Madrid Open University (UDIMA) is offering a series of free online summer courses during the month of July. The courses are taught using the Elluminate platform, a tool that combines real-time videoconferencing possibilities, chats and presentations with full interaction between participants. A total of 80 seminars are scheduled to take place throughout the month, framed within 10 distinct areas of study: Tourism, Psychology, Labour and Human Resources, Business Administration and Economics, Law, Criminology, Journalism, History and Humanities, Computer Engineering and Industrial Organisation, and Innovation. Read more...

By Marielk. Higher education in the Western Balkans was for a long period a relatively under-researcher region in Europe, but has in recent years gained more attention and an number of interesting research projects are underway.
As part of the project “European Integration of Higher Education and Research in the Western Balkans,” (read more about the project here) the project team has produced the series of reports entitled “Overview of Higher Education and Research Systems in the Western Balkans” which are now available for download on the project website. The reports cover seven higher education systems in the region – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo*, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia and each of the reports represents a comprehensive overview of the higher education and research systems in the region, covering topics such as policy, governance arrangements, funding, institutional landscape, and quality, while focusing on the major reforms and trends in the recent years. Read more...

Once a year, with the exception of the year when the General Conference takes place, the IAU holds an international conference for Members and beyond to discuss matters of general concern to international higher education.
IAU 2014 International Conference. 19/03/2014 - 21/03/2014 - Iquitos, Peru.
The IAU 2014 International Conference will take place on 19-21 March 2014.
Organized in collaboration with the Universidad Científica del Perú located in Iquitos, Peru, it will focus on the theme:
Blending Higher Education and Traditional Knowledge for Sustainable Development.
Registration will be open from 15 October 2013 to 10 March 2014. More information about registration fees will be available soon.
More information regarding the Conference Theme, the Conference Venue and other will be published on this page shortly, so do not hesitate to visit it regularly.  In the meantime, please mark the date!
To learn more about our host, Universidad Científica del Perú please visit: www.ucp.edu.pe/public/index.html.
To learn more about Peru please visit: www.peru.travel/en/.

‘MOOC’ stands for Massive Open Online Course, which is a form of distance learning embraced not only by traditional providers of distance learning (e.g. open universities) but also the elites that are highly visible in global rankings. The MOOCment originated from North Americas about five years ago and has rapidly spread around the world, with China, India and recently Europe, all pledging to MOOC along. They do this either by using established big-name American MOOC platforms (e.g. Coursera, edX) or constructing their own (e.g. iversity and FutureLearn in Europe; icourse in China).
MOOC enthusiasts see the movement as a revolutionary change in the world of learning. MOOC sceptics regard it as another technological hype that may soon fade away. The openness of MOOCs is also being called into question when the providers start to attach a price tag to the use of the platform, the licensed content or the certification of the learning results. Besides, some MOOCs are no longer ‘courses’, but complete degree programmes. Some MOOCs were intended for massive enrolments but have attracted only a few. With rapid developments in the MOOC world, the MOOC today may be completely different from the MOOC tomorrow and the MOOC in one country may be defined differently from one in another country, depending on the orientation of the providers and the target audiences. Read more...

Interview with David Hoey, Chief Executive Officer of WorldSkills International, by Cassandra Davis and Julie Harris. “A high-performing athlete is the result of his or her training,” he explained during a break at the OECD Forum in Paris in May, focusing in on the question of how one benchmarks skills development and acquisition. “A well-trained athlete will perform well. But how do you measure ‘well’? Competitions draw out real excellence. By creating international skills competitions, deep learning can be demonstrated and witnessed. But more than that, competitions introduce fun into the process with games, introduces a healthy competitive spirit, and raises both levels and training. At WorldSkills, we’ve instituted a ranking and a scoring system, at the individual, sector and country levels.”
If we didn’t know better, we’d returned to the first Olympic games. David Hoey, Chief Executive Officer of WorldSkills International spoke to us of the international skills extravaganza (WorldSkills Leipzig 2013) going on now, between 2-7 July. Over 200,000 people and representatives from upwards of 50 countries will be walking through the doors in Leipzig, attending the main and side events, witnessing some of the stellar skills and talents of the world’s top carpenters, graphic designers, technologists, robotic engineers, hairdressers, plumbers and more (46 skills in all). Read more...

With post-recession growth remaining sluggish, the emerging economies must interrogate the sustainability of their development models and adapt domestic policies to promote inclusive growth and greater social equality.
Since the acronym was coined by Goldman Sachs’ Jim O’Neill in 2001, the story of the BRICs (later to become BRICS) has almost exclusively been relayed in gross domestic product (GDP) terms. It has been one that emphasized size and scale where magnitude and margins propelled markets. By now the statistics are all too familiar: In 2013, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa together contributed 25 per cent to global GDP, conducted 15 per cent of global trade, and hosted 40 per cent of the world’s population. By 2016, China is expected to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy in purchasing power parity terms.
The turbo-charged growth in these countries not only made many fabulously wealthy, it also catapulted millions out of poverty into the middle class. In Brazil, for example, Lula’s Bolsa Familia reduced the incidence of poverty by 27% since its inception. The rapid extension of government grants and pensions in South Africa also lifted millions out of poverty. And most remarkably, in China 680 million people escaped the ranks of the poor between 1981 and 2010; a decline in poverty rates from 84% to 10%. Read more...

