Study of the achievements of Tempus IV Projects in improving student services in higher education institutions in the Western Balkans.
Date: 2017-01-12
Institutions: European Education and Culture Executive Agency
Subjects: EU programme, Western Balkans, cooperation in the field of education, educational institution, educational system, higher education, report, student, student mobility, teaching, teaching curriculum, university

Tempus IV programme

Study of the Achievements of 
Tempus IV Projects 

in Improving Student Services in 
Higher Education Institutions in  
the Western Balkans

Dragana Avramov and Ermina Mešić

Erasmus+

Contractor :

Population and Social Policy Consultants

www.avramov.org
Maria Louizasquare 33, b2, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 2300224
E-mail: Avramov@avramov.org
Represented by Ms Dragana Avramov, Director

Contract number : 2014-3663/002

Disclaimer

The information and views set out in this study are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect 
the official opinion of the European Commission and/or the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive 
Agency  (EACEA).  The  European  Commission  and/or  the  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive 
Agency (EACEA) do not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the European 
Commission nor the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), not any person acting 
on the Commission’s behalf and/or the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)’s 
behalf, may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.

© European Union, 2016
For any use or reproduction of photos which are not under European Union
copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder(s).

ISBN : 978-92-9492-407-0 
DOI : 10.2797/83022

This document has been produced within the framework of the EU funded Erasmus+ programme by 
the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency on behalf and with the close support of the 
Directorate General for Education and Culture (EAC) of the European Commission.

Unit A4, Erasmus+: Capacity-building in Higher Education
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Study of the Achievements of Tempus IV Projects in Improving Student Services in Higher Education      

Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Table of contents 

Executive summary ......................................................................................... 4 

Introduction ................................................................................................... 7 

1. Definition and broad concept of student support services ........................... 8 

2. Why do student support services matter? ................................................... 9 

3. Evidence gathering and challenges encountered ....................................... 10 

4. Data processing and analysis ................................................................... 12 

Chapter 1: The impact of Tempus IV ............................................................ 13 

1.1. Impacts of Joint Projects and Structural Measures ................................. 13 

1.2. The key achievements of Tempus IV projects ........................................ 13 

1.3. How Tempus IV has established/promoted student support services ...... 14 

1.4. How Tempus IV inspired/promoted structural changes to better support 
students ...................................................................................................... 22 

Chapter 2: Conclusions, challenges and recommendations ........................... 25 

2.1. Conclusions .......................................................................................... 25 

2.2. Challenges ............................................................................................ 27 

2.3. Recommendations ................................................................................ 31 

References ................................................................................................... 33 

Appendix 1: Figures ..................................................................................... 37 

Appendix 2: Project fiches ............................................................................ 59 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Study of the Achievements of Tempus IV Projects in Improving Student Services in Higher Education      

Institutions in the Western Balkans 

List of figures 

Figure 1: Type of administrative support provided (1) 

Figure 2: Type of administrative support provided (2) 

Figure 3: Type of administrative support provided (3) 

Figure 4: Social integration support: accommodation/housing 

Figure 5: Social integration support: local organisation of social activities 

Figure 6: Social integration support: welfare for families and children 

Figure 7: Social integration support: services for disabled students 

Figure 8: Social integration support: gender issues 

Figure 9: Learning support: learner centred approach 

Figure 10: Learning support: interdisciplinary approach 

Figure 11: Learning support: transferable skills 

Figure 12: Learning support: internships/placements 

Figure 13: Learning support: e-learning 

Figure 14: Learning support: training for research and involvement of students and trainees in 

research 

Figure 15: Governance: representation of students in HEI management bodies 

Figure 16: Governance: student feedback 

Figure 17: Governance: evaluation of teachers 

Figure 18: Career guidance: employment opportunities and alumni associations 

Figure 19: Career guidance: exposure to knowledge from different sectors 

Figure 20: Career guidance: joint activities with Tempus IV partners 

Figure 21: Career guidance: women in academia and business organisations 

Figure 22: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: mobility of students 

Figure 23: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: specific support offered to 

enable/facilitate mobility 

Figure 24: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: learning foreign languages 

Figure 25: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: learning about cultural specificities of 

partner organisations 

Figure 26: Transfer of knowledge among Tempus IV partners  

Figure 27: Satisfaction with achievements regarding student support services 

Figure 28: Importance for HEI of student support services 

Figure 29: Opinions of professors about the importance of competences for accessing research jobs 

in academia and/or industry in their countr

 
 
 
 
 
Study of the Achievements of Tempus IV Projects in Improving Student Services in Higher Education      

Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Executive summary 

The aim of this report is to provide an analysis of the main achievements, the impact and 
the sustainability of the Tempus IV (2007-2013) projects in the development of support 
services  for  students  at  universities  in  the  Western  Balkans1.  The  report  also  identifies 
obstacles and shortcomings. 

1. Definition of student support services 

Student support services are understood to include a broad range of assistance provided 
to students by universities (as a result of the Tempus IV project). These include specific 
student  services  such  as  career  counselling,  guidance,  help  in  finding  housing,  a  job, 
extra  tutorials  etc.,  and  student  support  services  in  general  that  improve  the  overall 
quality  of  higher  education  provision  (better  teaching  methods,  injection  of  more 
research, internships etc.) These services also include the sustainability of this offer after 
the end of the Tempus IV funding period.  

Student support services are important for ensuring transparent and equitable access to 
information about admission criteria, the study programmes offered, the degree/diploma 
awarded  and  students’  rights  and  obligations.  Support  services  offered  by  Higher 
Education  Institutions  (HEIs)  contribute  to  enhancing  students’  academic  skills  and 
competences,  and  retention  and  graduation  rates.  Student  support  services  are  also 
vehicles  for  empowering  students,  by  giving  them  the  opportunity  to  discuss  the 
curriculum  and  to  provide  a  means  for  student  feedback  on  university  management 
issues.  They  are  important  for  overcoming  inequality  in  education  and  supporting 
students with special needs.  

It is known that university governance and management in general, and student support 
services in particular, cannot be directly linked to students’ performance and attainment. 
However, the offerings of student services shape the conditions that can enhance or limit 
students’ learning experiences and outcomes. A comprehensive set of support measures 
during  studies  endows students  with  competences  and  empowers them as graduates to 
tackle  the  challenges  of  the  21st  century  work  landscape.  That  is  why  university 
governance and management reforms are increasingly taking the needs and expectations 
of students into account, in order to improve the quality of HEIs. 

2. Key achievements in establishing/promoting student support 
services 

The main achievements of Tempus IV projects in the development of support services to 
students  at  universities  in  the  Western  Balkans  are  identified  at  two  levels:  direct 
benefits for students involved in Tempus IV projects who profited from specific services, 
and indirect benefits for the overall student population through the structural effects on 
HEIs and the setting of higher standards for student support. 

2.1. The direct and immediate impact of Tempus IV projects  

a. In terms of specific student support services 

1
 In EU terms, the Western Balkans comprises of  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo (This 
designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of 
independence), Montenegro and Serbia   

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
Study of the Achievements of Tempus IV Projects in Improving Student Services in Higher Education      

Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Tempus IV has achieved direct and immediate benefits for students who were involved in 
these  European  Union  (EU)  funded  projects  under  the  Tempus  IV  programme.  This  is 
particularly the case for Joint Projects2 that targeted education institutions.  One or more 
new  student  support  services  were  developed  and  implemented  under  almost  all  Joint 
Projects.   

Tempus IV has significantly contributed to the transfer of knowledge among HEIs and to 
the  need  for  support  to  students  in  the  Western  Balkans.  As  a  result  of  Tempus  IV 
projects, nine out of 10 HEIs learned about student support which other partners offered. 
However,  there  is  considerable  variance  in  the  areas  in  which  student  support  was 
established or promoted as a result of Tempus IV projects. 

  During  the  implementation  of  Tempus  IV,  nine  out  of  10  HEIs  offered  a  new 
student  support  service  that  was  not  available  before.  Examples  are  student 
agreements,  tutoring,  or  training  in  transferable  skills.  A  significant  share  of 
participating HEIs introduced career guidance to address employment prospects. 

  During the implementation  of  Tempus  IV projects  eight  out  of  10 HEIs improved 
existing  student  support  services.  This  was  particularly  the  case  for  improved 
administrative  support  and  more  transparent  information  about  programmes 
offered and degrees awarded.  

  After  the  end  of  EU  funding,  approximately  half  of  the  HEIs  introduced  new 
student  support  services  inspired  by  former Tempus  IV  partners,  such as setting 
up student alumni for the networking of graduates and support for students. 

b. In terms of general services that enhanced the overall quality of education 

The  number  of  HEIs  involved  in  Tempus  IV  projects,  and  the  number  of  students  who 
have  benefited  directly  from  new  support  services,  are  significant  but  nevertheless 
modest  compared  to  the  total  student  population.  Direct  beneficiaries  are  barely  a 
fraction of the total number of students and scholars in the Western Balkans. That is why 
evidence  about  the  spill-over effects  is  of  great  importance.  Indeed,  the  gatekeepers  of 
knowledge  (professors,  deans  and  rectors) speak  about beneficial  changes that  Tempus 
IV has brought to university culture. 

The  vast  majority  of  HEIs  introduced  new  and  improved  existing  administrative  support 
as  a  result  of  the  Tempus  IV  projects.  The  majority  of  Tempus  IV  projects  introduced 
learning  support  and  a  specifically  learner-centred  approach:  six  out  of  10  introduced 
learning  practices  for  developing  the  critical  thinking  of  students;  seven  out  of  10  HEIs 
introduced  tutoring,  academic  supervision,  guidance  and  counselling  for  thesis  writing, 
and  training  in  research  methodology.  As  a  result  of  Tempus  IV  projects,  structured 
training  in  transferable  skills  was  introduced  by  approximately  half  of  the  participating 
HEIs.  In  addition,  obligatory  internships/placements  were  introduced  by  four  out  of  10 
HEIs. Also, e-learning was introduced in six out of 10 participating HEIs. A similar share 
offered practical training and/or involvement of students in research and innovation.  

Student  representation  in  HEI  management  bodies  is,  as  a  rule,  enshrined  in  the 
legislation and administrative practices of universities/faculties. From the formal position, 
all faculties had student bodies before, during and after Tempus IV. Based on interviews 
with  student  representatives,  it  may  be  concluded  that  this  involvement  was  more 
relevant  and  effective  during  Tempus  IV  projects.  Student  feedback  mechanisms  and 

2 Joint Projects are implemented by the institutions themselves. Relevant themes for Joint Projects include curriculum development, 
enhancing university governance and creating better links between higher education and society at large. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
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procedures  for  dealing  with  student  complaints  were  set  in  place  during  Tempus  IV 
projects  (an  issue  identified  by  student  representatives  as  a  weak  point  for  student 
empowerment in the Western Balkans).  

