More Russian universities to visit Holland
11 Aug 2008
Over the next two years leading Russian universities will continue to visit the Netherlands for special seminars in higher education.
Over the next two years leading Russian universities will continue to visit the Netherlands for special seminars in higher education. The visits, coordinated by Nuffic and Neso Russia, are financed under the Russian national project ‘Education’ initiated by the Russian president to modernize Russia’s higher education system.
This decision was made by the Russians after a successful pilot in Holland in May 2008. A delegation from Perm State Technical University (PSTU) travelled from Perm in the Urals to Nuffic in The Hague to learn more about the modernization of higher education, and to gather information on quality assurance and control at Dutch universities. The delegation of 26 senior managers and academic staff was led by Ekaterina Vershinina, head of the International Recognition Department of the Russian Federal Education and Science Supervision Service.
Besides attending seminars the 26 delegates visited The Hague University of Applied Sciences and the Technical University in Delft. Several representatives from the Dutch Ministry of Education, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences also provided presentations for the Russian visitors.
According to the feedback received from the Russian participants on completion of the seminars, they were very satisfied with the programme. The delegation was impressed by the transfer from the old Dutch system to the Bachelor’s and Master’s system, the progressive organization of higher education in general, the integration of education, science and innovative activities and new sophisticated education programmes in the Netherlands.
The technical university in Perm decided to organize a special seminar for autumn 2008 where the delegation members will share their ‘Dutch’ experiences with other Russian colleagues. With 27,500 students, the PSTU is the biggest university in Perm, an industrial city with a million inhabitants and several higher education institutions.
Russian universities are looking forward to sending another group of senior managers and academic staff to Holland. Under the preliminary agreement, training for selected leading Russian universities will be provided twice a year in cooperation with Nuffic and Neso Russia, supported by the Russian president’s ‘Education’ project. The next visit is scheduled for December 2008.
This Russian government project sponsors top innovative Russian universities in their efforts to modernize the existing structure inherited from the Soviet era. A sizeable budget is allocated to the training of senior managers and core faculty members. Russian universities must compete with each other to win funding for the training under the national project.
A winning university can send its staff for training anywhere in the world. Holland was chosen over other European countries because of its reputation for quality, with a special focus on the national system of accreditation which Russia aims to strengthen.
The seminars were organized by the Nuffic Promotion Department and Neso Russia. ‘I am very happy Russia decided to work with us’, says Neso director Charles Hoedt. ‘This gives us the opportunity to share our knowledge. It also puts Holland in the spotlight of institutional cooperation.’