In research into the impact of the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning (UKPSF) published today, 84% of respondents claimed that the framework had led to changes to academic development, learning, teaching or the student experience within their institution.
Used by higher education providers primarily to inform professional development programmes for their staff, and by the HEA to accredit those institutional programmes and to recognise staff as HEA fellows, the framework gives an external indication that a standard has been met. At a time when the higher education sector is increasingly focused on excellence in teaching, it is a highly useful tool.
The research, commissioned by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and carried out by the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) has found that, for some, the UKPSF has had a ‘profound impact’ on how they undertake and think about learning, teaching and assessment. Read more...

Vers une nouvelle réforme de l’administration territoriale de l’État?
Les services déconcentrés de l’État ont été profondément réorganisés à partir de 2007. La Réforme de l’administration territoriale de l’État (Réate) a été initiée dans le cadre de la Révision générale des politiques publiques (RGPP): le nombre des directions départementales et régionales a été fortement réduit, le pilotage des politiques publiques a été confié au préfet de région.
Dans un rapport remis au Premier ministre le 3 juillet 2013, Jean-Marc Rebière et Jean-Pierre Weiss jugent, qu’après la mise en oeuvre de la Réate, l’administration territoriale de l’État est "fortement déstabilisée". Ils proposent trois scénarios pour une nouvelle réforme de l’administration territoriale de l’État:

• scénario 1 : les directions départementales de la cohésion sociale (DDCS), fragiles en raison d’une trop grande dispersion de leurs missions, sont supprimées. Leurs missions sont réparties dans les autres directions.
• scénario 2 : les structures départementales et régionales sont stabilisées mais un chantier relatif aux modalités d’exercice des missions est engagé. Le travail en mode projet doit être développé. En outre, les agents en charge de la consommation, de la concurrence et de la répression des fraudes restent, au niveau départemental, affectés au sein des directions départementales de la protection des populations.
• scénario 3 : les DDCS sont supprimées. Les services de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes sont intégrés dans les unités territoriales des Direccte. Les services vétérinaires rejoignent les directions régionales de l’agriculture, de l’alimentation et de la forêt.

Dans tous les cas, les rapporteurs recommandent que la mise en oeuvre de la réforme soit structurée autour d’engagements de service public pris par l’État. Avant le Comité interministériel pour la modernisation de l’action publique (Cimap) du 17 juillet 2013 au cours duquel le Premier ministre doit annoncer les pistes d’évolution retenues, vie-publique.fr vous propose de faire le point sur l’administration territoriale de l’État et ses évolutions récentes.

International Conference on Higher Education and mobilities - Grenoble, 19-20 December 2013 - HEM2013@upmf-grenoble.fr.
This international conference takes place today in a context of major change in both higher education and the academic world. These transformations which are of variable intensity  depending on the country, can be considered as multi-dimensional and include issues such as : high enrolment rates, increased social and cultural heterogeneity, development of and change in mobility (institutional, territorial, international), diversification of the offer of academic institutions (public and private, reconfiguration of the institutional landscape), changes in policy guidelines, such as the Bologna Process which aims at the establishment of a uniform higher education system across European nations.
The international conference will focus on individual and group behaviours, strategies and trajectories which are strongly affected by and find themselves remodelled in the current context. We propose the term mobility as a central notion for apprehending the phenomena. In the current call for papers, we distinguish five closely related but different forms of mobility.
Territorial Mobility
How do students decide on the choice of their place of study? What guides their vocational orientation and choice of region? What are the strategies at play? Which factors might account for these student behaviours?
Institutional Mobility
What are the mobility practices that can be observed and analysed in the context of the diversification of the offer of academic institutions? Which factors might explain the public’s allocation phenomena, i.e. orientation mechanisms, the place of fees and tuition in investment decisions, the influence of institutional reputation and the existence of selection procedures?
Academic Mobility
What are the factors that explain the phenomena of academic performance and, more generally, the phenomena of success, failure or dropout in higher education? What determines student behaviour and student strategies? How can we explain the phenomena of time allocation between different activities?
Social mobility
To what extent does the current trend of diversification of higher education contribute to increasing social mobility? What are the expectations of students from diverse backgrounds in terms of social inclusion and access to the labour market? What kind of data and analysis contributes to the study of the social and professional integration?
International Mobility
In order to be part of higher education at an international level, what are the strategies and policies, (for example going for high rankings, recruitment policies, international networking), that are being implemented by different actors in higher education, in research laboratories, and policy makers? What are the strategies and behaviors of individual students in this form of mobility?
At the heart of these transformations, the international conference will place special emphasis on behaviour, strategies, and practices of the actors of higher education. Analysis in terms of choice, motivations, decisions, and expectations are at the centre of this enterprise. The scientific committee will privilege work that allows better understanding of practices, appropriately describes or quantifies them, or that analyses and constructs typologies. Presentation of original data produced on the basis of surveys or exploratory, methodological efforts in data collection and processing, or in modelling will also receive special attention.