The  impact  on  students  of  specific  individual  support  services  is  well  evidenced  in  this 
study.  However,  achieving  a  comprehensive,  full  range  of  new  student  support  services 
was not an explicit requirement of the Tempus IV calls for projects. Indeed, in a bottom-
up choice of topics, projects chose the rather narrow objective of developing one or two 
student  support  services,  rather  than  developing  and  implementing  a  full  spectrum  of 
support.  Most  projects  chose  to  establish  a  student  service  that  related  to  the  area  of 
learning  support.  No  HEI  in  the  Western  Balkans  has  given  evidence  of  providing 
comprehensive  student  support  services  before,  as  a  result  of,  or  after  the  end  of  a 
Tempus IV project.  

2.2. The indirect and longer-term impact of the Tempus IV projects  

Indirect benefits for students and a longer-term impact was achieved through Structural 
Measures  projects  aimed  at  reforming  higher  education  systems.  There  was  also  a 
cumulative effect from specific services established during the implementation of Tempus 
IV  projects.  In  addition,  changes  occurred  in  the  university  culture,  through  the 
promotion of reforms in the area of student support. 

Tempus  IV  projects  had  a  cumulative  effect  of  benefits  for  students  through  a  broad 
range of activities and their potential for longer-term impact may be identified. Tempus 
IV  students  were  the  first  to  profit  from  the  establishment  of  European  standards. 
Tempus  IV  funds  have  been  used  to  introduce  new  student  support  services  and/or 
improve existing ones, but also to prepare new textbooks, purchasing equipment, for the 
mobility  of  students  and  HEI  staff,  and  for  incoming  scholars.  The  modernised 
programme  has  had  a  spillover  effect.  More  students  were  being  exposed  to  newer 
teaching  practices,  and  raising  aspirations  for  interactive  teaching,  especially  among 
early  stage  researchers/assistants.  Some  of  those  aspirations  are  being  taken  up  by 
ministries responsible for education and will be enshrined in new laws.  

Tempus  IV  contributed  to  kick-starting  a  new  wave  of  modernisation  and  university 
management reforms at HEIs.  The main vehicles were the provision of equipment from 
project funds and the transfer of knowledge among partner organisations. The immediate 
beneficiaries were early stage researchers: they could use the newly purchased state of 
the  art  equipment;  and  they  were  exposed  to  new  teaching  and  training  methods  for 
completing their Master degree and/or PhD, through outgoing mobility and/or lectures by 
visiting  scholars.    This training  of  new  generations  of  early  stage  researchers/assistants 
was  an  impetus  for  quality  enhancement  of  teaching  practices.  This  had  a  longer-term 
impact for the subsequent exposure of the larger student population to new ways of co-
producing, transferring, appropriating and using knowledge. 

Tempus IV projects had an integrative role in the region where individual faculties have a 
high  level  of  autonomy.    Certain  universities  have  become  slightly  more  integrated  and 
opened up to interdisciplinary approaches through networking of faculties. 

Some  lessons  learnt  were  embedded  in  new  policies  and  administrative  commitments 
were  enshrined  in  new  laws.  Tempus  IV  projects  contributed  to  the  development  of 
national policies and strategies for identifying and meeting the need for student support, 
based on the transfer of knowledge among international partners. Indeed, six out of 10 
HEIs  believe  that  their  Tempus  IV  project  contributed  to  the  development  of  national 
policies relevant to student support. 

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Tempus  IV  projects,  and  in  particular  Structural  Measures  projects,  have  contributed  to 
raising standards for student support services at HEIs and they have raised expectations 
of stakeholders.  

3. Lessons learnt about needs for comprehensive student support  

Views  expressed  by  the  gatekeepers  of  knowledge,  such  as  rectors,  deans,  teaching 
staff,  and  student  representatives  and  students,  can  serve  as  guidance  for  looking 
forward and establishing those student support services that have been poorly developed 
up until now. They may be summarised as follows. 

In  the  Western  Balkans  region  the  main  focus  of  on-going  university  management 
reforms is on enhancing the performance of the best and the most talented students and 
graduates.  This  is  an  objective  of  all  educational  systems.  However,  ineffective  or  non-
existent  student  support  services  leave  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  student 
population  to  fend  for  themselves.  This  is  particularly  the  case  for  students  who 
encounter  transitional  difficulties,  who  find  themselves  trapped  in  failure  due  to  one 
subject,  who  have  special  needs  at  one  point  in  time  or  during  their  entire  time  in 
education,  or  experience  academic  burnout.  The  lack  of  structured  support  to  students 
lagging behind results in studies taking longer and students dropping out, which causes 
frustration among young people and leads to the high social costs of failure.  

Stakeholders  in  the  region  stress  that  Western  Balkans  countries  are  lagging  behind  in 
interdisciplinary  education  and  the  provision  of  structured  training  in  transferable  skills. 
Interdisciplinary  is  seen  as  condition  sine  qua  non  for  addressing  21st  century 
complexities  in  the  Western  Balkans.  However,  overcoming  disciplinary  barriers  in  HEIs 
is,  as  a  rule,  pursued  only,  or  mainly,  via  plans  to  create  special  interdisciplinary 
department  or  interdisciplinary  courses.  This  is  positive,  but  insufficient.  Efforts  go  into 
forming  special  ‘interdisciplinary  experts’,  rather  than  bridging  disciplinary  barriers  and 
involving the key stakeholders in the co-production of knowledge, whenever relevant, at 
all the departments and faculties.  

Many students are graduating in the Western Balkans without having been equipped with 
the skills needed to be sufficiently attractive for the labour market. Structured training in 
transferable  skills,  such  as  those  provided  under  Tempus  IV  projects,  is  not  seen  as  a 
priority by many HEIs.  

There  is  a  lack  of  comprehensive  student  support  for  mobile  students  and  early  stage 
researchers/assistants. The commitment of national resources for circular mobility is very 
low. 

In  the  Western  Balkans  the  self-perception  of  HEIs  about  their  importance  is  still 
expressed  by  input  and  output  numbers.  HEIs  rarely  address  the  quality  of  outcomes, 
employability and career pathways of graduates, as measurements of the societal value 
of learning.  

Disengagement/disempowerment  of  students  is  often  identified  in  the  Western  Balkans 
as a consequence of a process that starts with the education in early childhood. Children, 
adolescents and students are not sufficiently encouraged to develop critical thinking and 
to strive for positive change. They are guided to get through their education, with as little 
desire as possible to “rock the boat”. The only actions for which students mobilise are as 
a rule limited to student excursions and lobbying for obtaining more exam sittings. It is 
often  heard  from  the  stakeholders  in  the  Western  Balkans  that  many  student 
organisations  operate  as  spokespersons  for  political  parties  rather  than  for  the  student 
population. Students and even student organisations often reinforce this perception.  

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All  the  stakeholders  in  the  Western  Balkans  highlighted  the  importance  of  the 
internationalisation that occurred thanks to the Tempus IV projects. They share the view 
that  students  benefited  immensely  from  the  establishment  of  regional  and  broader 
international  networks  during  the  implementation  of  the  Tempus  IV  projects.  However, 
they  all  also  reported  low  sustainability  of  international/regional  networks  after  the  end 
of EU funding. Following the end of EU funding, it was difficult or impossible to maintain 
and  broaden  international  relations.  There  is  poor  national  support  for  mobility  of 
students  and  staff.  HEIs’  efforts  to  maintain  international  contacts  established  during 
Tempus  IV  projects  are  at  best,  seen  as  vehicles  for  applying  for  more  EU  funding. 
Public-private  partnerships  and  the  involvement  of  employers  in  establishing  and 
maintaining  an  international  transfer  of  knowledge  that  also  entails  student  and  early-
stage researchers’ mobility is still a matter to be addressed effectively in the future. 

4. Recommendations  

Based  on  lessons  learnt  and  reflections  by  key  stakeholders  in  the  Western  Balkans 
region, the following recommendations were put forward. 

4.1. Recommendations to European funding agencies 

R1 – The Commission could consider including in the grant agreement, a clause whereby 
recipients  of  EU  funding  are  committed  to  providing  feedback  about  the  outcomes  and 
impacts  of  projects,  over  a  period  of  say  three  to  five  years  following  the  end  of  EU 
support.  This  would  correspond  to  the  period  during  which  beneficiaries  are  obliged  to 
keep  all  records  for  possible  financial  audits.  This  new  commitment  would  in  fact 
constitute  an  innovative  scientific,  policy  and  social  impact  audit  and  would  bring 
considerable European added value. 

R2 – The Commission could consider elaborating guidelines for a comprehensive range of 
student support services that modern HEIs are expected to offer.  

R3  –  The  empowerment  of  students  to  have  their  say  in  the  quality  assurance  and  the 
improvement  of  structures  and  procedures  taking  into  account  the  needs  and 
expectations  of  students,  could  be  central  to  future  EU  support  to  HEIs  in  the  Western 
Balkans.  

R4 – In all programmes funded by the EU, even when they are bottom-up with respect to 
the choice of topic, the Commission could require projects to have students as a priority 
group  and  to  commit  to  an  interdisciplinary  approach  and  the  provision  of  transferable 
skills.  

R5  -  It  is  suggested  that,  whenever  relevant,  applicant  institutions  and  beneficiaries  of 
EU funding are asked to elaborate in their application a road-map for the recognition of 
credits for their mobile students and to facilitate and accelerate the recognition process. 

R6 – It is suggested that more systematic external quality control of the implementation 
and achievement of project objectives by peer reviewers be requested from beneficiaries 
of EU funding, in order to better support the culture of social responsibility. 

R7  –  The  European  Commission  could  consider  putting  even  greater  efforts  into 
disseminating information about opportunities and explaining in detail the evaluation and 
selection  procedures  for  projects,  in  order  to  inform  stakeholders,  and  in  particular 
students and early-stage researchers/assistants, that the selection rules for projects are 
fair, transparent and are rigorously applied. 

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4.2. Recommendations to HEIs and national stakeholders  

R8  -  Student  agreements  detailing  their  rights  and  obligations  of  students  are 
recommended  to  be  common  practice  at  HEIs.  The  empowerment  of  students  through 
comprehensive student support that gives a voice to students for shaping their learning 
environment  and  for  ensuring  robust  channels  for  taking  up  student  aspirations  and 
grievances as part of student agreement is highly recommended. 

R9 - Student organisations could develop codes of conduct to strengthen their ability and 
capacity to address corrupt practices and interference by political parties in matters that 
concern student support services at HEIs. 

