1. EDUCATION AND TRAINING > ARMENIA
Students without
borders
Some of them go
abroad to live independently
www.enpi-info.eu
or to improve their knowledge, others to
establish contacts and to gain new friends. Most of
N Erasmus Mundus
them end up having the greatest experience of their life. students in Greece
Thousands of students every year join the EU-funded Erasmus Mundus
programme, one of the most efficient tools Europe has created to bring up
a new generation of youth, free from stereotypes and prejudice. If Erasmus
Mundus supports students, Tempus promotes transfer of expertise between
universities. Both programmes are powerful instruments to strengthen
education and to promote European values and ideals throughout the world.
Text and pictures by Aghavni Harutyunyan
YEREVAN – “I learned to live independently, to communicate freely and openly, I
gained new friends and new knowledge: it was the greatest experience of my life”.
Shushanik Khachatryan was doing her bachelor studies at the Armenian State Uni-
versity of Economics, when she was presented with the opportunity to continue her
studies in Thessaloniki, Greece. She accepted it. And the 10 months she spent in
Europe thanks to the EU-supported Erasmus Mundus project, have changed her life
This publication does forever.
not represent the “During the first five months, I studied management at a Greek university, then I
official view of the EC continued my exchange year taking practical courses in one hotel. It was great.
or the EU institutions.
The EC accepts no
I’ll be forever thankful to this project, because it gave me the oppor- ENPI Info Centre – Feature no. 39
responsibility or liability tunity to study and live in a multicultural environment, to deepen my This is a series of features on
whatsoever with regard professional knowledge and to create new and useful contacts. It was projects funded by the EU’s Regional
to its content. Programme, prepared by journalists
a huge life experience,” she says.
and photographers on the ground
Erasmus Mundus supports students from third countries in their ef- or the ENPI Info Centre.
forts to study at a European university for one or two years. On a dif- © 2010 ENPI Info Centre / EU

2. Students without borders p. 2
ENPI Info Centre – Feature no. 39
ferent level, another EU-funded programme – Tempus – provides opportunities for
higher education institutions. “Since 1995,” says Lana Karlova, National Tempus office
coordinator in Armenia, “this programme has helped us to develop curricula and
teaching materials, to upgrade facilities, and to improve university administration.”
Both Tempus and Erasmus Mundus are EU-funded programmes for the exchange of
students and academic expertise between Europe and its neighbouring countries. “This
According to Ara Avetisyan, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Armenia, programme
Tempus and Erasmus Mundus are the most efficient international programmes in has helped
Armenia supporting education. “When many years ago we were making the first at- us to develop
tempts to find partners,” he says, “the first steps were taken through Tempus.” curricula
and teaching
Bridging the cultural, linguistic, social divide materials,
Erasmus Mundus is based on financing scholarships to exchange students between to upgrade
“I learned to live universities in Europe and neighbouring countries. Erasmus Mundus refers to both facilities, and
independently, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and it aims at bridging the cultural, lin- to improve
to communicate guistic, and social divide. The scholarship covers all expenses, from plane tickets to university
freely and tuition fees. Thanks to the programme, many Armenian students have been able administration”
openly, I gained through the years to explore European universities. At the same time, Armenia has
new friends received students from European universities.
and new These exchanges have a deep impact on young people’s life, developing their over-
knowledge: it all personality and their professional knowledge. After coming back to Armenia, for
was the greatest example, Shushanik and her Erasmus Mundus friends have tried to increase the vis-
experience of my ibility of this programme and they have established AEGEE-Yerevan, a branch of the
life”. international non-governmental organisation “AEGEE-European Students’ Forum”.
“Now AEGEE is one of the biggest organisations in Europe with more than 15,000
members in 240 academic cities,” says Shushanik, who is now the president of the
Armenian branch.
Transferring expertise between universities
On the other hand, Tempus is specialised in promoting higher education. It is based
on transferring expertise between European educational institutions and their
counterparts in partner countries. Tempus finances mostly two types of actions: N Sargis Stepanyan
joint projects and structural measures. The joint projects are based on multilater-
al partnerships. Such projects develop, modernise and disseminate new curricula,
teaching methods or materials, they modernise the management and governance
of higher education institutions. The structural measures contribute to the develop-
ment and reform of higher education institutions in partner countries, enhancing
their quality and relevance.
Since 1995, Tempus has supported 42 projects in Armenia, 14 in the field of univer-
sity management and 28 on curriculum development. “These projects cover many
different domains,” continues Lana Karlova, the national coordinator, “we go from
N Lana Karlova environmental studies to engineering and technology, from medical sciences to
National Tempus office
coordinator in Armenia. tourism, law and humanities.”
Yerevan State University (YSU) Rector Aram Simonyan has no doubts: “Thanks to
Tempus, a stronger cooperation has been developed between Armenian higher
education institutions. Before the programme, each of them preferred to act alone.”
Geographic information technology is the future
“In 2010,” continues Lana Karlova, “four projects involving Armenian higher educa-
tion institutions have been selected for funding.” One of them - Geographic informa-
tion technology for sustainable development in Eastern Neighbouring countries - is
the continuation of a successful cooperation started under a previous Tempus edi-
tion. This project deals with GIS (Gographic Information Systems) that capture, store,

3. Students without borders p. 3
ENPI Info Centre – Feature no. 39
analyze and present data that are linked to locations. Such systems digitally create “Thanks to
and manipulate spatial areas for decision making purposes, be it in urban planning Tempus, a
or agriculture, natural resources management or archeology etc. In this project stronger
Swedish, Spanish and German universities will cooperate with two institutes from cooperation
Ukraine, two from Moldova and three from Armenia. The total has been
volume of the grant is €925,941 for a three-year programme. developed
According to Sargis Stepanyan, head of the department of between
economics, law and management of Yerevan State University Armenian
of Architecture and Constructions, in Armenia there is still no higher
programme connected with GIS, though the growing impor- education
tance of this sphere is nowadays of no doubt. “Thanks to the institutions.
project,” he says, “bachelor’s and master’s programmes will be Before the
developed and laboratories established.” programme,
each of them
preferred to
act alone.”
Participating countries
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine (East), Algeria, Egypt,
Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian territory, Syria, Tunisia (South)
Tempus IV – Modernizing Erasmus Mundus II
higher education http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus
Promotes cooperation between higher education institutions
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/tempus/ through encouraging partnerships, mobility and exchanges of
students, researchers and academic staff
Timeframe 2007-2013 Timeframe 2009-2013
Budget approx € 35-39 million per year (ENPI) Budget approx € 29 million
Objective Objective
The Trans-European Mobility Scheme for University Studies (Tempus) The Erasmus Mundus II - Action 2 Partnerships seeks to promote
supports the effort of the Partner Countries to modernize their higher better understanding and mutual enrichment between the EU and
education systems and creates opportunities for cooperation among third countries and in the medium term strengthens political, cultural,
higher education actors through joint projects. It also enhances educational and economic links.
understanding between cultures as it promotes a people-to-people
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approach and promotes convergence with EU developments in higher
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education leading to more jobs and growth.
Website http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/programme/
Find out more programme_guide_en.php
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Website http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/tempus/index_en.php
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