Inputs allocated from the Tempus budget:
1. Financing of the 15 academic staff members' East-West mobility (it is the same mobility mentioned above, see Outcome 3).
2. Financing of the 5 academic staff members' West-East mobility.
3. Publishing of didactical materials (teaching aids) for the lectures to be read abroad (20 sets).
Inputs allocated from outside the Tempus budget:
1. Financing of the work on elaboration of new copyrightable courses.
Duration (in weeks): 77
Total Tempus funding required for this outcome (including related mobility flows) over project duration:
ECU .22'800
(this amount reflects the inputs from the Tempus budget only - for other contributions see the financial table V.8.)
2.3. Impact and sustainability
The successful implementation of the project will influence various aspects of the system of higher education in Russia, connected with preparation of students to be highly qualified specialists:
· On the national level it is the process of adaptation of the Russian system of higher education to the European dimensions; the possibility of mutual recognition of diplomas of future specialists in economics; creation of a model of a rapid and reliable information exchange system between the universities of Russia and European Union;
· At a regional level - perfecting of the network of the Ural universities ensuring high-quality preparation of students in the sphere of economics; uniting of scientific - pedagogical potential of the Ural universities for solution of problems in the sphere of student exchanges; development of structures coordinating student exchanges at the regional level; creation of reliable channels of information exchange on problems of preparation of high-qualified economists;
· At a university level - further development of university structures connected with student exchanges (Regional Center for Student Exchanges, Regional Office for International Cooperation); replenishment of the library funds with the economic literature, purchased by the students during their study courses abroad; creation of the atmosphere of interest in student exchanges at all structural subdivisions (faculties, departments) of the university;
· At a level of faculties - development of the structure of the Economic Faculty by student exchanges, including those with foreign universities; improvement of professional skills of the faculty teaching staff, including reading of some lectures in a foreign language; increase of students' interest in qualitative studying and learning of foreign languages;
· At a level of departments - perfecting of curricula for preparation of experts in the sphere of economics; teachers' mastering of foreign languages; rise of prestige of an economic specialty in the eyes of would-be students.
Upon termination of Tempus/Tacis financing the outcomes of the project can be maintained and developed by the structures established in the course of the project implementation (RCSE branches, ECTS-coordinators). The involvement in new projects, bilateral and multilateral agreements between the Russian and foreign universities is possible. It is obviously possible, that the mentioned structures, using the accumulated links, can offer the whole range of services to organizations and population. This will ensure additional sources of financing.
The Ural universities consortium has an intention to save and to develop the academic network established in the framework of the CHAIN-E project. For this purpose it is planned to offer and to realize the joint projects, financed from the respectable sources. All the Ural universities have an experience of grants getting from the national and non-governmental funds: “The Fund of Higher Education Development”, “National Fund for Staff Preparation” (The Government of the Russian Federation and the International Reconstruction and Development Bank), “G. Soros Fund (Opened Society Institute)” etc. During the academic network creation the universities will try to provide the financing from these sources of the respectable joint project in the field of Economics and Education. At the present time the USVPU and the USU have already got the positive decision of the “National Fund for Staff Preparation” about the loan rendering for the realization of the Innovation Education Fund project in the field of economical education of these universities.
IV.3. MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT
3.1. Management structure
Role and responsibilities of each consortium member
The structure of management of the project is indicated in the scheme below.
The University - Contractor is Ghent University (RUG). During the first year of MJEP fulfillment it acts as the University - Coordinator of the project, but it delegates some part of the responsibilities in Russia to the USVPU. Such control circuit has been already tested in 1994-98. In a course of realization of the Ural universities consortium work with the Ghent University within the framework of the multilateral agreements, and also the USVPU with Ghent, Rotterdam and Valladolid universities under the URAL project (Tempus/Tacis) T-JEP-10094-95-RF. The positive administrative experience accumulated for these years allows to recommend the used circuit of work.
During the second and third years functions of University - Coordinator of the project executes the USVPU, and some part of the responsibilities on coordination of works in Europe are preserved for RUG. The delegation of a coordinating role to Russian university (USVPU) has two reasons: first, the major part of work under the project is carried out in Russia; secondly, the fulfillment of managing functions will allow the USVPU to fix and to advance those skills of a realization of international cooperation, which were incorporated by joint activity of the Russian-European consortium of universities in 1994-98.
