Head of Unit for European Affairs and Multilateral co-operation: Dagmar Szilagyi

A priority of multilateral scientific co-operation is co-operation with the European Union. With a view to Slovenia’s equal participation in wider developmental and integration processes within the EU in the field of science and technology, the Ministry has been in the past actively involved in the activities of the European Commission and, in particular, the Directorate-General for Research. The Ministry took an active part in the formation of the European Research Area (ERA) and preparation of the 6^th Framework Programme (FP6) for European R&D activities. The Ministry is an active partner in the preparations for the 7^th Framework Programme (FP7).

The Ministry actively promotes and informs the Slovenian professional public about the conditions of co-operation and calls for proposals published by the European Commission. In the light of this, the Ministry organised 150 public presentations and seminars concerning these calls, and workshops on methods and conditions for participation in framework programmes. It also set up a Web Page for R&D (www.rtd.si) and issued a special publication entitled the “European Union’s 6^th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development”. As a form of assistance to foreigners seeking project partners in Slovenia it published a CD-ROM “Slovenia – Find your Business and RTD Partner”, which was among the first presentations of this type in Europe for scientific and research potential. The Ministry is establishing links with the relevant European institutions in order to accelerate the integration of Slovenian researchers, enterprises and other entities into European consortiums which prepare and implement projects. The Ministry has already actively participated in the 5^th Framework Programme (FP5); in 2005, the ministry staff representing Slovenia on the European Commission committees participates in 27 projects of which 12 are ERA NET projects (co-ordination of national research programmes in Europe).

The Ministry actively co-operates also with various international organisations (UNDP, EMBC, ICTP, ICS, ICGEB, CIESM, GBIF, IIR, …).

International co-operation in higher education is very diversified and encompasses multilateral co-operation (EU, Council of Europe, OECD, UNESCO) as well as regional and bilateral co-operation. Since 1999, when the minister responsible for higher education signed the Bologna Declaration, Slovenia has set the Bologna process as a priority in this field. The objective of this process is to establish a European Higher Education Area which will enable European undergraduate and graduate students to move freely and find employment through various measures (comparable study structures, quality assurance and credit systems, mutual recognition of higher education qualifications, promotion of mobility, links with the European Research Area, …). This European Higher Education Area should be also attractive for non-European students. As many as 40 countries are already participating in the process.

In higher education the Ministry pays considerable attention to international exchange of students and teachers. The EU programmes, such as Socrates/Erasmus, have primarily enabled mass mobility of students. However, some other exchange or scholarship programmes also deserve mentioning. The Central European Exchange Programme for University Studies (CEEPUS) has been running since 1995 and supports exchange within the networks of at least three partner institutions from one of the nine participating countries. On the basis of bilateral agreements and other direct forms of co-operation with foreign governments, the Ministry awards grants to foreign students, and collects and issues calls for proposals with respect to grants for Slovenian citizens. Most of these grants are designed for postgraduate courses over a brief period. The Ministry devotes special attention to students of Slovenian descent from the neighbouring countries or those whose families emigrated to countries around the world. Ever since 1976, it has provided scholarships for their annual short training courses, one or two study terms, the entire graduate study in Slovenia, and a one year school of Slovenian language. These programmes of exchange are carried out by the Centre for Mobility and European Education and Training Programmes (CMEPIUS).