R10 - Ministries responsible for education could elaborate guidance on the comprehensive 
set  of  student  support  services  that  HEIs  should  offer.  External  control  bodies  could  be 
given the mandate to implement systematic monitoring of the delivery of student support 
services.  This  would  be  a  measure  for  the  empowerment  of  the  student  population.  It 
could also be one of the robust indicators for funding and ranking universities.  

R11 – Greater attention to structured training in transferable skills, as a standard part of 
curricula at HEIs is suggested.  

R12  -  University  and  faculty  autonomy  need  to  go  hand  in  hand  with  accountability 
measures  and  a  comprehensive  and  rigorously  implemented  system  of  monitoring  for 
quality.  It  is  suggested  that  better  data  be  collected  through  external  and  internal  HEI 
evaluation/quality  assurance 
to  students. 
Involvement  of  a  full  range  of  stakeholders  in  quality  control,  including  industry/the 
business community, and students is recommended.  

for  academic  provision  and  support 

R13  –  It  is  suggested  that  HEIs  put  more  effort  into  enhancing  the  societal  value  of 
learning,  research  and  innovation.  This  can  be  done  by  promoting  interdisciplinarity, 
involving  stakeholders  as  co-producers  of  knowledge,  and  by  regularly  assessing  the 
immediate  and  longer-term  impacts  of  learning  outcomes  by  internal  and  external  peer 
reviewing.  

R14  –  Tracer  studies  by  HEIs  are  recommended  in  order  to  gather  information  about 
employability, access to first job and career trajectories, together with the establishment 
of alumni associations for monitoring longer term outcomes and ensuring peer support.  

R15 – The employability and career advancement of graduates could be used as a robust 
indicator  of  the  quality  of  learning  at  HEIs.  This  could  be  one  of  the  key  performance 
indicators  for  national  planning,  in  order  to  supplement  the  output  statistics  as  data 
sources about the quality and societal value of learning. 

R16  –  As  a  rule,  the  involvement  of  non-academic  organisations  in  curriculum 
development and performance evaluation, enhances the innovation potential of HEIs and 
employability of graduates. More interactive transfer of knowledge between industry and 
academia  is  suggested.  This  would  support  stronger  student  learning  and  better 
employability. 

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Introduction 

The  overall  objective  of  the  Tempus  programme  (1990-2013)  was  to  contribute  to  an 
area  of  cooperation  in  the  field  of  higher  education  between  the  European  Union  and 
partner countries surrounding the EU and nearby (the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe 
and Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East). The latest phase of the programme, 
Tempus IV, covered the period 2008-2013.  

The  specific  objectives  of  the  Tempus  IV  programme  were  to  promote  the  reform  and 
modernisation  of  higher  education  in  the  partner  countries,  enhance  the  quality  and 
relevance of their higher education systems, build capacity to help them internationalise 
and  create  better  links  with  the  labour  market,  develop  human  resources,  enhance 
mutual  understanding  between  people  and  cultures  and  promote  cooperation  and 
networking within the regions covered by the programme.  

Tempus  IV  was  financed  by  three  of  the  European  Commission's  external  assistance 
instruments:  the  Instrument  for  Pre-accession  Assistance  (Western  Balkans);  the 
European Neighbourhood  and  Partnership  Instrument  (Eastern  Europe,  North  Africa and 
the Middle East); and the Development and Cooperation  Instrument (Central Asia).  The 
Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  (EACEA)  was  responsible  for  the 
management of Tempus IV, under powers delegated by the European Commission. 

Six  different  Calls  for  Proposals  were  published  during  this  period  and  550  projects 
selected,  representing  a  budget  of  EUR  483  million.  Each  project  received  funding  of 
between  EUR  €0.5  million  and  €1.5  million  and  lasted  either  2  or  3  years.  Tempus  IV 
partnerships are made up of consortia including higher education institutions, businesses, 
ministries,  NGOs,  and  other  organisations  working  in  the  field  higher  education,  from 
inside the EU and from the partner countries. 

Given  the  success  of  the  Tempus  programme  over  the  past  20  years,  Tempus-like 
activities now continue to be financed by the Capacity-building in Higher Education action 
(CBHE)  component  of  Erasmus+  programme  for  education,  training,  youth  and  sport, 
which  started  in  January  2014.  These  are  now  open  to  a  wider  range  of  countries 
throughout  the  world.    International  cooperation  between  the  EU  and  Partner  Countries 
outside the EU represents an important component of the Erasmus+ programme.  

Now that the last Tempus IV projects are coming to an end in 2017, there is a clear need 
to  assess  the  impact  of  Tempus  IV  projects  and  use  the  results  to  help  further  develop 
capacity-building  activities  in  the  Erasmus+  programme.  The  European  Commission's 
Directorate  General  for  Education  and  Culture,  with  the  support  of  EACEA,  launched  a 
series of thematic studies to look at the impact of the programme in key areas of reform 
and  gather  examples  of  good  practice  for  the  future.  These  are  to  help  promote  the 
Capacity  Building  in  Higher  Education  action  of  Erasmus+  in  all  eligible  countries,  and 
provide  an  overview  of  what  can  be  achieved  with  these  kinds  of  projects,  pit-falls  to 
avoid and examples of best practice for inspiration.  

One key reform area was chosen for each of the four Tempus regions: 

  Western Balkans: the development of student support services at universities; 
  Southern Mediterranean: university-business cooperation;   
  Eastern  Europe:  curriculum  development  at  master  level  in  the  fields  of 

engineering and environmental sciences/agriculture;  

Central Asia: internationalisation of higher education, including convergence to Bologna.  

The aim of this report is to provide an analysis of the main achievements, the impact and 
the sustainability of the Tempus IV (2007-2013) projects in the development of support 

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services  to  students  at  universities  in  the  Western  Balkans.  The  report  also  identifies 
examples of good practice as well as obstacles and shortcomings. 

This report builds on the study implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, 
Montenegro  and  Serbia.  Lessons  learnt  from  the  implementation  of  Tempus  IV  are 
intended to be useful for the future participation of  Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) 
from this region in other EU programmes. It is also expected that the identification of the 
key  success  factors  and  obstacles  can  also  contribute  to  capacity  building  for  university 
governance and modernisation of management in EU programmes in other regions of the 
world. 

1.  Definition and broad concept of student support services 

Student support is understood to include a broad range of services offered to students by 
HEIs.  For  the  purpose  of  this  study,  the  research  team  identified  six  areas  of  student 
support  and  elaborated  27  indicators  for  collecting  evidence  about  the  provision  of 
support by HEIs. They are:  

  Administrative  support:  promotion  of 

the  programme  (e.g.  outreach, 
completeness  of  information  about  aims,  content,  national  grading  system, 
degree/diploma);  student  enrolment  (e.g.  transparency  of  admission  criteria, 
student  agreement  about  rights  and  responsibilities);  financial  aspects  (e.g. 
tuition  fees/waiving,  access  to  grants  and  loans,  insurance,  financial  and  legal 
advice);  and  information  on  medical  insurance.  (Medical  insurance  and  health 
services are enshrined in health care laws and are the remit of public institutions 
that operate outside the universities. HEIs do provide information upon request by 
students  and  this  may  be  considered  as  part  of  the  administrative  support  that 
students receive). 

  Social  integration  support:  accommodation/housing  (i.e.  access  to  student 
accommodation,  support  to  access  private  rentals,  mobility  support.  Specialised 
public 
institutions  that  operate  outside  the  universities  manage  student 
accommodation.  Private  rentals  are  outside  the  remit  of  student  services  and 
universities.  Information  regarding  who  to  contact  in  order  to  apply  for  student 
accommodation  may  be  supplied  by  HEIs  as  part  of  student  social  integration 
support.);  welfare  for  families  and  children  (e.g.  facilities,  legal  advice, 
confidential  advisor);  services  for  less  able  students  (e.g.  facilities  and/or  extra 
tutoring,  legal  advice,  confidential  advisor);  gender  issues  (e.g.  guidance  for 
identifying  open  and  hidden  violence  and/or  gender  discrimination,  legal  advice, 
confidential  advisor);  local  organisation  of  social  activities  (e.g.  peer  support, 
welcome  reception  for  new  students,  lab  tour,  social  media,  internet  library, 
pairing  of  students);  alumni  association  (e.g.  sharing  of  experiences  and  career 
opportunities, and follow up of graduates in terms of employment).  

  Career  guidance:  employment  opportunities  (e.g.  meet  the  employers  events, 
support  for  placements);  exposure  to  knowledge  from  different  sectors  (e.g. 
visiting  scholars  from  academic  and  non-academic  organisations);  summer 
schools  and  workshops  (e.g.  bringing  students  and  teachers  from  different 
organisations  together  to  discuss  training,  and  career  landscape);  women  in 
academia and business organisations (e.g. mitigating some aspects of the gender 
gap). 

  Cross-border  networking  and  internationalisation:  mobility  of  students  and 
staff (e.g. student exchange programmes, cooperation on joint tasks and projects, 
cooperation  at  the  regional  level  and  international  networking;  mastering  foreign 
languages  (e.g.  openings  for  global  knowledge;  using  literature  in  foreign 
language;  teaching  in  foreign  language);  raising  awareness  about  cultural 

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specificities  of  partner  organisations  (e.g.  enhancing  capacity  to  address 
complexity and work in multicultural environments). 

  Learning  support:  learner-centred  approach  (e.g.  innovation  in  teaching 
practices,  critical  thinking,  tutoring,  supervision,  guidance  for  thesis  preparation; 
acquaintance  with  research  methodology);  interdisciplinarity  (e.g.  overcoming 
fragmentation  of  teaching  and  learning  content  and  methods,  interdisciplinary 
research  techniques);  transferable  skills  (e.g.  skills  important  to  employers  that 
can be taken from one situation to another and from one job to another, such as 
public  speaking  and  communication,  intellectual  property  rights  (IPR),  research 
ethics,  commercialisation  of  research  output,  project  and  human  resource  
management,  entrepreneurship);  internships/placements  and    cross-sectorial 
mobility  (e.g.  exposure  to  industry,  world  of  business,  public  sector);  e-learning 
(e.g. support for working and mobile students, online availability of teaching and 
learning resources); training for research and involvement of students in research 
(e.g.  overcoming  HEIs’  traditional  focus  only  on  teaching  and  more  exposure  to 
research and innovation). 

  Inclusion  in  faculty/university  governance:  representation  of  students  in 
management  bodies  (e.g.  structures  and  procedures  for  the  activities  of  student 
organisations,  leadership  competences);  student  feedback  (e.g.  mechanisms  and 
procedures for dealing with students’ feedback, take up of students’ requests and 
complaints);  evaluation  of  teachers  (e.g.  involvement  in  quality  assurance  of 
teaching  practices);  graduate  surveys  (e.g.  monitoring  and  feedback  on  the 
overall quality of HEI education and training and employability). 

