Brussels, 10/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and the governments of the United States and Canada are to invest €15 million in the creation of new transatlantic partnerships in education, in which some 60 universities and training centres will participate, involving thousands of European and American students. Funds will be used to promote student exchanges, joint degrees and better policy cooperation. Partnerships will focus on a range of fields including energy efficiency, computing robotics, climate change, forestry management, languages and cinema studies. The EU's contribution to this initiative will amount to €7.5 million. “In today's globalised world, investment in education with an international dimension is more important than ever if we are to equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in the knowledge economy”, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou has said.
The European Commission and the US Department of Education have launched 26 new projects under the Atlantis programme. These involve 105 universities and training institutions from the EU and the US. The European Commission and the US Department for Education each contribute €6 million - an increase of 5% compared to last year. The Atlantis programme, which promotes joint or double degrees, plans to place emphasis on entrepreneurship. Together with Canada, the European Union will launch 10 new projects in which 55 universities will participate, as well as European and Canadian training centres. The Commission and the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) will each contribute €1.5 million. These funds will support curriculum development and joint study or training programmes. Students taking part in the exchange programmes will benefit from recognition of academic credits. (I.L./transl.jl)