Category: Study Abroad

German Turkish University established

“On 22 October 2010 [Germany’s] Federal President Christian Wulff and [Turkey’s] President Abdullah Gül jointly laid the foundation stone for the new University. The Turkish President had previously appointed Prof. Ziya Şanal its first President, thereby officially founding the University. During his visit to Ankara in January 2010, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had emphasized that the German-Turkish University was something in which he took a keen personal interest, adding: “We believe it is important the University embarks on teaching activities as soon as possible.”

Courses are due to begin at the University’s initially five faculties in autumn 2011. The planned faculties are: law, natural science, engineering, humanities and cultural studies, economics and social science. The University will offer Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees. These qualifications, as well as the curricula and associated quality assurance, are to be based on European education standards (the Bologna Process). German-Turkish courses aimed at fostering intercultural cooperation will be the University’s special hallmark. Students will also have the option of earning German degrees and learning the German language.

The German-Turkish University hopes to cooperate closely with Turkish and German companies. It aims to meet the growing need for well-trained specialists in Turkey, whose economy is experiencing dynamic growth.

The Turkish side will provide land, buildings and infrastructure and assume the recurring costs. The University hopes to cater for up to 5000 students in the medium term.

German contributions include, among other things, the secondment of senior and junior lecturers, the development of curricula and the provision of equipment and materials for the planned new language centre.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing major support to help make the German-Turkish University a reality. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is responsible for coordination among the participating German universities.”

For further information, see the original posting on the German Foreign Office site. This university is one result of the Ernst Reuter Initiative for Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding, between Turkey and Germany.

Erasmus Mundus grant to Hong Kong Polytechnic

“The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has received another strong boost to achieve further internationalization with the award of South East Asia’s first Erasmus Mundus (EM) Mobility Grant of nearly €1.4 million by the European Commission. The grant will support a large-scale scholarly exchange involving nine universities in Europe and South East Asia and greatly benefit faculty members and postgraduate students.

EM is a flagship European Commission programme promoting international education. The successful application for the EM Mobility Grant is the joint effort of a consortium partnership consisting of nine higher education institutions across Europe and South East Asian countries, with PolyU’s Faculty of Humanities as the initiating institution and the coordinator in South East Asia, and Université de Provence as the overall coordinator and coordinator in Europe.

The grant of nearly €1.4 million will be allocated to successful applicants of the nine consortium partners in a project titled “MULTI – Multilingualism and Multiculturalism: Linguistic approaches to Transition and Identity”. This project, which will span for about three years, aims to address the linguistic, cultural and technological aspects of multilingualism and to understand the impact of multilingualism in both European Union and South East Asia societies.

With the support of EM grant, more than 80 students at postgraduate level or above and faculty members from PolyU as well as other eight higher education institutions in Europe and South East Asia will be selected to participate in the scholarly exchanges at a host university funded by the European Commission.

PolyU is expected to send forth a total of 13 postgraduate level or above students and staff to undertake an exchange programme that will last for 1-12 months. The grant will cover their travel costs, monthly allowance, and tuition fees for participants to study at partner universities in Europe and South East Asia.

The nine universities in the consortium partnership include Université de Provence (France), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), City University London (UK), Università di Pisa (Italy), Universität des Saarlandes (Germany), Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), National Taiwan University (Taiwan), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and University of Macau (Macau).”

For further details, see the original press release from PolyU.

One World Scholarships-Developing Countries

“The One-World-Scholarship-Programme is directed at students from developing countries at Austrian Universities and is meant to contribute to the peaceful coexistence of people from different countries of origin by enhancing equal opportunities, dialogue, intercultural know-how and partnership. It has been established within the Austrian Cooperation for Education, and together with the other programmes it supports their concerns (struggle against poverty, resource conservation, peace-keeping etc.), the establishment and expansion of accordingly qualified personnel and the advancement of educational- and economic systems (capacity and institution development) with lasting effects.
It is complementary to other scholarship programmes and laid out globally, it enhances the ability for independent, creative, critical and self-determined thinking and acting and shall strengthen the competence for innovative problem solving strategies. The OWS contributes to the socially required production of knowledge and awareness, it promotes a global perspective and the creation of the globally educated citizen. It attaches a high significance to regional, international and trans-cultural networks. The programme is co-financed (government, church and private funds and own resources of the recipients of the benefits) and significantly contributes to the economic, social and cultural development of the southern countries.”
For further information, see the original posting at the Afro-Asiatisches Institut site.