The Erasmus Mundus - External Cooperation Windows are designed to foster institutional cooperation in the field of higher education between the European Union and Third-countries through a mobility scheme addressing student and academic exchanges for the purpose of studying, teaching, training and research.
The European Union recognises the importance of higher education for economic and social development. Higher education plays a crucial role in producing high quality human resources, in disseminating scientific discovery and advanced knowledge through teaching and educating future generations of citizens, high level professionals and political leaders, who in turn can contribute to better governance and social cohesion.
The increasing speed at which existing knowledge becomes obsolete, and the rapid changes in the means by which it is delivered and renewed, will require high adaptability of the education sector to meet the needs of the economy and of society as a whole. In a context of globalisation, countries that are only weakly connected to the global knowledge economy will find themselves increasingly at a disadvantage and will not be able to generate adequate socio-economic conditions for the population.
Against this background, the promotion of international cooperation between the European Union and Third-Country Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and, in particular, the facilitation of institution-based mobility is a win-win situation not only to improve the results of education, but also to create lasting links and generate mutual enrichment and understanding between peoples.
Moreover, this mobility scheme envisaged under the respective 'window' translates a political choice of the country or regions and is complementary to other actions developed in the area.
The Erasmus Mundus - External Cooperation Windows (EMECWs) offer a unique higher education institutional cooperation frame and training opportunities relevant to the skilled manpower needs of the targeted regions and the EU. Thus, EMECW students and academic staff benefit from the opportunity to study, teach and research in Europe and abroad while the participating universities raise their capacities, build pools of expertise and gain international visibility.
On the other hand, the European Community pursues a development cooperation policy guided by the European Consensus on Development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (UN General Assembly, September 2000) and aimed at assisting developing countries' efforts in achieving the objectives of poverty reduction, sustainable economic development and integration into the world economy.
Hence the EM-ECWs combine the European Union education, cooperation and external policies to further deepen and enhance the higher education cooperation links between the EU and the rest of the world. The EM-ECWs complement current and previous higher education schemes in the field, building on the positive results that other programmes like Erasmus, the general Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, ALFA, AlBan, AsiaLink and Edulink have generated in the different targeted regions.
As from 2009, the external cooperation window will be integrated as action II "Partnerships" under the new Erasmus Mundus II Programme aiming at promoting institutional cooperation and mobility activities
The main overall objectives of this mobility scheme are:
To develop higher education teaching and learning capacities of Third countries and regions in areas of policy and practice closely linked to their development priorities, thus contributing to bridge the gap between developing and developed countries, including poverty reduction aspects;
To promote cooperation between sending and hosting institutions, thus mutually enriching the educational environment of both, to share responsibility and accountability for their joint efforts in partnership by facilitating transfer of know-how and good practices;
To enable talented students to benefit linguistically, culturally and educationally from the experience of pursuing academic studies in another country. This will contribute to combat poverty investing in people by developing a pool of well-qualified, open-minded and internationally experienced young women/men as future professionals and leaders, capable of responding to the challenges of the new Global Knowledge Society of a globalised world and of improving governance;
To contribute to provide good students from vulnerable groups (i.e. refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and indigenous populations) with further education and professional development and empowerment for leadership;
To enhance the skills and qualifications of foreign higher education staff so that they can contribute actively towards improvement of quality and pertinence, to university research, to changes in system governance and to innovation of higher education through an institutionbased visiting teacher exchange system.
To build the capacity of the administration and public and private sector by participation of their staff in higher education mobility activities (especially through doctorate and postdoctorate activities);
To improve the transparency and recognition of studies and qualifications, in particular by favouring the practical implementation of Common Areas of Higher education triggered by the interest in the "acquis" of the Bologna process;
To enhance in the medium term the political, cultural, educational and economical links between the European Union and Third-countries, promoting common values of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, peace, democracy, good governance, gender, equality, the rule of law, solidarity and justice.
The geographical Lot 21b includes: Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama
And the fields of study are:
Agricultural Sciences (01)
Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning (02)
Education, Teacher Training (05)
Engineering, Technology (06)
Mathematics, Informatics (11)
Medical Sciences (12)
Natural Sciences (13)
Social Sciences (14)
Communication and Information Sciences (15)
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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