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Projects
THEMATIC NETWORKS
A Thematic Network (TN) is a co-operation between departments of higher education institutions
and other partners (e.g. academic organisations or professional bodies). It is created to deal with
forward-looking, strategic reflection on the scientific, educational and institutional issues in the main
fields of higher education.
If you want to know more about them, visit the
European Union's site about thematic networks.
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EUGENE (EUropean and Global ENgineering Education)
The EUropean and Global ENgineering Education Academic Network is a new Thematic Network in
Lifelong Learning Programme with the main goal of improving the impact of European Engineering
Education on competitiveness, innovation and socio-economic growth in a global context.
This goal will be achieved by settingup and a top-level discussion & action forum to monitor and
support the continuous evolution of EE in the EHEA and to open its competition and cooperation
borders beyond Europe. Indeed, although European EE and research is well recognised worldwide, its
attractiveness still needs improving, and time has come to discuss, analyse and improve its strengths
and weaknesses in the global context: a first step has been the establishment of the worldwide
Intern. Fed. of Engineering Education Societies IFEES. Socio-economic growth and competitiveness
is mostly technology driven and based upon innovation and entrepreneurship: therefore, EE is a
priority for the industrial/professional corporate world.
The project has been submitted by the University of Florence with SEFI as one of the main partners
and is going to contribute to the building up of strong links to other European organisations within
engineering education and higher education.
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EU-VIP (Enterprise-University Virtual Placements)
EU-VIP enhances the quality, efficiency and impact of international work placements by focusing on
how to organise these placements, thereby boosting interaction between HEIs and enterprises using
the advantages of the newest technologies.
Work placements can play an important role in the knowledge transfer between higher education
institutions and the business community. In a global economy it is also becoming more and
more important to introduce students to an international working environment during their
education. When students do go abroad for a work placement, the integration of this placement
in the curriculum is not always optimal. Furthermore, there are also students who, for financial,
geographical or social reasons, do not have the possibility to go abroad.
EU-VIP provides the necessary (technical, pedagogical, organisational) models and services for:
- virtual mobility activities to prepare and follow-up students who go physically abroad for a
placement
- fully virtual placements, from selection, preparation, execution to follow-up
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StartPro
StartPro is a platform launched by EUROCADRES in 2005 which represents the link between students
and professional life. StartPro concentrate on three areas:
- Higher education and students
- The transitional period between the end of studies and the first job which is often characterised
by unemployment and/or precarious jobbing
- The working conditions and quality of graduates' first employment
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ESTIA-Earth
The main objectives of ESTIA-Earth are to build up a thematic network, focused in creating women-
friendly interdisciplinary postgraduate education in Electrical Engineering, Computer Technologies and
Applied Sciences.
The network aims at increasing awareness about gender bias issues in education, informing
and motivating young women, leading women to their educational and career paths, and
studying the potentials for implementing a new interdisciplinarity-based postgraduate curriculum.
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Education and Research in Biosystems or Agricultural and Biological Engineering in Europe (ERABEE)
The main objectives of this Thematic Network is to initiate and contribute to the structural
development and the assurance of the quality assessment of the emerging discipline of Biosystems
(or equivalent Agricultural and Biological) Engineering in Europe.
The innovative and novel goal of ERABEE TN is that it seeks to promote this critical transition,
which requires major restructuring in Europe, exploiting along this direction the outcomes of USAEE
TN. It also aims at enhancing the compatibility among the new programmes of Biosystems (or
Agricultural and Biological) Engineering, aid their recognition and accreditation at the European and
International level and facilitate greater mobility of skilled personnel, researchers and students.
PARTNERS
Networks:
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International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES)
The International Federation of Engineering Education Societies, or shortly
IFEES is the network organisation of worldwide societies who are dealing
with Engineering Education. It is based in United States and have more than
40 members from different continents. It is founded in 2006. BEST is the
only student organisation as founder and currently only student organisation
member. Omer Hantal, the President of BEST and an EduCo member, is in the
Executive Committee of IFEES for the period of 2007-2009.
IFEES will work to establish effective engineering education processes of
high quality around the world to assure a global supply of well-prepared
engineering graduates. IFEES will strengthen member organisations and their
capacity to support faculty and students.
Organisations:
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European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI)
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European Space Agency (ESA)
The European Space Agency has launched two new programmes to give students access to some
of Europe's best gravity-related research facilities.
"Drop Your Thesis" - microgravity experiments in the ZARM Drop Tower Facility
This program will allow students to develop microgravity experiments to be performed in the
ZARM Drop Tower Facility in Bremen. This facility is one of the most sophisticated and high-quality
research centres of its kind in Europe and boasts a 146m high tower that gives experiments up to 9.3s
of microgravity.
"Spin Your Thesis" - hypergravity experiments in ESA's Large Diameter Centrifuge
Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) in ESTEC, The Netherlands was recently developed by ESA for use in
professional hypergravity research. Using the LDC students will be able to design and carry out experiments
in a range of different hypergravity levels, from 1 to 20 times earth's gravitational acceleration, for durations
of minutes or even hours.
For each of the two programmes students will be supported by the ESA Education Office and scientific experts
from ESA and the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA) to both develop and finance their experiments.
More information will be online in the next few days!
Go to: www.esa.int/education "Hands-on Projects"
Sounding Rockets and Balloons
Fancy flying an experiment on a stratospheric balloon or sounding rocket? Want to experience the full life-cycle of
a space project? Then the REXUS/BEXUS program is the one for you!
This programme is a well established collaboration between DLR, SNSB and ESA Education and offers students across
Europe the unique opportunity to design, build, test and launch their very own space projects.
What will you gain from the REXUS/BEXUS programme?
- A flight ticket for an experiment on a stratospheric balloon or sounding rocket
- Travel to the launch site in Kiruna, Sweden, 200km north of the Arctic Circle!
- An exciting opportunity for university coursework or developing your thesis
- Lectures, advice and feedback from scientific and technical experts in the field
- Teamwork and Contacts at an international level
- New friends, new challenges and a lot of fun!
Interested in this opportunity? Apply now!
The deadline for applications is 16th November 2009.
Go to: www.rexusbexus.net
Conference Opportunities and the NASA Academy 2010
ESA offers opportunities for students to participate in a range of conferences throughout 2010 and also
aims to sponsor two students to attend the NASA Academy in the summer of 2010. More information will be
released on www.esa.int/education
in a few weeks.
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