The  outdated  practice  whereby  HEIs  provided  only  administration  facilities  and  possibly 
access to student accommodation and health insurance is no longer satisfactory. Ideally, 
services  to  students  should  encompass  all  six  of  the  areas  of  support  identified  above. 
This  is  necessary  in  order  to  authentically  empower  students  to  shape  their  education 
and acquire competences for later tackling the complexities of the work landscape of the 
21st  century.  The  quest  for  comprehensive  student  support  services  has  been  well  built 
into  transnational  programmes,  such  as  Tempus,  Erasmus  Mundus  in  the  past,  and 
Erasmus+.  Certain  Erasmus+  actions  require  applicant  universities  to  give  evidence  of 
the  substantial  scope  and  quality  of  the  student  support  they  will  offer,  if  they  wish  to 
benefit from the EU funding.  

2.   Why do student support services matter? 

Student support services are important for ensuring transparent and equitable access to 
information about admission criteria, study programmes offered and the degree/diploma 
awarded,  as  well  as  students’  rights  and  obligations.  Support  services  offered  by  HEIs 
contribute  to  enhancing  students’  academic  skills  and  competences,  and  retention  and 
graduation rates. Student support services are also vehicles for empowering students by 
giving  them  the  opportunity  to  discuss  the  curriculum  and  to  provide  fora  for  student 
feedback on university management issues. They are important for overcoming inequality 
in education and supporting students with special needs.  

It is known that university management and student support services cannot be directly 
linked  to  students’  performance  and  attainment.  However,  the  offerings  of  student 
services  shape  the  conditions  that  can  enhance  or  limit  students’  learning  experiences 
and  outcomes.3  A  comprehensive  set  of  support  during  studies  endows  students  with 
competences  and  empowers  them  as  graduates  to  tackle  the  challenges  of  the  21st 
century work landscape. That is why university governance and management reforms are 

3 See for example: Nusche 2008. 

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increasingly taking the needs and expectations of students into account, so as to provide 
quality assurance at HEIs.4 

3.   Evidence gathering and challenges encountered 

The  24  projects  selected  for  this  study  by  the  Education  and  Culture  Executive  Agency 
(EACEA)  were  either completed or  were  close  to  completion  in  2015/2016,  having  been 
launched  between  2008  and  2012.  The  selected  projects  include  14  Joint  Projects 
(JPHES)  and  10  Structural  Measures  projects  (SMGR).  The  selected  projects  included 
over  270  participations5  of  HEIs  from  Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Kosovo, 
Montenegro, Serbia and other partners from the EU Member States and partner countries 
(see  Appendix  3  for  the  list  of  partners  from  the  Western  Balkans  and  other  parts  of 
Europe). Several projects were implemented in more than one Western Balkan country, 
and  many  projects  had  multiple  participations  from  any  one  of  the  universities.  They 
included a broad range of stakeholders in addition to HEIs. Seven out of 10 participations 
concerned HEIs. Ministries, public administrations, local authorities, businesses, industry, 
student organisations, and other stakeholders were also partners. 

A survey questionnaire for the HEIs in the Western Balkans, supported under Tempus IV 
projects,  was  sent  out  to  97  HEIs  encompassing  departments/faculties/universities  that 
participated  in  the  selected  projects  and  had  benefited  from  the  EU  funding  (see  again 
Appendix 3). They included 10 HEIs in Albania, 10 HEIs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, four 
HEIs in Kosovo, eight HEIs in Montenegro and 23 HEIs in Serbia. Some HEIs had several 
participations  in  different  projects  (e.g.  University  of  Belgrade  had  10  participations, 
University  of  Montenegro  six).  The  focus  of  the  survey  was  to  capture  which  specific 
student support services have been introduced or improved in the Western Balkans as a 
result of the Tempus IV projects. 

A  more  strategic  perspective  on  perceptions  about  needs,  implementation  and  benefits 
for  students  and  institutions,  and  obstacles  encountered,  was  captured  on  site  visits  in 
Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  and  Serbia  in  November  and  December  2015.  During 
the  site  visits,  80  interviews  were  conducted  in  these  three  countries  with  a  range  of 
relevant  stakeholders:  Ministries  of  Education,  Ministries  of  Youth,  gatekeepers  of 
knowledge  at  the  HEIs  such  as  rectors,  deans,  heads  of  departments,  international 
relations officers, as well as the EU delegation, the National Erasmus+ office, and last but 
not  least,  representatives  of  student  organisations  and  students.    The  information 
gathered  in  face-to-face  interviews  is  integrated  in  the  analysis  of  the  Western  Balkans 
region.  In  order to  capture  opinions  of  HEIs in  Kosovo  and  Montenegro,  an  open-ended 
interview  questionnaire  methodology  was  used.  HEIs  provided  written  feedback  and  in-
depth 
information  and  explanations  regarding  the  achievements  and  obstacles 
encountered in maximising the impact of Tempus IV projects.  These answers were taken 
on board for the analysis of the Western Balkans region. 

The  quantitative  survey,  open-ended  questions  and  qualitative  face-to-face  interview 
methodology were underpinned by the literature review.6 

The  stocktaking  of  student  support  services  introduced  and/or  developed  as  a  result  of 
Tempus IV Joint Projects and strategic planning under Structural Measures, together with 
assessment by the key stakeholders following the end of projects, allows the assessment 
of a range of Tempus IV impacts.  

4 The Ministerial Conference approved in May 2015 the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education 
Area (EHEA) specifically mentioning needs and aspirations of students. 
5 We use the term “participations” because a single HEI may have participated in more than one project, and thus the count refers to the 
number of times HEIs have been involved in the selected Tempus IV projects. 
6 Key data on the Tempus IV programme are published at eacea.ec.europe.eu/tempus  

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The key challenges encountered during the evidence gathering relate to the difficulty in 
persuading  HEIs  to  provide  feedback  after  the  end  of  EU  funding  and  the  passivity  of 
students. 

It  took  numerous  emails  and  follow-up  telephone  calls  by  the  research  team,  and 
insistence  by  the  National  Erasmus+  Offices  (NEOs),  to  achieve an  acceptable  response 
rate  from  HEIs  that  had  benefitted  from  Tempus  IV  funding.  The  only  request  by  the 
research  team  was  that  selected  projects  provide  their  opinions  by  filling  out  a 
questionnaire about benefits achieved for their students and for their own institution. 

At  the  end  of  the  day,  response  rates  varied  considerably  between  countries,  with  the 
highest  response  rate  from  the  projects  and  HEIs  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  and  the 
lowest  in  Serbia.  Specifically,  from  Albania,  responses  were  received  from  all  selected 
projects  implemented  in  that  country  and  from  10  out  of  15  HEI  participations;  from 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, responses came from all the projects and all 10 participations; 
from  Kosovo  four  out  of  five  projects  answered  covering  four  out  of  six  HEI 
participations;  from  Montenegro  six  out  of  seven  projects  provided  feedback  covering 
eight out of 10 HEI participations; while in Serbia eight out of 15 projects answered and 
responses came from only 23 out of 56 HEI participations.  

HEIs in the Western Balkans have not yet established a practice of providing a broad and 
coherent  range  of  student  support  services.  Although  the  vast  majority  of  Tempus  IV 
projects had students as their main and/or direct priority group, no project had a specific 
objective to empower students by developing a coherent set of student support services. 
At best, individual projects had selected a narrow scope, by committing to providing one 
or only a few student support services as part of university governance reform. Nine out 
of 10 projects had students as a main priority group and the overwhelming majority did 
offer  new  student  support  that  was  not  available  before.  However,  they  are,  as  a  rule, 
stand-alone  new  services,  such  as  a  practical  placement  programme,  or  setting  up  a 
career centre. Indeed, in answers to the questionnaire, the most frequent explanation for 
not  providing  specific  types  of  student  support  was  “Not  foreseen  in  the  project 
objectives”.  As  there  was  no  formal  commitment  by  HEIs  to  empower  students  outside 
the narrow objectives specified in the grant agreement for supporting them in one or two 
areas, and no tradition of doing so as a general practice, relatively modest or no effort by 
HEIs  went  into  ensuring  that  students  received  a  full  range  of  support.    Indeed, 
information  about  student  support  de  facto  provided  gives  a  patchwork  of  disperse 
services that do not build into a network of effective and efficient support.  

Passivity of students is a feature of the HEI landscape in the Western Balkans. Students 
themselves,  representatives  of  student  organisations,  rectors,  deans,  professors  and 
ministries responsible for tertiary education, complained about the lack of involvement of 
the  student  population  in  university  management.  All  stakeholders  affirm  that  students 
solve most of their student concerns through informal peer groups.  

This particular issue about low activation by the student population, in having their say in 
university management and matters which affect their present situation and shape their 
future, will be analysed at some length in the following sections of this report.  

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4.  Data processing and analysis 

Data  from  the  quantitative  survey  was  cleaned  and  coded,  and  the  research  team 
transcribed  all  the  interviews  that  were  recorded.7  Analysis  of  the  literature  and  the 
identification  of  similarities  and  differences  captured  in  questionnaires  and  interviews 
allows  for  the  use  of  pooled  data,  i.e.  combining  results  for  all  the  Western  Balkans 
projects under review, to draw conclusions about types of student support provided. The 
approach  to  student  support  services,  as  well  as  the  identification  of  difficulties  and 
barriers  to  student  empowerment  by  the  key  stakeholders,  exhibit  substantial 
commonalities in the Western Balkans region.  

7 Informed consent was asked from the interviewees for recording the conversation. One interviewee only (from Albania) preferred not to 
have the interview recorded.  

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Chapter 1: The impact of Tempus IV 

EACEA  selected  two  types  of  projects  for  assessing  the  Tempus  IV  impact  on  student 
support  services.  They  are  Joint  Projects  targeting  individual  higher  education 
institution(s),  and  Structural  Measures  projects  aimed  at  reforming  higher  education 
systems  which  requires  the  obligatory  presence  of  the  Ministry  of  Education  for  all 
participating  countries.  The  expected  and  achieved  outcomes  of  Tempus  IV  are 
embedded in the specific rationale of these different types of projects. 

1.1. Impacts of Joint Projects and Structural Measures  

Joint  Projects,  included  students  in  the  project  and  developed  and  implemented  one  or 
more new or improved student support services, as a result of Tempus IV.  Examples of 
topics related to services are students’ internships, inclusion of students with disabilities, 
conversion  courses  for  unemployed  graduates,  knowledge  triangles,  library  services, 
enterprise-academia  connections,  or  Master  and  PhD  education  in  specific  scientific 
disciplines. Joint Projects also included some incoming and outgoing mobility of students 
and/or staff.  

