EU steps up academic co-operation with the USA and Canada
The European Commission and the governments of the USA and Canada will jointly invest €15 million on new transatlantic education partnerships involving 160 universities and training institutions and thousands of students on both sides of the Atlantic. The European Union will contribute €7.5m for the initiative, with €6m coming from the US and €1.5m from Canada. The funding will support student exchanges, joint degrees and better policy co-operation. The partnerships focus on a range of fields including energy efficiency, computing robotics, climate change, forestry management, languages and cinema studies. For the first time a transatlantic degree programme is established between the EU and Canada.
Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "In today's globalised world, investment in education with an international dimension is more important than ever if we are to equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in the knowledge economy. I am delighted that we are taking our long-standing academic co-operation with the United States and Canada to an unprecedented level. This will enable us to support more joint projects which will benefit academics and students in both Europe and North America."EU-US Atlantis Programme
The European Commission and the US Department of Education have launched 26 new projects under the Atlantis programme. These involve 105 universities and training institutions from the EU and the US. The European Commission and the US Department for Education each contribute €6m – an increase of 5% compared to last year.The Atlantis Programme supports transatlantic joint or double degrees, with a new focus on entrepreneurship. This year's selected projects comprise:
- Ten 'excellence in mobility' projects. Similar to the EU's Erasmus higher education exchange programme, these allow students to spend a term in a partner university.
- Nine transatlantic degrees. Students spend a full academic year on the other side of the Atlantic.
- Seven projects aimed at enhancing transatlantic collaboration through studies, seminars, working groups, and benchmarking exercises addressing higher education and vocational training.
New EU-Canada projects - first ever transatlantic degree
The European Commission and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) have jointly launched 10 new co-operation projects. These involve 55 universities and training institutions from the EU and Canada. The European Commission and HRSDC each contribute €1.5m – an increase of about 40% compared to 2009 and the most the EU has invested in joint academic projects with Canada.These funds will support curriculum development and joint study or training programmes. Exchange students benefit from recognition of academic credits. In 2010, for the first time, the EU and Canada have established a joint Transatlantic Forestry Master degree, which focuses on sustainable environmental management. It will involve universities from Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Finland as well as three universities from Canada.
To know more
- European Commission: International co-operation in education and training