The problems of CHAIN-E and Russian-European subprojects development strategy (as well as development strategy of the URAL subprojects and other projects connecting universities of Ural and Europe into the network) will be settled by Council of the Rectors, which includes Prof./Dr. G. Romantsev (USVPU), Prof./Dr. V. Tretyakov (USU), Prof./Dr. V. Kamyshov (USUE), Prof./Dr. S. Naboichenko (USTU), Prof./Dr. V. Zhavoronkov (USPU) on the part of Ekaterinburg universities.
The operating project management is carried out by the Coordination Council of the managers of works at the universities. To be such managers: a Vice-Rector - coordinator of the international programs (USVPU), Prof./Dr. I. Kolobkov - Chairman of Coordination Council; a Vice-Rector on international relations (USUE), Prof./Dr. A. Maltsev – deputy head of the Coordination Council; the dean of Economics Faculty (USU), Prof./Dr. D. Nesterova; Head of the Department of The Analysis of Systems and Decision Making (USTU), Prof./Dr. O. Nikonov; a Vice-Rector on educational work and international relations (USPU), Prof./Dr. M. Igoshev are appointed. The managers of works at the universities coordinate aspirations of faculties and departments involved in the project in the correspondence with the annually developed general plan of the activity, which is approved in Tempus Department of the ETF.
A big role in carrying out of the MJEP CHAIN-E activities is played by the ECTS-coordinators, appointed at the universities, who are responsible for the ECTS implementation while realization of student exchanges. The strict fulfillment of ECTS principles, which is steadfastly monitored by the ECTS-coordinators, is the lien of that the procedures of academic recognition of study results will be facilitated, and the students who wish to study abroad, will not be afraid of extension of terms of their study because of a problem with academic recognition. In 4 of five Ural universities the ECTS-coordinators already exist and have passed training periods abroad and followed special courses in the USVPU: Prof./Dr. A. Zhuchenko Vice-rector of the USVPU; the Head of the Educational Department (USTU) Prof./Dr. V. Shavrin; the employee of the Educational Department (USPU) Prof. M. Yelisafenko; Prof./Dr. of the International Relations Department (USU) V. Kouzmine. Besides, the ECTS technology is widely known to the administrative and academic staff of the USVPU, who can be involved to management of the process of ECTS introduction into other Ural institutions.
The course of works under the project is weekly discussed by the Head of the Coordination Council with the representatives of international departments of universities (liaison-officers). The meetings of liaison -officers, as an element of operating control, are widely applied in activity of the consortium of Ural universities in 1994-98. The functions of liaison-officers execute the following persons: Prof./Dr. T. Begalova (USTU), Mrs. Y. Tokpiseva (USPU), Mrs. R. Shamsutdinova (USU).
The managers of works under the project at the universities act in a close contact with services of international cooperation. These services at various universities are on the different stages of development, however they can effort to cover needs of the project. The main work will be carried out by the most developed subdivisions of the University - Coordinator (USVPU): the Regional Office for International Cooperation, Language Center, Regional Centre for Student Exchanges.
The Regional Office for International Cooperation of the USVPU in cooperation with international departments of other universities[1] is to fulfill the following functions:
· Regularly instructs the managers of works at the consortium universities and various participants about new possibilities and new kinds of activity in the framework of the project and gives practical advises.
· Distributes information about a course of realization of the project, ensures feedback.
· Organizes coordination meetings of the managers of works.
· Realizes interaction with the foreign partners - participants of the projects.
· Realizes planning and monitoring the course of realization of the project.
· Elaborates the reports (intermediate and final).
· Represents outcomes of the project to a wide academic public.
· Organizes international and regional conferences, seminars and meetings.
· Realizes developing and issuing of the newsletters.
· Carries out the accumulation and systematization of materials on the results of foreign training periods and of the employees of the consortium universities.
· Organizes sending and receiving of the official invitations.
· Realizes communication with embassies and consulates to settle problems of visa support.
· Organizes visa maintenance to the foreigners in Ekaterinburg.
· Helps in registration of the passports, insurance and other necessary documents for departure abroad.
· Helps in booking of the travel tickets and hotels.
· Organizes residing, feed and leisure of the foreign visitors to university.
· Creates information and methodical databases for elaboration of social-cultural programs both for the foreign visitors, and for the university employees and students departing abroad.
