ARMENIA’S HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM GETS 5.5MLN EURO UNDER TEMPUS PROGRAM

ARKA
Feb 25, 2009

YEREVAN, February 25. /ARKA/. Since 1995, the Armenian higher education
system has received a total of â~B¬5.5mln under the TEMPUS program.

Lana Karlova, National Tempus Office, Armenia, reported that 32
projects have been implemented in Armenia under the TEMPUS program,
60 individual grants for trips to conferences and training courses
have been issued. She pointed out that the last individual grant was
issued two years ago.

Tempus (The Trans-European mobility scheme for university studies)
supports the modernisation of higher education and creates an area
of co-operation in countries surrounding the EU.

Established in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the scheme
now covers 27 countries in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and
Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

TEMPUS was launmched in Armenia in 1995.

Karlova said that the program affords ample opportunities for
cooperation between the Armenian and European higher schools.

She pointed put that TEMPUS projects are grant ones – their cost
ranging from â~B¬500 to â~B¬1.5mln.

This is huge money, but the number of participants is large as
well. Each consortium applying for participation must comprise at
least three Armenian and three European higher schools. Ministries,
NGOs and businesses can participate in the program as well, she said.

She pointed out t hat the program has entered a new stage, TEMPUS IV,
and the second contest has been announced.

Karlova said that the project is aimed to enhance the potential
of universities and raise the professional level of their academic
and administrative staff, as well as the level of students. In this
context she pointed out that the program deals with different levels
of higher education, namely, baccalaureate, MA course, Ph.D and
post-doctorial education.

She stressed that the program allows students to study in European
countries for no more than three months.

Karlova said that the TEMPUS information days in Yerevan on February
24-25 are aimed to inform representatives of Armenia’s higher schools
of the rules of annual contests announced by the European Commission.

She added that the following projects are available: training programs,
university management, university-society relations.