Sustainable territorial development in the context of higher education structure

The paper analyzes the impact of the higher education system on territorial development on the basis of modern statistical data. The assessment of the current state of affairs brings out a significant differentiation of regions by the number of universities and students who study there. The formed architecture of the higher education structure does not meet the modern requirements of the spatial development of Russia, contributing to the outflow of talented young people from peripheral regions, provoking uncompensated migration, causing a decrease in the equal accessibility of higher education and the effectiveness of meeting the demand for qualified personnel in regional labor markets. Given the results of the analysis, we draw a conclusion that it is necessary to intensify scientific research in the field in order to develop the latest theory and methodology for synchronizing and harmonizing the interests of the country and its territories.

Harmonizing Higher Education at the Regional Level: The Case of ASEAN and the Philippines

Education is in the heart of Southeast Asia’s quest for equitable human development throughout the region. This has never been more pronounced than when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) formed the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) in 2003, ushering in a number of regional directives and initiatives to harmonize higher education among ASEAN member states. Yet, the process has not been easy due to fundamental differences in higher education structure, quality, and processes among member countries. In light of this, the study traced the institutional arrangements and policy responses that have taken place at both regional and national levels in pursuit of integrating higher education in the region. First, it reviewed the key mechanisms that ASEAN has established to foster harmonization. It then discussed the experience of the Philippines in relation to the three components of harmonization, namely, qualifications framework, quality assurance, and credit transfer. It showed that while the government has shown sufficient response to its regional obligations through legislation and administrative issuances, it needs to do much more to show its commitment and ensure involvement of all higher education institutions in the integration process.

7. Futures for the university and college

What are the mission and shape, structure and culture, purposes and ambitions of the university and college to be? What is it to be a university and college now—what are they seen ‘to be for’? What might change by 2050? Is it a matter of steady evolution, careful adaptation, gentle re-invention? Or a future of instability and disruptive innovation, radical change, absolute transformation? ‘Futures for the university and college’ considers these questions and suggests that—given the university and college’s role in human capital formation, and the sifting and signalling processes, both hard to replicate without a national higher education structure—it has a relatively assured future.

A university without departments and colleges -A new structure to strengthen disciplinary and interdisciplinary education and research

A 21st century workforce must be trained to solve not only major national and global challenges but to fit into the current complex work environment. The challenges cannot be solved by a single discipline and require interdisciplinary solutions only possible through the collaboration of physical, biological, and social scientists along with engineers. The 21st century student needs to be educated so they can combine disciplinary depth with the ability to reach out to other disciplines. Such training requires a cost-effective higher education structure that promotes and sustains interdisciplinary research and education (IDRE). The current structure has failed to achieve this. In response to this failure, some private universities like Dartmouth and Olin and public institutions like the University of California Merced (UC Merced) are experimenting with giving up traditional department silos and majors in favor of an interdisciplinary organization. These programs can serve as models for what is to be done in U.S. higher education and may also serve as models for emerging universities in the developing world.

Master course in biomedical engineering

The Bologna Declaration aims at harmonizing the European higher education structure. In accordance with the Declaration, biomedical engineering will be offered as a master (MSc) course also in Hungary, from year 2009. Since 1995 biomedical engineering course has been held in cooperation of three universities: Semmelweis University, Budapest Veterinary University, and Budapest University of Technology and Economics. One of the latter’s faculties, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, has been responsible for the course. Students could start their biomedical engineering studies – usually in parallel with their first degree course – after they collected at least 180 ECTS credits. Consequently, the biomedical engineering course could have been considered as a master course even before the Bologna Declaration. Students had to collect 130 ECTS credits during the six-semester course. This is equivalent to four-semester full-time studies, because during the first three semesters the curriculum required to gain only one third of the usual ECTS credits. The paper gives a survey on the new biomedical engineering master course, briefly summing up also the subjects in the curriculum.