· Organizes cultural information maintenance concerning country of stay for students the university employees departing abroad.
· Organizes a supply.
· Realizes print-design works of the department.
· Organizes text translations.
· Provides serviceable operation of all kinds of communication (telephone, fax, mail, DHL post, e-mail).
· Realizes the collection of the financial documents (invoices, waybills, travel tickets) and their registration in the correspondence with requirements of the project.
· Realizes planning and monitoring expenditures of financial assets of the project.
· Elaborates the financial report on the expenditures of grant money.
· Conducts accounting and remittances in various currencies.
· Inspects and adjusts the use of financial assets of the university by the department.
Thus, the international departments of both Ural, and European universities bear responsibility for the most general organizational aspects of the realization of the project: operative-circumspect activity, planning, monitoring and reporting, distribution of outcomes of works, technical support of the mobility, publishing works, supply and financial management.
The inclusive aspects of the project concerning development of higher economic education, tutoring at foreign universities and academic recognition of study periods, and also individual problems of organization of mobility are assigned to Regional Centre for Student Exchanges (Vagant Center) of the USVPU, which bears responsibility for the fulfillment of the following functions:
· Introduction of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in the Ural universities; the guaranteed carrying out of the obligations of universities on observance the ECTS principles and mechanisms while its using among Russian institutions as well as while international student exchanges;
· Rendering of the methodical and organizational assistance while introduction ECTS in the Ural universities; rendering of organizational and information support to the institutional ECTS-coordinators beginning the introduction of the ECTS; involving of academic staff in a procedure of credit allocation among subjects of the curricula;
· Coordination of the Ural universities activity on their adaptation to the requirements of the European educational dimensions;
· Informing of the university administrators, students and teachers-users of the ECTS concerning educational possibilities of the European and Russian universities; requirements and possibilities of their reception; coordination, preparation, elaboration and distribution of information packages of faculties, electronic presentation versions (Home pages) and student Handbooks and Guides in Russia and countries of Western Europe.
· The accumulation, processing and distribution of an information on problems of mutual academic recognition among institutions of the Ural Region;
· Organization of training periods for the teachers and administrators of the Ural consortium universities concerning student exchanges and academic recognition; generalization of obtained outcomes and their distribution in the Ural universities consortium;
· The coordination and approvement of the normative documents on academic recognition;
· Participation in the development of general curricula and Russian State educational standards;
· Maintenance of constant contacts with the ECTS-coordinators from other universities: exchange with the applications, agreements on study terms; coordination of the curricula and educational programs; preparation of the documents on transcription of outcomes of study; fixing of the courses recognition and recognition of study periods; designing of the individual educational programs; combination of academic requirements and personal interests of the students;
· Monitoring of a course of study in the framework of the ECTS: maintenance of adaptation and integration of foreign students at the university; maintaining of contacts with the outgoing students for promotion of their adaptation and progress in study.
· Establishment and maintaining of contacts with structures realizing sponsorship of study abroad, national organizations financing the programs of student exchanges.
In a course of project the creation of the Vagant Centre branches at the Ural universities consortium and delegation of a part of functions of Regional Centre for Student Exchanges are supposed. Together with it, the part of the responsibility under the project for study of the students abroad is transmitted also to the Ural universities.
At the European universities the responsibility for the listed above kinds of activity are assigned to student advisory centers and to international relation offices. In all cases at the Russian universities as well as in institutions of European Union the kinds of activity are carried out with participation of faculty and university ECTS-coordinators.
The responsibility for language preparation of the students and trainees is assigned separately to each university of the consortium. However, the perfecting of language knowledge at the Russian participants is supposed to be realized with use of possibilities of the modern Language Center (USVPU), which has not only modern equipment, but also progressive technologies of teaching. In a course of the project it is supposed to create branch of the Language Center in opposite from the USVPU side of Ekaterinburg on the basis of the Ural State University for Economics, to which the part of functions and responsibility on language preparation of the most numerous quota of the students of economic specialties among Ural institutions will be delegated.
The success of the project in many respects depends on information support, which should be regular, reliable, relevant and rapid. Information exchange between universities of the consortium, search of it in computer networks, conduction of teleconferences for the experience exchange and for project management realization are assigned on created during the previous joint universities activity Information Network Centers, which are responsible for this kind of activity.