped to develop a robust method for evaluating the impact of the Tuning approach in the US and EU in terms of behaviour, learning and completion rates.

The Final Report and the Executive Summary are now available.

Studies

Studies published by the European Commission and its US peers to delve deeper into issues of common interest include:

Emerging skills – a transatlantic study (2011) – proposes joint actions in the areas of key-skills development, accountability and performance, entrepreneurship in education, and the anticipation of skills needs.

Use of credit systems in higher education cooperation between EU/US (2011) – identifies elements of good practice which facilitate successful recognition of credits and qualifications gained through study abroad.

More information

• EU-US Education Policy Forum – Joint statement 2011 , Joint statement 2010 , Joint statement 2009

• Education – EU Delegation in the US

• US Department of Education