Vincent Peillon, ministre de l'éducation nationale, et Geneviève Fioraso, ministre de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, ont présenté les futures Écoles supérieures du professorat et de l'éducation (ESPE), lundi 1er juillet 2013 à l'université de Lyon. Les ESPE seront opérationnelles à la rentrée 2013: elles formeront l'ensemble des futurs enseignants de la maternelle, de l'école élémentaire, du collège, du lycée ou de l'université, ainsi que les futurs conseillers principaux d'éducation. Feuilleter le dossier de présentation ESPE. Télécharger le dossier de présentation ESPE.
L’ambition de la réforme
Selon l’OCDE, les programmes de formation initiale les plus efficaces sont ceux qui garantissent un équilibre approprié entre la théorie et la pratique et la collaboration entre les enseignants : les futurs enseignants découvrent très tôt le contact avec les élèves, passent beaucoup de temps dans les classes et bénéficient d’un soutien de proximité et de qualité, notamment grâce à un système de tutorat par des enseignants qualifiés.
Les Écoles supérieures du professorat et de l’éducation
Les Écoles supérieures du professorat et de l’éducation (ESPE) seront opérationnelles à la rentrée 2013. Une ESPE sera créée dans chaque académie, après accréditation conjointe du ministère de l’éducation nationale et du ministère de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche. Les ESPE seront des composantes universitaires rattachées à un ou plusieurs établissements publics à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel (EPSCP), à un pôle de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur (PRES) ou à une future communauté d’universités. Les ESPE pourront dès la rentrée prochaine accueillir les étudiants sur l’ensemble du territoire. Les inscriptions aux ESPE ont déjà commencé dans certaines universités.
Une formation à forte dimension professionnelle reconnue par un diplôme de master
Les étudiants pourront suivre des enseignements disciplinaires à la fois dans le cadre des unités de formation et de recherche (UFR) de l’université et au sein de l’ESPE. Ces enseignements disciplinaires intègreront également une dimension didactique et auront des prolongements orientés vers les pratiques pédagogiques. Un étudiant se destinant au métier de professeur d’anglais pourra ainsi prendre une unité d’enseignement sur les littératures et civilisations des pays anglophones dans l’UFR de sa faculté et suivre un module sur la didactique des langues au sein de l’ESPE. Les enseignements de spécialité permettront aux étudiants d’approfondir des questions spécifiques à certaines thématiques ou à certains métiers. Par exemple, les étudiants souhaitant devenir conseiller principal d’éducation devront ainsi acquérir un certain nombre de compétences propres à ce métier.
Infographie - Exemple type d’organisation de la nouvelle formation

Les concours rénovés
Les candidats souhaitant se présenter aux concours rénovés devront s’inscrire en septembre 2013.
L’ensemble des épreuves, les épreuves écrites d’admissibilité et les épreuves orales d’admission, se dérouleront au printemps 2014.
Les concours rénovés se composeront tous de deux épreuves écrites d’admissibilité et deux épreuves orales d’admission. Les épreuves d’admissibilité seront affectées d’un coefficient d’1/3 et les épreuves d’admission d’un coefficient de 2/3.
Infographie - Après le concours, une formation en alternance adaptée aux parcours antérieurs des étudiants

Infographie - Options d’orientation pour les candidats non admis aux concours, ayant obtenu leur master 1

Infographie - Concours rénovés de recrutement des enseignants: le calendrier

Questions-réponses: le master "Métiers de l’enseignement, de l’éducation et de la formation" (MEEF)

• Qu’est-ce que le master MEEF?
• La logique du concours de recrutement
• Le master MEEF est-il un vrai master?
• Pourquoi s’inscrire au master MEEF?
• Qui peut s’inscrire au master MEEF?
• Quand pourrai-je m’inscrire au master MEEF?
• Quels seront les contenus du master MEEF préparant aux concours?
• Le master MEEF est-il ouvert à la validation des acquis de l’expérience?
• Quand auront lieu les prochaines inscriptions aux concours de recrutement des enseignants et des personnels d’éducation?
• En quoi consistent les nouvelles modalités des concours de recrutement des enseignants et des personnels d’éducation?