Competitive universities need to internationalize learning: Perspectives from three European universities
Abstract: The process of
restructuring European universities in order to harmonize their educational
systems is rapidly approaching a key milestone as 2010 looms large on the
horizon. This paper describes an approach to the European Higher Education Area
(EHEA) based on a real case study of students that belong to five European
Universities (University of Burgos, Technical University of Valencia,
University of Valladolid, University of Basque Country and University of
Applied Sciences Cologne). The objective of this paper is two-fold: on the one
hand, to analyze from the student’s point of view how they value the
restructuring of teaching as a result of the Bologna process and what are the
implications for students with regards to both their academic qualifications
and their future incorporation into the labour market; and, on the other hand,
to deduce from the results obtained recommendations which may help to guide
teachers towards successful internationalization and collaboration between
interuniversity networks, as well as achieving greater standards of quality
within university teaching. Only this would permit an environment in which
students are capable of developing the necessary competences, and put into
practice learning outcomes. The results show that students value communication,
innovative proposals and cooperation between universities; the
internationalization of knowledge between universities has been positively
accepted and this has motivated research to place a stronger focus on this aspect;
it impacts strongly on scientific productivity, improves the quality of
education offered by the teaching staff, and leads to greater student mobility.
This strategy is intrinsically linked to learning from local experiences shared
by members of the same university as well as from more global experiences made
available through inter-university networks. It implies being willing to
listen, to communicate, to engage in dialogue and means that we must seek to
understand the potential contributions from teachers, staff and students that
make up each university.
Keywords: bologna process;
european higher education; competitive universities; internationalization
Author: Ana Maria Lara, Keith
Stuart, Jan Karpe, Heide Faeskorn-Woyke, Raúl Poler, Rafael Brotons
Journal Code: jptindustrigg090025
