EU Integrated programme
Encyclopedia
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
programme for education and training. It has succeeded the SOCRATES programme
Socrates programme
The SOCRATES programme was an educational initiative of the European Commission; 31 countries took part. The initial Socrates programme ran from 1994 until 31 December 1999 when it was replaced by the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, which ran until 2006...
. It includes a variety of support actions, most notably the iconic ERASMUS programme
Erasmus programme
The Erasmus Programme , a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union student exchange programme established in 1987...
.
Introduction
The Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 was established by Decision No.1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006. It is the single financial instrument available to the Commission for its directly managed education and training policies during the period covered by the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's current financial perspective
Financial perspective
The financial perspective of the European Union is a seven-year framework for its spending.The origin of this unusual usage of the term "perspective" appears to be non-native English, likely influenced by French or German .-Financial perspective for the 2007/2013 period:On...
. The Programme continues the main actions launched under previous action programmes (in particular, it brings together the various actions financed under the SOCRATES Programme
Socrates programme
The SOCRATES programme was an educational initiative of the European Commission; 31 countries took part. The initial Socrates programme ran from 1994 until 31 December 1999 when it was replaced by the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, which ran until 2006...
and the Leonardo da Vinci Programme
Leonardo da Vinci programme
The Leonardo da Vinci programme is a European Commission funding programme focused on the teaching and training needs of those involved in vocational education and training...
). It has six sub-programmes:
- The Comenius project, supporting actions for schools (from pre-primary schools to upper secondary or equivalent)
- The ERASMUS programmeErasmus programmeThe Erasmus Programme , a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union student exchange programme established in 1987...
, supporting exchanges of students in higher educationHigher educationHigher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
, as well as cooperation between universities and colleges, etc;
- The Leonardo da Vinci programmeLeonardo da Vinci programmeThe Leonardo da Vinci programme is a European Commission funding programme focused on the teaching and training needs of those involved in vocational education and training...
, supporting actions in initial and continuing vocational education and trainingVocational educationVocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
(including student and apprentice exchanges, cooperation between colleges, etc)
- The Grundtvig programmeGrundtvig programmeThe Grundtvig programme is a European funding programme that is part of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013 and aims to strengthen the European dimension in adult education and lifelong learning across Europe....
, supporting actions in the field of adult educationAdult educationAdult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
- The Transversal programmeTransversal programmeThe Transversal programme is part of the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013.The Transversal programme complements the main sub-programmes of the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013 in order to ensure that they achieve the best results...
covering activities in four themed areas across all sectors of education and training: policy cooperation and innovation in education and training; foreign language teachingSecond language acquisitionSecond-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process...
; development of ICT-based content and services; and dissemination of results of the programme;
- The Jean Monnet ProgrammeJean Monnet ProgrammeThe Jean Monnet Programme, also known as the Jean Monnet Project, is a European Union initiative to encourage teaching, research and reflection in the field of European integration studies in higher education institutions...
, supporting institutions and actions in favour of European integrationEuropean integrationEuropean integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
.
Objectives
The Programme's objectives are first, to support the development of quality lifelong learning (a reference to the first paragraphs of Articles 149 and 150 of the Treaty of RomeTreaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, was an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany...
, which establish the European Union's duties in education and training in those terms); and thereafter to help Member States develop their own education and training systems
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. Although the objectives are expressed in somewhat abstract terms, they are underpinned by actions which concentrate on the creation of links between people, institutions and countries in education and training – what the programme describes as the "European Dimension" of education and training.
Actions supported
The programme supports exchanges and connections between people, institutions and countries within the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
.
Exchanges between individuals
These include (for example):- Erasmus Student exchanges of between 3 and 12 months, in which students leave their home university and follow an agreed part of their course at another university in another country. No additional fees are payable, and the course is recognised by the home institution as part of course-work for the degree. Over 150,000 students did Erasmus student exchanges in the academic year 2005/6, and the cumulative total since 1987 is over 1,500,000.
- In-service training courses in school or adult education. The Comenius and Grundtvig programmes support participation in specific short work placements (internships) for vocational students in companies in another country, to help them complete their skills
Exchanges between institutions
These include (for example):- Developing partnerships between schools in different countries ("Comenius partnerships") to run joint projects for and with their pupils.
- Similar projects are supported in the field of adult education by the Grundtvig programmeGrundtvig programmeThe Grundtvig programme is a European funding programme that is part of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013 and aims to strengthen the European dimension in adult education and lifelong learning across Europe....
.
- Joint projects run by universities in different countries to develop joint curricula, run short-term intensive programmes, or establish thematic networks in different disciplines
Connections between countries
These include (for example):- study visits for regional and national administrators in education, training and guidance
- Networks of national experts working together on issues of common interest.
- Publication of comparable statistics indicating how the various education and training systems are progressing.
Programme Mechanics
The management of the programme is very largely decentralised to a network of "national agencies", nominated by the participating countries. All individual mobility schemes and partnerships, and many multilateral projects, will be funded through these agencies. A limited number of projects will be handled centrally either by the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
itself or through its Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency is an agency of the European Union, established on January 1, 2006, to manage parts of the Union's programs in education, culture, and audiovisual fields. It is part of the European Commission....
– a public agency funded by the Commission and operating on its behalf.
Funding
The Programme has an indicative total budget of €6.970 billion over the seven years 2007–2013. Minimum seven-year allocations for each of the four bigger programmes are laid down as follows:- Comenius: 13% (€ 0.906 billion)
- Erasmus: 40% (€ 2.788 billion)
- Leonardo da Vinci: 25% (€ 1.743 billion)
- Grundtvig: 4% (€ 0.279 billion)
The remaining budget is to be spent on other actions and administrative costs. Experience of previous programmes suggests that the final seven-year budget will slightly exceed the current estimate
External links
- European Union — The Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013
- UK - The Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013
- EduComics - funded project within the Comenius programme to examine the use of web comics in education
- ARGUing for Multilingual Motivation in Web 2.0 - funded project within the Comenius programme, using an Alternate Reality GameAlternate reality gameAn alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
to motivate language learning - CLIOH-WORLD CLIOH-WORLD: Network of Universities supported by the European Commission (LLP-Erasmus) for the researching, teaching and learning of the history of the EU, including History of EU Integration, EU-Turkey dialogue, and linking to world history.
- EU4ALL EU4ALL:
the goals of EU4ALL are to:
- •Design an open service-oriented architecture for ALL
- •Develop the software infrastructure for ALL services (including content, support and access services)
- •Provide technical standards/specifications for ALL applications integrated with current and emerging eLearning standards
- •Validate the results in large-scale higher education settings