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The objective in this paper is to provide an overview of the key themes that can be identified by looking across the contributions to this special issue, and highlight a number of the important observations that emerged during the seminar in which these papers were originally presented. The seminar, which took place in Berlin in October of 2005, was organized by UNESCO-CEPES in collaboration with the Observatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum and the German Commission for UNESCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to outline the main higher education reforms in Germany, including the implementation of the Bologna Process. It takes as its focus the doctoral phase, conceptualised by "Bologna" as the third cycle of study but held by many to be the first phase of independent scientific research. In the context of increasing internationalisation of higher education and the European Commission's forecast that 700,000 more researchers will be needed (European Commission, 2003), it is vital to get the reform of the system right. The paper considers the effects of the German Higher Education Framework Act and regional laws as well as those of the Bologna Process on Germany's ability to recruit and train national and international doctoral candidates in the natural sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a special agreement for scientific professions that is expected to reform structures and working conditions of staff in higher education and research institutions in Germany. While differentiating their professional levels and careers, such an agreement should also deal with issues of income, promotion of women, brain drain - brain gain, and the Europeanisation of higher education in Germany, with the aim of increasing the attractiveness of the academic profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, based on extensive empirical work with Polish and Bulgarian scientists in Germany and the UK, examines the impact of the EU enlargement including the free movement of persons provisions on the mobility of scientists from Eastern to Western Europe. It focuses on early career researchers and particularly PhD candidates and begins by sketching out the status and ensuing free movement rights of those scientists in European Law. It then moves to discuss the policy rationale for promoting scientific mobility and examines how this fits with the scientists' own perspectives. Following on from there the paper looks at various areas where the EU enlargement has had an impact including the continuing transitional agreements, cheaper travel and the question of tuition fees, and goes on to consider the symbolic power of law in influencing scientific mobility. (Contains 28 footnotes and 1 tables.)

This paper presents the main results of a recent survey of private higher education institutions from twelve selected European countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia) [in the framework of the UNESCO-CEPES project on "Private Higher Education in Europe and Quality Assurance and Accreditation from the Perspectives of the Bologna process Objectives," designed and implemented in collaboration with "Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management (LKAEM) and the World Bank"]. After a brief review of the current incidence of private education in the selected European countries, the authors give a description of the survey. Then the main findings are structured according to the nine goals of the Bologna Process and their corresponding level of implementation in private higher education institutions, and also to provide comparisons with public higher education institutions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results and with some general remarks about the role of private higher education institutions in building the EHEA. (Contains 14 tables, 12 footnotes and 3 figures.)

In 2006, an international comparison study investigated the organization and management of university continuing education (UCE). The Finnish continuing education system proved to be especially advanced in this study. On the other hand, it became clear that Germany was still lagging behind in continuing education. In this article, German and Finnish universities are compared with respect to organizational forms and management structures in order to derive potentials for UCE and to identify decisive factors of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution deals with the development of entrepreneurship education at university level in Germany. Starting with a definition of the concept, the article focuses on relevant issues of entrepreneurship education, such as target groups and teaching formats. With particular emphasis on empirical studies carried out by the German Association for Promoting Academic Entrepreneurship Research (FGF), noteworthy milestones in the development of entrepreneurship education in Germany will be discussed, along with those trends that are likely to be important in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the apparently contradictory nature of two aspects of German higher education and research policy in relation to internationalization. The more traditional policy of Europeanization, which is reaching its climax in the German commitment to the Bologna Process, is based on co-operation. However, a parallel policy, a response to globalization, is stimulating a highly competition-oriented role for German higher education and research along the lines of the GATS paradigm. The latter policy, with its call for world-scale competition rather than co-operation, implies a re-nationalization of higher education and research. Can the two policies co-exist or does the policy calling for increased competition really represent a new Zeitgeist for German higher education and science? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a unique student exchange programme that has been operating for more than five years and which links students in the Department of Non-formal Education at Beit Berl College in Israel and students in the Department of Social Work at Fachhochschule Wiesbaden in Germany. The uniqueness of this programme lies not only in the co-operation between countries but mainly in the form of a professional study programme involving two educational institutions having different approaches and with different methods for the training of social workers that are embedded in different socio-cultural atmospheres and historical traditions. On top of these complexities, there was the need to cope with the question of how to rebuild relations between two societies loaded with the historical heritage of the Holocaust. The focus of this article is on the emergence and the development of the programme and on some of the dilemmas with which it was faced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the theoretical basis and presents some results of an empirical investigation into all the institutions of higher education in North Rhine-Westphalia, the largest of the German La nder that has the largest number of universities (twenty-seven universities and universities of applied sciences, (fachhochschulen), in all). For these institutions, a gender equality policy was elaborated in 1993 by the Ministry of Science and Research of the Land. It is titled ''Basic Principles for the Promotion of Women at the Institutions of Higher Education in North Rhine-Westphalia'' (referred to as ''Basic Principles'' in the text to follow). It became compulsory for all the universities in 1993 and for all the fachhochschulen, as well, in 1995. In 1998, the author was commissioned to assess the impact of these ''basic principles'' three years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, higher education systems around the worm have been reporting on "new" and/or "non-traditional" students which in many institutions represent the majority of all undergraduate enrolments. These students are older, have work experience, study part-time, carry full-time adult responsibilities, have to take on full-time employment, take advantage of open admission policies, and focus their studies on vocational objectives. This article focuses on a small group of German non-traditional students who enrol through special admission. Their backgrounds, their experiences, their motives, and their expectations will be described. Certain consequences for higher education will be sketched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While higher education is regarded a high priority for economic development in many countries, public budgets often fall short to support desired levels of expansion in higher education. This leads to cost-sharing: students and their families are required to contribute more to the costs of higher education. This paper explores worldwide trends to cope with this issue based on the following questions: Is it fair to ask for larger contributions from students? What are the global patterns and forms of higher private shares in the costs of higher education? And what is the impact of cost-sharing on higher education access and equity? (Contains 4 tables and 2 footnotes.)

Describes and discusses the approach of the Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) ranking of German universities. (EV)

Discusses the role of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in the ongoing effort to internationalize German higher education. Describes efforts in Germany such as the introduction of bachelor's and master's degree-level programs and the restructuring of doctoral programs, as well as formation of networks with foreign universities. (EV)