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UAS7 Newsletter
NEWSLETTER April 2008
UAS7 NEWS
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FAST CHANGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN GERMANY
Students benefiting from the numerous reforms and the Initiative for Excellence.
Things are changing in higher education all over Germany – and colleges and universities are boldly taking up the challenge of reform. Professors’ pay is becoming more strongly performance-oriented, universities are being transformed into independent foundations, courses are being made more international and in some federal states students are now paying – relatively moderate – tuition fees. Furthermore, Germany’s institutions of higher education have been immersed in a new competitive spirit signaling a mood of change and renewal. More than ever before, students and professors are discussing excellence and performance.
But what prompted this change? A unique competition within German higher education – the Initiative for Excellence. Established by the Federal Government and the federal states, it aims to promote top university research and to create beacons of scholarship in Germany that will also radiate abroad. A total of 1.9 billion euros is being allocated between 2006 and 2011 to achieve this goal.
Germany is preparing itself for the international competition for the best minds. Already, boasting some 250,000 foreign students, Germany is the world’s favorite study destination after the United States and Great Britain. The Initiative for Excellence is just one of a number of strategies aimed at making Germany a more attractive higher education landscape. And with the introduction of the internationally recognized Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in place of German Diplom and Magister qualifications, Germany is well-placed to continue the upwards trend.
Source: http://www.young-germany.de/668.html?&cHash=0bdd7e1f03&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1437 (March 20, 2008: " Academic excellence in Germany")
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ECONOMY'S TROUBLES COULD HIT COLLEGES UNUSUALLY HARD
Financial experts everywhere agree that the economy appears headed toward a recession. The question is how long it will last and how deep it will be. The last recession, in 2001, lasted less than a year. Most sectors, including higher education, shrugged it off.
During lengthier downturns, colleges have often benefited from increased enrollments. What better place than an ivy-lined campus to retreat, or to stay put, when the job market goes south?
But for some institutions, those enrollment increases are not a panacea. And if this recession lasts as long as some economists fear, colleges of all kinds could experience a variety of problems, finance experts and campus leaders said in e-mail and telephone interviews.
Read more: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i29/29a01701.htm
Source: http://chronicle.com (March 28, 2008: “Economy's Troubles Could Hit Colleges Unusually Hard”)
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THE CHANGING FACE OF STUDENT AID
Affordability becomes an issue as many colleges try to keep pace with the new generosity of the wealthiest ones.
A recent flurry of announcements from some of the wealthiest and most competitive private colleges brought welcome news to lower- and middle-income families. Many Ivy League institutions, along with dozens of smaller colleges that also attract high-achieving students, unveiled student-aid plans that will drastically lower the cost of attendance for those families.
Read more: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i30/30a02301.htm?utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en
Source: http://chronicle.com (April 4, 2008: The Changing Face of Student Aid)
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY OFFER "POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY" AS DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE
Harvard University has taken happiness global. "Positive Psychology," one of the university's most popular courses, is now being offered by the Harvard Extension School as a Web-based distance-learning course for the spring semester.
Students from as far away as Argentina, New Zealand, and Turkey have signed up for a dose of happiness.
First offered in the fall of 2005, the course became something of a celebrity by taking a scientific approach to what many find elusive. Students write papers, take exams, and read academic journals but come out of the course feeling good despite all that, says Tal Ben-Shahar, the author and psychology lecturer who originally designed the course.
"My goal is not to make it hard or easy," he says. "My goal is to make it rigorous and useful. The usefulness is what attracts students."
Despite what one might think, not everyone who takes the course is miserable.
"We have many people who are very happy who just want to be happier," says Mr. Ben-Shahar. "We have the whole gamut."
Source: http://chronicle.com (March 07, 2008: "One More Reason to Smile")
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LET'S GO GLOBAL: AN OVERVIEW OF THE GERMAN INDUSTRIES OF MONEY
Young Germany takes a look at a few of the major players in Germany’s banking, finance and insurance industries which offering young professionals from abroad opportunities to put their careers on a global path.
Read more: http://www.young-germany.de/669.html?&cHash=f555a77a97&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=435
(March 20, 2008: " Let's go global: An overview of the industries of money")
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UPCOMING EVENTS
April 10, 2008
DAAD Sound Understanding Concert
Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY 10017
For more information visit: http://www.daad.org/?p=soundunderstanding
April 18, 2008; 9:30am – 12:30pm
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), CDS International, and the German Consulate of San Francisco are pleased to invite you to the following event Discovering Germany:
The Ideal Study, Work, and Research Destination at the German Consulate of San Francisco, 1960 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
May 25 – 30, 2008
NAFSA will host its 60th Annual Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C. from May 25 – 30, 2008 attracting more than 8,000 delegates from over 100 countries to Washington, D.C., the center of the U.S. government as well as a thriving cosmopolitan center of commerce and innovation.
UAS7 will be part of DAAD booth at NAFSA
More information at http://www.nafsa.org/
UAS7 is a strategic alliance of seven leading German universities of applied sciences committed to excellence in teaching and research. For international students we offer summer programs, exchange and undergraduate study opportunities as well as Master programs in English. For more information, please visit www.uas7.org
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