Achieving  a  comprehensive  range  of  new  student  support  services  was  not  an  explicit 
requirement of the Tempus IV Calls for Joint Projects targeting education institutions and 
multilateral  partnerships.  Indeed,  the  analysed  Joint  Projects  were  bottom-up  and  had 
chosen a rather narrow objective to establish one or two student support services, rather 
than  developing  and  implementing  a  full  spectrum  of  support  services.  In  that  context, 
no  HEI  in  the  Western  Balkans  has  given  evidence  of  providing  comprehensive  student 
support services before, as a result of, or after the end of the Tempus IV projects.  

Structural  Measures  aimed  at  reforming  higher  education  systems  focused  on  providing 
guidelines  about  quality  assurance,  strengthening  the  student  role  in  governance  and 
management,  addressing  the  social  dimension  of  higher  education,.  The  student 
population benefited indirectly from the project outputs. Tempus IV Structural Measures 
projects  rarely  had  as  an  objective,  the  implementation  of  a  specific  student  service, 
although  several  addressed  a  learner-centered  approach  or  career  centre  for  bringing 
academia and industry closer together.  

For those reasons, the main achievements of the Tempus IV projects in the development 
of  support services  to  students  at  universities  in  the  Western  Balkans will  be  addressed 
at  two  levels:  the  direct  benefits  for  students  involved  in  Tempus  IV  projects,  who 
profited from specific services, and the indirect benefits for the overall student population 
through the structuring effects at HEIs.  

1.2. The key achievements of Tempus IV projects  

Firstly, the student support services which HEIs introduced or improved as a result of a 
Tempus  IV  project  are  looked  at.  Then,  obstacles  they  encountered  in  the  Western 
Balkans HEI landscape are identified. In section 1.3 practices that have produced direct 
and immediate benefits for students are addressed. 

Then  the  cumulative  effect  of  Tempus  IV  achievements  and  strategic  effects  in  the  HEI 
landscape is addressed. Some changes in the proposed or enacted legislation that were 
inspired  to  by  Tempus  IV  are  also  identified.    In  section  1.4,  the  structural  impact  of 
Tempus  IV  with  respect  to  student  support  services  are  identified  and  indirect,  longer-
term impact for students is dealt with.  

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1.3. How Tempus IV has established/promoted student support 
services  

Tempus IV has significantly contributed to the transfer of knowledge among HEIs 
about  the  need  for  support  to  students  in  the  Western  Balkans.  As  a  result  of 
Tempus  IV  projects,  nine  out  of  10  HEIs  learned  about  student  support  which 
other partners offered  

  During  the  implementation  of  Tempus  IV,  nine  out  of  10  HEIs  offered  a  new 
student  support  service  that  was  not  available  before,  such  as  student 
agreements, tutoring, or training in transferable skills.  

  During the implementation  of  Tempus  IV projects  eight  out  of  10 HEIs improved 
the existing student support service.  This was particularly the case for improved 
administrative  support  and  more  transparent  information  about  programmes 
offered.  

  After  the  end  of  EU  funding,  approximately  half  of  the  HEIs  introduced  new 
student  support  services  inspired  by  former Tempus  IV  partners,  such as setting 
up  student  alumni  services  for  the  networking  of  graduates  and  support  for 
students. 

1.3.1. Achievements according to areas of student support services 

There is considerable  variance in the areas in which  student support was established  or 
promoted as a result of Tempus IV projects. 

The  vast  majority  of  HEIs  introduced  new  and  improved  existing  administrative  support 
as a result of the Tempus IV projects. Eight out of 10 HEIs introduced information on the 
study programmes offered by the university and made it available online.  Six out of 10 
HEIs introduced student agreements, detailing students’ rights and obligations. This level 
of support continued to be provided after the end of EU funding (see Appendix 1 Figures 
1, 2, 3).   

The  majority  of  Tempus  IV  projects  introduced  learning  support  and  a  specifically 
learner-centred approach: six out of 10 introduced learning practices for developing the 
critical  thinking  of  students;  seven  out  of  10  HEIs  introduced  tutoring,  academic 
supervision,  guidance  and  counselling  for  thesis  writing,  and  training  in  research 
methodology. This level of support continued to be provided after the end of EU funding 
(see Appendix 1 Figure 9). 

Structured training in transferable skills was introduced as a result of Tempus IV projects 
by approximately half of the participating HEIs.  At four out of 10 HEIs students received 
training  in  commercialisation  of  research  outputs,  project  and  human  resource 
management and entrepreneurship. Six out of every 10 HEIs introduced public speaking 
and research ethics as a result of the Tempus IV projects. This level of support continued 
to be provided after the end of EU funding (see Appendix 1 Figure 11). 

Obligatory internships/placements were introduced as a result of Tempus IV projects by 
four  out  of  10  HEIs.    Five  out  of  10  HEIs  used  the  European  Credit  Transfer  and 
Accumulation System (ECTS) for internships contributing toward a degree.  Six out of 10 
HEIs  suggested  or  helped  students  find  an  institution  in  which  to  carry  out  their 
internship.  This  level  of  support  continued  to  be  provided  after  the  end  of  EU  funding 
(see Appendix 1 Figure 12). 

E-learning  was  introduced  as  a  result  of  the  Tempus  IV  projects  in  six  out  of  10 
participating  HEIs.  HEIs  that  introduced  e-learning  during  Tempus  IV  continued  to  offer 

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online access to teaching and learning resources to students, after the end of EU funding 
(see Appendix 1 Figure 13).  

Practical  training  and/or  the  involvement  of  students  in  research  and  innovation  were 
introduced as a result of a Tempus IV project, by seven out of 10 participating HEIs (see 
Appendix 1 Figure 14). 

Student representation in HEI management bodies  is, as a rule, enshrined in legislation 
and  administrative  practices  of  universities/faculties  and  thus  from  the  formal  point  of 
view,  all  faculties  had  student  bodies  before,  during  and  after  Tempus  IV.  Based  on 
interviews  with  student  representatives,  it  may  be  concluded  that  this  involvement  was 
more relevant and effective during Tempus IV projects.  This was particularly significant 
in  the  general  university  landscape,  which  is  not  conducive  to  activating  students  to 
shape their learning environment (see Box 1). 

Student feedback mechanisms and procedures for dealing with student complaints, which 
was  an  issue  identified  by  student  representatives  as  a  weak  point  for  student 
empowerment  in  the  Western  Balkans,  were  put  in  place  during  Tempus  IV  projects. 
Approximately  half  of  participating  HEIs  established  mechanisms  and  improved 
procedures for dealing with student concerns and complaints (see Appendix 1 Figure 16). 
Activation of students and procedures for taking on board student feedback regarding the 
quality of teaching was more effectively implemented in Tempus IV projects. This was a 
significant  step  forward  as  students  rarely  took  initiatives  to  shape  their  learning 
environment  before  Tempus  IV  projects.  However,  in  the  qualitative  interviews,  all  the 
stakeholders questioned the sustainability of the effectiveness of these mechanisms and 
procedures  after  the  end  of  Tempus  IV,  because  the  general  university  landscape  is 
conducive to the passivity of the student population (see again Box 1). 

A  significant  share  of  participating  HEIs  introduced  career  guidance  and  addressed 
employment  opportunities.  Career  centres  are  considered  as  a  success  story  in  some 
countries (see Box 2). Six out of 10 introduced “meet the employers” events, and seven 
out  of  10  introduced  structured  discussions  with  students  and/or  trainees  about  career 
options in various sectors of the economy. As a result of the Tempus IV projects, six out 
of 10 HEIs introduced lectures by visiting scholars from both academic and non-academic 
organisations (see Appendix 1 Figure 18). 

As  a  result  of  the  Tempus  IV  projects,  student  exchange/mobility  programmes  with 
Tempus IV project partner institutions were offered by four out of 10 HEIs; international 
mobility of students and/or trainees with institutions outside the Tempus IV partnership 
was offered by three out of 10. However, cooperation by students from different Tempus 
IV  project  partner  institutions  on  joint  academic  tasks  and/or  research  projects  not 
involving student mobility was offered by less than two out of 10 HEIs (see Appendix 1 
Figure 23; see also Box 3). 

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Box 1. Student representation: challenges for activating a passive student 

population 

Problem:  Student representation is built  into university governance in the Western 
Balkans.  There  are  elected  student  representatives,  bodies,  and  procedures  for 
student complaints.  However, all the stakeholders are extremely critical about the 
lack of activation of the student population. Student representatives report that the 
student population is passive, that it is difficult to mobilise students to stand up for 
themselves. The majority of students do not object or react to out-dated education 
systems,  absence  of  interactive  learning,  or  lack  of  teaching  of  modern  research 
methods  with  a  view  to  enhancing  their  employability.  There  is  a  subjective  belief 
among  students  that  they  are  unable  to  change  or  improve  their  learning 
environment.  

More  generally,  students  have the  perception  that the  society  in  which  they  live is 
not open to creative or critical thinking, making it more difficult for them to act as 
individuals  and  to  organise  themselves  into  activist  groups.  In  the  words  of  one 
student:  

“Apathy rules, and despair about the fact that nothing can be changed”.  

Another student stresses: 

“Students do not take a stand against bribery and corruption at universities 
because  they  are  afraid  of  professors,  who  are  often  part  of  the  political 
establishment”. 
As one student put it: 

“You  complain  to  your  friends  but  don't  have  the  guts  to  complain  to  the 
right  institutions  or  to  the  right  structures  because  you  are  afraid  that 
something negative might happen to you”.  

According to a student representative: 

“Students  generally  do  not  take  proactive  action  in  order  to  improve  the 
educational  systems  in  which  they  are  formed,  or  even  to  enforce  rights  to 
which they are entitled by law or regulations. They will generally react only 
in the most extreme situations”. 

themselves  appear 

their 
Students 
representatives.  The  only  requests  that  students  make  are  for  extra  sittings  of 
exams.  In  the  words  of  student  representatives  themselves,  student  organisations 
focus  on  organising  field  trips  and  parties  at  the  department/faculty  level  and 
lobbying for more examination periods. 

low  expectations 

to  have 

towards 

The opinions of HEI staff about student representatives at faculties, and students in 
general,  are  equally  critical.  Professors,  deans  and  rectors  find  that  students  are 
passive,  and  that  student  representatives  behave  as  spokespersons  for  political 
parties  rather  than  speaking  for  their  fellow  students.  A  prevailing  opinion  is  that 
membership of a student organisation is a springboard for a political career. 

