News Edition 6
Past Editions
| Interviews |
| Universities of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are interested in cooperating with higher education institutions of the Americas |
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(@americalearning) The Eastern European University Association - EEUA includes the top 50 universities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and its mission is to promote in the world the universities of the supranational organization Commonwealth of Independent States - CIS.
Could you please describe what Eastern European University Association is all about and why the universities integrate, what is the purpose?
EEUA participates in all major international events and conferences devoted to international higher education. At these events we represent the universities of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other CIS countries, and try to find new cooperation opportunities and instruments. For foreign universities EEUA acts as an integrated access point to all CIS universities. Any foreign university can request EEUA to find them a suitable CIS partner. We will then find several (2-3) suitable partners which would correspond to the general profile, status and activity of the foreign university, and the universities will further communicate directly with each other.This service is free of charge for all foreign universities. Moreover, EEUA organizes the Annual International Universities Networking Conference aimed at creating a convenient networking platform for universities from all over the world to enable them to find partners, establish new links and develop closer partnerships. The conference has a workshop format, i.e. prescheduled one-to-one business appointments. IUNC conference is a unique opportunity to meet up to 150 universities interested in international cooperation under one roof and at minimum cost. Over the years IUNC has proven to be of great interest for universities from all over the world, that is why starting from 2015, IUNC will hold separate conferences in new regions: Latin America, North America, Middle East and Africa, as well as the 4th annual IUNC conference held in Russia – IUNC Eurasia 2015. The purpose of separate conferences in different geographical regions is to provide the universities easy and convenient access to local universities in each region. Universities in Latin America will, no doubt, be primarily interested in IUNC Latin America 2015, since for them it is a great opportunity to present themselves internationally and to establish links with foreign universities that are interested in partnership exactly with universities from this region. In addition, each university can attend one of the other three IUNC conferences depending on their strategic plans for development and internationalization.
What goals EEUA sets in respect of Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries? Latin American countries are of great interest to Russian universities. There is a large number of students from Latin America now showing great interest in education in Russia and Ukraine. This summer EEUA participated in the conference organized by the Association of Universities Group of Montevideo (AUGM) in Uruguay, where the parties discussed topical issues of cooperation between universities in South American countries and Russia & Ukraine. A lot of universities expressed their interest in CIS universities and were willing to take first steps for collaboration establishment. And that is exactly where IUNC Latin America 2015 comes useful as one of the best instruments to establish new contacts from scratch.
What kind of alliance/partnership offer can you make to Latin American universities? First of all, the membership in Association is available only for universities in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other CIS countries. To the foreign universities we offer the following services: 1) Participation in IUNC conferences:
2) Finding the requested partner-university. 3) Organization of FAM trip –the visit of the university delegation to the chosen CIS universities.
NAFSA 2015 - Bogdan Voronovskiy (Executive director at Eastern European University Association - EEUA) with Miguel S. Rodríguez and Laura Benedetti
What is the guarantee that EEUA member universities will make proposition for Latin American and Spanish-speaking students on the whole? Latin American market is very attractive for all countries, including Russia and Ukraine, in terms of interesting and unusual climate, nature, culture, as well as various economic factors, e.g. the great number of students.
Are they already working with Latin America? Some universities are still holding some doubts as to the interest of Latin American universities in mutual collaboration, however, the last meeting with the universities of AUGM will surely make them change their mind. In the beginning of 2014 EEUA held a series of seminars in Latin America for students willing to get their degree in Russia or Ukraine. It should be mentioned that despite the distance which separates our continents, the students are seriously considering CIS countries as the place where they can get high-quality and affordable higher education.
What kind of technologies are being used by CIS universities in the education process? We are glad to say that at present our universities are actively using distance e-learning technologies, almost every second university can boast using modern e-learning platforms. MOODLE platform, for instance, enjoys great popularity, also there are universities that develop their own systems of distance learning.
Do the universities consider that e-learning may contribute to internationalization of universities and globalization of knowledge? Definitely. In our age when distance courses of such world giants as MIT, Harvard and many others are available to the public, a lot of universities now have the opportunity to get acquainted with them and consequently create their own ones, as well as share education materials.
What are the main tendencies in European universities resulting from the inclusion of technologies into the education process? Both the education itself and its organization are becoming more student-friendly. The education process thus acquires a more informal shape, while the relationship “teacher-student” is shifting to the partner level.
IUNC Eurasia 2014 (May 12-14, 2014)
All in all at present which technologies are being used by the universities? The most popular ones right now are: MOODLE, Joomla, Prometei, Hypermethod, Learning Space 5.01, Lotus Quickr, e-lms.org), Gisoft, as well as their self-developed platforms.
What would be EEUA ultimate advice for Latin American universities? Now being the time of internationalization we believe it is a must for universities to establish international partnerships and different cooperation forms. Latin American universities should certainly present themselves internationally and take benefit of the presently emerging opportunities of collaboration with CIS and Eurasia on the whole.
Detailed information about EEUA may be found at www.eeua.ru
For information about IUNC conferences please visit www.iunc.net
November 2014
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Interview with Khrystyna Bandrovska, Regional Manager for Spanish-speaking countries of the 
Khrystyna Bandrovska: As of today EEUA comprises 50 leading universities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. EEUA’s main mission is to develop and promote CIS universities in the world. We are developing international collaboration between universities, supporting student and faculty exchange projects, as well as joint degree programs (dual degrees) and joint grant applications. Our primary goal is to develop partnerships which would benefit both parties, foreign and domestic universities alike.
