Observatory Team contributes to Belarusian HE Development Discussions

A team from the Magna Charta Observatory comprising the President, Secretary-General and Council members Professors Dimitrios Tsougarakis and Aleksa Bjelis attended and spoke at a seminar held at the National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE), Minsk, Belarus on 3 November 2014.

The objective of the seminar was to explore further the Magna Charta Universitatum values in the context of the application submitted by Belarus to join the European Higher Education Area.

The seminar was hosted by the Rector of NIHE, Viktar Haisonak. It was co-organised by the Office for a Democratic Belarus and NIHE and was attended by representatives of Belarusian universities and the Belarusian Ministry of Education.

The First Deputy Education Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Vadzim Bohush, the Rector of NIHE and the Director of the Office for a Democratic Belarus led the contributions from Belarus.

The 4 presentations made by the MCO participants ranged from ‘Why do universities need a Magna Charta’, through ‘the role of universities in regional development’ and ‘higher education and research in transitional European countries’ to practical steps regarding leadership to enable universities to become more autonomous.

The Belarusian speakers described the progress that had been made in providing the conditions for a stable higher education system together with their aspirations for greater internationalisation. MA and PhD programmes in English were being introduced and partnerships based on specific subjects were being encouraged. There was also mention of further steps that were to be taken including greater responsiveness to labour market needs.

DJL
16-11-14