Solution: Tempus IV projects set examples of good practice for student involvement 
in university management.  In one region a student representative remarked that: 

“Student  Ombudsman  is  the  highest  achievement  of  the  student’s  union”.-
Tempus can maybe contribute but is for sure not the solution to a problem of societ. 
What has the ombudsman to do with Tempus 

Obstacles:  There  is  general  agreement  that  the  key  requirements  for  empowering  
students  have  not,  up  to  now,  been  coherently  taken  up  by  national  stakeholders. 
Students themselves are not drivers of changes, as they neither expect nor request 
better student support services. It was often mentioned in the Western Balkans that 
obstacles  to  the  empowerment  of  students  are  embedded  in  the  university 
landscape  and  that  ministries  could  do  more  to  promote  the  culture  of  authentic 
participation by students in shaping the  quality of teaching.-this is  not an obstacle 
to the proposed solution 

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Bringing  together  students  and  staff  from  all  Tempus  IV  project  partner  institutions  in 
events such as summer schools was achieved by two out of 10 HEIs.  The majority, six 
out of 10, organised workshops with only some partners of the Tempus IV project. This 
may have diminished the structuring effects of networking, resulting in the dispersion of 
efforts  and  resources  (see  Appendix  1  Figure  20).  It  is  nevertheless  interesting  to  note 
that after the end of EU funding, some joint activities did take place among some of the 
partners.  They  relate  mainly  to  cooperation  in  elaborating  new  joint  proposals  for  EU 
funding.  

Box 2. Career centres: student support success story 

Problem:  It  is  difficult  for  graduates  to  find  a  job  in  the  area  of  their  studies. 
Students  get  little,  if  any,  structured  training  in  transferable  skills.  Here  a  link 
could be created to DG EAC Study on the skills gap in the WB 

Solution: Career centres established at faculties help students by training them in 
basic  transferable  skills  such  as  CV  writing,  drafting  of  a  motivational  letter  and 
how  to  prepare  for  a  job  interview.  Through  workshops,  summer  schools  and 
winter schools, an entrepreneurship week and a job fair, they can enable students 
to  find  internships  and  get  information  about  career  options.  At  these  events 
students  also  get  an  opportunity  to  follow  and  discuss  vacancies,  so  once  they 
graduate they know where and how to look for a job.  
In the words of one student: 

 “Workshops organised by career centre helped us find information outside 
the university about the subject matter we are studying at the university”. 

The key success factors:  alignment of the objectives of the university to increase 
the  offerings  of  services  to  students,  and  in  particular  for  better  connections 
between universities and market needs.  – again link toe DG EAC study 

Tempus IV projects provided funding to establish a structure, provided know-how 
from other countries, helped roll out activities, and allowed for the elaboration of a 
forward-looking road map. Without the support from Tempus IV, it would not have 
been  possible  for  career centres  to  have such a high  impact  on  students.  – what 
high impact?? A statement like this requires data otherwise it is hot air 

The highlight of the career centres in some countries is the significant involvement 
of  student  volunteers.    One  student  volunteer  explained  her  empowering 
experience: 

“Lectures are sometimes tiring, and being part of the career centre gives us 
energy  and  creativity.  Our  activities  are  helping  companies  to  invest 
together in the right direction and they help us organise activities' such as 
training  or  open  lectures  and  meetings,  and  to  make  the  students  less 
passive”.   

The  proximity  of  career  centre  offices  to  where  students  are  on  a  daily  basis  is 
instrumental for their success. Career centres located at faculties, in visible spots, 
rather  than  in  administrative  quarters  at  the  university,  achieve  better  results  in 
reaching out to and engaging students. 

In  several  Western  Balkans  countries,  the  sustainability  of  career  centres  was 

A small minority of HEIs in the Western Balkans region addressed the cultural specificities 
of  partner  organisation  as  a  priority  issue  during  Tempus  IV  projects  (see  Appendix  1 
Figure  25).  Less  than  two  out  of  10  HEIs  offered  seminars/workshops/discussions 
addressing  the  cultural  specificities  of  partner  regions/countries.  This  is  a  strikingly  low 

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percentage  in  view  of  the  history  of  the  region  and  the  need  for  cultural  dialogue  to 
underpin  cooperation  in  the  Western  Balkans  region  and  the  participation  of  these 
countries in a global world.  

Box 3. Enhancing internationalisation and the mobility of students and staff 

Problem:  Faculties  and  universities  are  slow  in  adopting  reforms  to  modernise 
teaching  practices,  provide  better  and  more  comprehensive  learning  support  to 
students,  and  engage  in  international  mobility  for  the  purpose  of  transfer  of 
knowledge. 

Solution:  Tempus  IV  provided  a  means  for  staff  and  students  to  network  and 
travel  abroad.  It  supported  the  transfer  of  knowledge  and  Joint  Projects  that had 
mobility as one of their component. Tempus IV did not aim to promote mobility of 
staff  and  students  as  a  specific  task  or  service,  but  did  enable  it.  In  several 
countries  legislative  norms  are  expected  to  contribute  to  enhancing  mobility.  In 
order  to  make  teaching  staff  more  competitive,  and  to  motivate  them  to  be 
mobile,  they  will  no  longer  be  evaluated  only  on  their  publication  list  but  also  on 
their teaching  and  exchange experience  abroad.  Professors  will  be  evaluated also 
on  the  added  value  they  bring  to  the  university  through  participation  in  EU 
programmes.  

Achievements: Tempus IV projects gave a significant boost to internationalisation 
and  mobility.  Many  university  professors  have  benefited  from  mobility  under 
Tempus  IV  projects  and  have  contributed  to  spreading  new  teaching  practices  in 
their  home  HEI.  Thanks  to  the  incoming  and  outgoing  students  and  staff,  the 
quality of teaching had increased at institutions that have benefited from Tempus 
IV.  There  is  unanimous  agreement  among  Tempus  IV  beneficiaries,  but  also 
that 
among  ministries, 
internationalisation  is  the  single  most  important  achievement.    It  has  also 
contributed to increasing efforts to blend teaching with research and innovation at 
HEIs.  This  blend  has  also  had  structural  effects  leading  to  improvement  in  the 
ranking of universities. For students, the highlight of Tempus IV projects was that 
internationalisation  opened  doors  for  higher  quality  standards  for  teaching  and 
merit-based selection procedures for the mobility of students. 

themselves 

students 

rectors, 

deans, 

and 

Challenges:    Following  the  end  of  EU  funding,  staff  mobility  is  very  low.  Also  the 
number of incoming foreign students is very low. Courses in English language are 
a rarity. Difficulties for foreign students to get a visa are still significant and there 
is  little  support  to  help  them  to  settle.  Students  are  insufficiently  informed  about 
the  requirements  and  selection  procedures  for  international  mobility  grants. 
Student  organisations  are  not  particularly  engaged  in  promoting  the  value  of 
mobility  and  exercising  pressure  on  the  government  and  industry  in  order  to 
allocate the means for learning mobility.  

Obstacles: Sufficient national resources need to be allocated for supporting circular 
mobility.  However,  under  conditions  of  economic  downturn  and  low  or  no 
sponsorship  from  weak  industry,  internationalisation  still  remains  dependent  on 
foreign  funding.    This  box  is  structured  different  from  the  others  I  think  they 
should be harmonised 

One would expect that learning about similarities and differences, basic knowledge of the 
local language, history, customs, culture of education and culture of work would be a net 
benefit  of  international  projects.    In  a  broader  sense,  capacity  building  to  address  the 
complexity of diversity and ability to work in multicultural environments is expected to be 

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a  mission  of  a  modern  university.  The  list  of  partners  gathered  around  Tempus  IV 
projects  (see  Appendix  3)  is  evidence  of  the  impressive  scope  and  the  potential  for 
internationalisation that was built into the projects. Partners had ample opportunities to 
offer  students  more  than  previously,  due  to  the  cross-fertilisation  of  knowledge  from 
different  cultural  landscapes.  This  opportunity  was  not  used  sufficiently  to  produce 
structural change. 

In the Western Balkans, publicly-funded student accommodation is traditionally managed 
by public services, operating outside faculties and universities. In this context, only three 
out of 10 HEIs provided information about accommodation. This information was usually 
limited  to  referral  to  an  external  service  (see  Appendix  1  Figure  4).  Access  to  public 
student accommodation is both merit based and needs based.  The problem is that public 
student accommodation is in short supply in all the countries of the region and there is 
no  support  for  students  to  find  alternative  affordable  rentals.  In  the  private  rental 
market, students are not supported by HEI services to find accommodation (or any other 
services for that matter) and are not protected from arbitrary rent increase or evictions.  

In  the  Western  Balkans  medical  insurance  is  outside  the  remit  of  faculties  and 
universities.  The  law  regulates  entitlements,  whilst  provisions  fall  under  the  remit  of 
public health care protection that automatically covers all students up to a certain age. In 
this  context,  less  than  two  out  of  10  HEIs  provided  information  on  medical  insurance 
during  the  Tempus  IV  projects  (see  Appendix  1  Figure  3).  This  provision  of  information 
mainly  related  to  outgoing  students  and  staff.  Under  Tempus  IV  there  were  very  few 
incoming  students.  The  numbers  of  incoming  students  and  staff  continue  to  be  low 
nowadays. The issue that is not resolved regarding incoming students is associated with 
visas. Namely, the national systems do not distinguish between student status and other 
statuses of foreign citizens. The issues of visas and medical insurance of foreign students 
may  be  expected  to  become  more  prominent  as  the  numbers  of  foreign  students 
increase.  National  authorities  will  need  to  take  appropriate  steps  if  the  region  is  to 
become  more  attractive  and  successful  in  international  mobility  programmes,  such  as 
certain Erasmus+ actions or other EU programmes. 

1.3.2.  Lowlights in the provision of student support services 

In  the  Western  Balkans  HEIs  there  is  poor  awareness  of  gender  issues  and  very  few 
Tempus  IV  projects  tackled  the  issues  effectively  (see  Appendix  1,  Figure  8).  The 
prevailing  opinion  among  student  representatives  is  that  there  are  no  gender  issues  at 
their  HEI  and  that  discrimination,  harassment  and  violence  do  not  occur  in  their 
environment. In the unlikely event that they would occur, the prevailing opinion is that it 
is  best  for  peers  to  deal  with  them.  The  gatekeepers  of  knowledge  at  HEIs  share  the 
views  that  gender  discrimination  and/or  any  form  of  related  violence  are  non-issues  in 
their environment. In this context, Tempus IV projects did not contribute significantly to 
breaking  down  the  stereotypes  and  creating  structures  and  procedures  for  allowing 
individual  students  to  raise  their  voice  when  subject  to  or  witnessing  hidden  or  overt 
discrimination and/or harassment (see Box 4).  

Box 4. The perception of gender issues at HEIs 

Problem: A statement by a student representative may illustrate the dominance of 
stereotyping  about  gender.  He  argued  that  if  there  are  gender  issues  they  are 
limited  to  harassment  of  professors  by  female  students.  Women  seduce  teachers 
and report them only when they stop giving them passing grades. In brief, in the 
eyes  of  this  male  student  representative,  it  is  the  female  students  who  are  to 
blame.  He  does  not  see  that  teaching  staff  have  any  responsibility.  The 
assumption that there are gender issues is equally a stereotype 

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There  is  low  or  no  commitment  to  supporting  young  families.  Very  few  projects 
introduced  support  for  families  as  a  result  of  Tempus  IV  (see  Appendix  1  Figure  6).  In 
this  context,  Tempus  IV  projects  did  not  contribute  to  bringing  about  changes  for 
students in the early stages of having a family. Interviews with stakeholders reveal that 
the  existence  of  the  needs  for  services  to  support  students  and  PhD  candidates  living 
with a partner and a child is not even acknowledged. It is taken for granted that students 
and early-stage researchers/assistants should postpone starting a family until the end of 
studies or until being well established in their career. 

In  the  Western  Balkans  region  there  is  a  lack  of  commitment  of  HEIs  to  supporting 
students  lagging  behind  due  to  transitional  learning  difficulties  and/or  being  disabled 
students.  As  a  consequence,  very  few  Tempus  IV  funded  projects  contributed  to 
improvements  in  support  for  the  student  population  with  special  needs  for  learning 
support (see Appendix 1, Figure 7). Very few projects delivered support to students with 
special needs; furthermore, their achievements appear to be largely contained to only a 
few  types  of  disabilities.  Those  HEIs  that  provide  support  for  students  with  disabilities 
offer mainly wheelchair access.  

Western  Balkan  students  are  not  very  competitive  for  mobility  programmes  at  the 
international level. This is largely due to the closed and ex-cathedra educational practices 
that  still  prevail  at  HEIs,  an  insufficient  number  of  HEIs  implementing  integrative 
multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary  teaching  and  training  for  transferable  skills,  and 
insufficient  knowledge  of  foreign  languages.  This  resulted  in  Tempus  IV  projects  having 
relatively small numbers of HEIs involved  in providing student support services in these 
areas.  

Offerings  of  integrative,  multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary  teaching  for  overcoming 
fragmentation were introduced by HEIs, but sustainability is low. The spill-over effect for 
the  benefit  of  other  faculties  which  did  not  participate  directly  in  Tempus  IV  is  low  and 
slow  (see  Box  5).  This  issue  of  resistance  to  crossing  disciplinary  borders  was 
systematically invoked by the stakeholders in interviews. 

During  the  Tempus  IV  projects,  no  HEI  has  set  up  a  functional  alumni  association  as  a 
result of Tempus IV (see Box 6). In fact, only three out of 10 HEIs consider alumni career 
services and alumni networks an important student support service – the majority sees it 
as not being a top priority (see Appendix 1 Figure 28). Some inspiration from Tempus IV 
projects nevertheless may be observed and has resulted in improved practices.  

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Box 5. Overcoming fragmentation of learning content  

Problem:  Highly  autonomous  faculties  are  not  motivated  to  forge  disciplinary 
bridges.  They  are  often  competing  for  students  and  for  public  funding  for 
infrastructure.  Within  autonomous  faculties,  the  resistance  to  interdisciplinarity  is 
strong  among  teachers  who  are  used  to  ex-cathedra  lecturing.  One  professor 
summarised the problem: 

“HEIs still suffer from academic feudalism”. 

Solution:  Tempus  IV  has  contributed  to  greater  awareness  of  the  importance  of 
interdisciplinarity.  Some  universities  have  made  significant  efforts  as  a  result  of 
Tempus  IV  projects  to  promote  interdisciplinarity.  In  a  few  cases,  Tempus  IV 
contributed  to  the  introduction  of  new  competences  and  new  professions.  New 
departments  have  been  created  thanks  to  Tempus  IV  funding.  New  training 
programmes have been set up. Examples are the University of Arts in one country 
that is a forerunner in interdisciplinary teaching and training in skills. In another, it 
is  the  Faculty  of  Archaeology.  Besides  the  above  mentioned  issue  with 
interdisciplinarity  I  don’t  see  how  opening  a  new  department  or  a  new  training 
programme is an example for it ? this needs further explanation 

Challenges:  National  funding  agencies  are  too  slow  in  removing  obstacles  to 
funding  multidisciplinary 
facilitating 
accreditation of programmes and recognition of degrees awarded and adapting the 
infrastructure funding practices.   

interdisciplinary 

programmes, 

and 

All the stakeholders, Tempus IV project participants, gatekeepers of knowledge at HEIs, 
student  representatives  and  students  stressed  in  interviews  that  partnerships  between 
academia and industry are rare. This is to a lesser extent due to strong disciplinary and 
sectorial  boundaries  and  resistance  in  academia  towards  innovation,  and  to  a  greater 
extent due to the weak industrial base in the Western Balkans countries. Faculties have 
difficulties in finding companies where students can undertake an internship. They stress 
that the pool of companies is small, and it is always the same companies that HEIs are 
soliciting for placements or other inputs. 

The  quest  for  management  reforms  at  HEIs  coming  from  the  ministries  responsible  for 
tertiary  education  often  encounters  resistance  at  HEIs.    The  strongest  opposition  to 
change  comes  from  those  academics  that  are  used  to  mono  disciplinary  ex-cathedra 
teaching.  Several  Tempus  IV  projects  contributed  to  introducing  an  interactive  learning 
environment.  However,  these  project  participants  report  that  a  considerable  share  of 
staff at HEIs do not support the generalisation of more interactive teaching.  

HEIs complain about bureaucracy in ministries responsible for tertiary education, the lack 
of a long-term strategy and the insufficient allocation of resources for the modernisation 
of  university  management.  They  particularly  denounce  the  lack  of  funding  for  research 
and for mobility. They argue that the lack of resources impacts negatively on the quality 
of learning support given to students. 

Tempus  IV  provided  a  space  for  inter-institutional  dialogue  through  some  projects  such 
as  Third  Mission.  In  the  21st  century,  social  expectations  towards  universities  are  that 
HEIs should play an increasingly important role in promoting economic growth and social 
progress.  The  traditional  university  missions  of  teaching  and  research  are  being 
broadened  to  include  the  so-called  Third  Mission  activities  that  facilitate  university 
engagement  with  industry  and  society.  The  involvement  of  public  authorities  in  the 
dialogue  about  societal  value  and  societal  responsibilities  of  universities  and  ways  for 

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enhancing their role as drivers of development was considered as particularly valuable in 
one country project (see Appendix 3 project 530243). 

Box  6.  Alumni  association:  exploring  legislative  routes  for  supporting 
networking and career trajectories of graduates 

Problem: Universities in the Western Balkans are not motivated to follow up their 
graduates  and  document  the  quality  of  studies  in  terms  of  employability.  In  the 
words of one civil servant: 

“Social responsibility of universities is very poor”. 

University  management  reform  is  not  sufficiently  supported  by  legislation  to 
enhance  the  social  responsibility  of  HEIs to  link  academic  training  with  the  world 
of work. There is little or no information about competences, employability, or the 
employment  trajectories  of  graduates  as  indicators  of  the  quality  of  university 
education.  

Solution:  Tempus  IV  projects  inspired  initiatives  for  setting  up  an  alumni 
association. Alumni associations are generically set up on a voluntary basis. They 
allow  the  assessment  of  the  quality  of  educational  outcomes.  Alumni  provide 
support  to  students  and  graduates  through  peer  networking  regarding  job 
opportunities and career prospects.  However, because of the low commitment of 
universities  for  establishing  such  student  support  services,  legislative  routes  are 
being explored. In one Western Balkan country the performance of universities will 
be  evaluated,  and  funding  will  be  allocated  in  conjunction  with  the  information 
about access to employment by graduates in their area of study.  
In the words of a civil servant: 

“The evaluation and ranking of HEIs will be dependent on the quality of the 
study programmes and also on the employment status of graduates”. 

The key success factors: Some universities already gather much information about 
their students and the database can be completed with details about the job that a 
graduate accesses  and their career  advancements.  However,  in  most  universities 
there  is  no  structure  or  procedure  to  implement  a  unified  tracer  study.  It  is  also 
unclear  who  should  be  providing  information  about  the  graduates’  first  job  – 
whether it is the graduate or the employer. Clear guidelines as to the universities’ 
remit to follow up graduates until their first employment are necessary.  

A  general  reproach  to  HEIs  comes  from  the  ministries,  and  often  reported  by  HEIs 
themselves, is the short sightedness of universities and faculties. The stakeholders report 
a lack of foresight among HEIs that is quite remarkable. HEIs continually struggle to get 
more and more students without longer-term visions of their profile and employability. A 
professor  observed  that  universities  are  not  preparing  for  what  is  ahead  for  them.  The 
intake of students at one university in a single year was approximately 90,000 students. 
In  the  same  year,  there  were  approximately  60,000  births  in  that  country.  Universities 
are not aware that they will have to prepare for a future when they will be competing for 
fewer  students  and  for  times  when  quality  and  employability  will  need  to  be  a  central 
concern, in order for faculties to survive and be competitive.  

1.4. How Tempus IV inspired/promoted structural changes to 
better support students  

The  gatekeepers of  knowledge,  and  in  particular  rectors and  deans,  spoke  in  interviews 
about the cumulative effects of Tempus IV projects. By the very nature of their role they 

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the  benefits 

were looking for the impact on HEIs and on the general student population, rather than 
focusing  only  on 
for  a  group  of  students  or  early  stage 
researchers/assistants who were directly involved in a single project. In the 80 interviews 
conducted  in  the  Western  Balkans,  all  the  stakeholders  highlighted  the  difficulties  faced 
by  HEIs  due  to  an  economic  downturn,  the  heritage  of  traditional  ex-cathedra  teaching 
practices,  little  or  no  research  at  universities,  low  mobility  of  students  and  staff  and 
institutional resistance to change. In this context, student support services were seen as 
part of the toolkit for changing the university culture. 

The  qualitative  analysis  of  the  in  depth  interviews  points  to  the  potential  for  four  key 
longer-term impacts of Tempus IV in the Western Balkans. They relate to the cumulative 
effect  of  the  components  of  Tempus  IV  projects:  the  kick-start  of  modernisation  in 
teaching  practices,  integration  of  faculties  against  the  landscape  of  non-integrated 
universities, and the contribution of Tempus IV to policy dialogue and the elaboration of 
new laws, bylaws and administrative practices. The key message is that all these impacts 
have indirectly contributed to better student support. 

  Tempus  IV  projects  had  a  cumulative  effect  of  benefits  for  students,  through  a 
broad  range  of  activities.  Tempus  IV  students  were  the  first  to  profit  from  the 
establishment  of  European  standards.  Tempus  IV  funds  have  been  used  to 
introduce new student support services and/or improve existing ones, but also to 
prepare  new  textbooks,  purchasing  equipment,  for  the  mobility  of  students  and 
HEI staff, and for incoming scholars. The modernised programme has had a spill-
over effect with more students being exposed to newer teaching practices. It has 
also  raised  aspirations  for  interactive  teaching,  especially  among  early-stage 
researchers/assistants.  These  descriptions  of  impact  came  from  gatekeepers  of 
knowledge at universities in Tirana, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Belgrade and Novi Sad. 
Some  of  those  aspirations  for  a  comprehensive  approach  to  student  support  are 
being taken up by ministries responsible for education and are being enshrined in 
new  laws.  This  is  the  case,  for  example,  in  Albania.  Also  in  Republica  Srpska 
(which  is  one  of  the  regions  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovinw)  the  draft  of  a  new  law 
about  student  organisations  has  been  partly  inspired  by  the  internationalisation 
and the transfer of knowledge that also occurred during Tempus IV projects  

  Tempus  IV  contributed  to  kick-starting  a  new  wave  of  modernisation  in  teaching 
and university management reform at HEIs.  The main vehicles were the provision 
of equipment from the project funds and the transfer of knowledge among partner 
organisations.  The  immediate  beneficiaries  were  early-stage  researchers.  They 
could use the newly purchased state of the art equipment. They were exposed to 
new teaching and training methods for completing their Master degree and/or PhD 
through  outgoing  mobility  and/or  lectures  by  visiting  scholars.    This  training  of 
new  generations  of  first  stage  researchers/assistants  was  an  impetus  for  quality 
enhancement  in  teaching  practices.  This  had  a  longer-term  impact  on  the 
subsequent  exposure  of  the  larger  student  population  to  new  ways  of  co-
producing,  transferring,  appropriating  and  using  knowledge.  One  of  the  project 
beneficiaries  (see  project  144684,  Appendix  3)  showed  the  visiting  team  the 
equipment purchased from the Tempus IV project used for training students and a 
new generation of researchers, to illustrate the start of the snowball effect of his 
project.    Another  professor  argued  that  the  highest  benefit  for  students  is  the 
change in the university culture which the Tempus IV project brought about (see 
project 144677 Appendix 3).  

  Tempus IV projects had an integrative role in the region where individual faculties 
have  a  high  level  of  autonomy.  This  may  be  observed  in  particular  through 
national projects bringing together large numbers of HEIs from different parts of a 
single  country  (see  for  example  projects  530243;  511224;  145010;  145677, 
Appendix 3).  The stakeholders identify that national networking under Tempus IV 

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

internationalisation  had  an 

largely 
projects  and 
unconnected,  closed,  faculties/universities.  Under Tempus  IV,  HEIs  opened up  to 
the  transfer  of  knowledge  between  national  and  international  partners  and  the 
ultimate beneficiaries were students.  

integrative 

function 

for 

  Some  lessons  learnt  were  embedded  in  new  policies  and  administrative 
commitments  enshrined  in  new  laws.  In  addition,  national  means  were  provided 
to ensure sustainability after the end of EU funding of some new and/or improved 
services  to  support  students.  This  is  the  case,  for  example,  for  newly  created 
career centres in Albania, and improved ones in Serbia.  

  Tempus  IV  projects  contributed  to  the  development  of  national  strategies  and 
policies  for  identifying  and  meeting  the  need  for  student  support  services  based 
on the transfer of knowledge among international partners. Indeed, six out of 10 
HEIs  believe  that  their  Tempus  IV  project  contributed  to  the  development  of 
national policies relevant to student support (see Appendix 1 Figure 27). 

The  number  of  HEIs  involved  in  Tempus  IV  projects,  and  the  number  of  students  who 
have benefited directly from new support services and mobility, are significant. They are 
nevertheless modest compared to numbers of students – a drop in the sea of students. 
Direct  beneficiaries  are  barely  a  fraction  of  the  students  and  scholars  in  the  Western 
Balkans.  That  is  why  testimonials  about  the  spill-over  effects,  even  though  they  cannot 
be  underpinned  by  figures,  are  of  great  importance.  Positive  impact  for  developing 
comprehensive  sets  of  student  support  services  cannot  be  ascribed  to  any  individual 
project; there is no example of good practice that resulted in the development of national 
strategies  for  comprehensive  student  support.  There  are  narratives  by  the  key 
stakeholders  as  evidence  of  the  impact  that  Tempus  IV  has  brought  to  the  university 
culture that are relevant for student support. 

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Chapter 2: Conclusions, challenges and 
recommendations  

The  two  distinct  types  of  Tempus  IV  projects,  Joint  Projects  targeting  individual  higher 
education  institutions  and  Structural  Measures  projects  aimed  at  reforming  higher 
education  systems,  have  had  complementary  impact.  Joint  Projects  have  had  a  more 
immediate  and  direct  impact  on  the  establishment  of  one  or  more  student  support 
services  as  a  result  of  Tempus  IV.  Structural  Measures  projects  produced  less  direct 
impact  on  student  support  services.  Their  merit  is  in  the  longer-term  impact  expected 
from the elaboration of guidelines or legislative norms to support university management 
reform.  This  may  be  expected  to  contribute  to  achieving  more  strategic  effect  and  may 
result  in  the  elaboration  and  implementation  of  a  comprehensive  system  of  support  for 
students at HEIs in the Western Balkans. 

Lessons  learned  about  the  achievements  and  encountered  obstacles  of  Tempus  IV 
projects are a rich basis for drawing key conclusions, being forward-looking and making 
recommendations. 

2.1. Conclusions  

Tempus IV has provided support to numerous HEIs in the Western Balkans. Projects have 
served  as  vehicles  for  supporting  the  networking  of  HEIs  in  establishing  and  promoting 
student  support  services.  The  development  of  new  support  services  often  included  the 
involvement  of  non-academic  institutions,  public  stakeholders  such  as  ministries 
responsible  for  tertiary  education  and  student  representatives  (see  again  the  list  of 
projects and partners Appendix 3).  

2.1.1. Achievements and obstacles in the Western Balkans 

The  highlights  of  Tempus  IV  projects  in  the  Western  Balkans  relate  to  the  benefits  for 
students  directly  involved  in  Tempus  IV  projects  and  the  policy  impacts  achieved. 
Lowlights  may  be  largely  ascribed  to  the  unfavourable  economic  framework  conditions 
under which HEIs operate in the Western Balkans and the difficulties in scaling up good 
practices for student support services. The slow pace of change in university culture with 
respect to the student support services is also partly due to resistance from the teaching 
staff and partly due to the lack of initiatives by the students. 

2.1.2. Highlights of immediate and longer-term achievements  

Tempus IV has achieved its objectives and has had a significant impact on students who 
participated  in  Tempus  IV  projects  via  the  establishment  and  promotion  of  specific 
student  support  services.  Tempus  IV  has  contributed  to  the  structuring  and  strategic 
enhancement  of  student  support  via  university  governance  and  management  reforms. 
The first may be considered as an immediate impact, the latter as a longer-term impact 
of Tempus IV. 

  The transfer of knowledge about the needs for student support was significant in 
the Western Balkans. New student support services were introduced as a result of 
Tempus  IV  and  the  existing  services  have  been  improved.  The  most  frequent 
establishment of new and the improvement of existing support services concern: 
administrative  support;  social  integration  support;  learning  support;  student 
organisation’s  participation  in  governance;  career  guidance;  and  cross-border 
networking and internationalisation. 

  Students  who  studied  under  Tempus  IV  projects  were  empowered  through 
structures  and  procedures  that  allowed  for  their  better  participation  in  university 

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management, and through new direct procedures for student feedback as a result 
of Tempus IV.  

  Students  have  benefited  under  Tempus  IV  from  the  implementation  of  European 
standards.  Tempus  IV  funds  have  been  used  to  purchase  state  of  the  art 
equipment  used  for  Masters  Theses  prepared  by  students,  and  for  the  PhDs  of 
early-stage  researchers/assistants.  As  a  result,  learning  support  to  students  has 
been significantly enhanced. 

  New, up to date textbooks have been written through Tempus IV projects. 
  Student  and  staff  mobility  has  contributed  significantly  to  internationalisation 

among beneficiary HEIs.  

  Largely  disintegrated  universities  with  autonomous  faculties  have  become  more 
integrated  through  the  networking  of  national  HEIs.  This  has  resulted  in  better 
offerings  of  quality  education  to  students,  especially  for  bridging  scientific 
disciplines. 
Interdisciplinary  concepts  have  been  tested  and  new  courses  have  been 
developed. 

 

  The  raising  of  quality  standards  for  student  support  services  is  also  evidence  of 
the  cumulative  effect  of  Tempus  IV  projects.  Individual  services  established  or 
promoted through  a single  Tempus  IV  project  add up  to a vision  of a need  for a 
more coherent set of services to be implemented in the future by HEIs. 

  Certain  good  practices  in  Tempus  IV  inspired  changes in administrative  practices 
and laws, for the benefit of the entire student population. The spill-over effect of 
Tempus IV is evidenced by the take-up in new legislation and quality standards in 
administrative practices and an increase in different offers to student, inspired by 
Tempus IV projects.  

Master  and  PhD  theses,  publications  and  conferences, document  the  scientific  impact  of 
Tempus  IV.  The  policy  impact  is  seen  in  the  take-up  of  quality  standards  for  student 
support,  through  national  legislation  that  has  recently  been  passed  or  is  under 
preparation. Some social impact is seen through benefits for students who were directly 
involved  in  Tempus  IV  projects  and  were  well  supported  in  specific  areas  that  were  the 
direct focus of the project. 

2.1.3. Lowlights: features of the HEI landscape limiting change 

The  broader  social  impact  of  Tempus  IV  projects  on  students  in  the  Western  Balkans  is 
limited,  due  to  the  lack  of  activation  and  empowerment  of  students  and  due  to  the 
features of the HEI landscape. 

  The  student  population  in  the  Western  Balkans  is  passive  and  is  insufficiently 
involved  in  shaping  their  learning  environment.  They  express  discontent  over  a 
lack  of  transparency  about  student’s  rights  and  obligations.  They  do  that,  as  a 
rule, by complaining amongst peers. They rarely, and only in extreme cases, take 
up matters with university management bodies.  

 

through  more 

  There  is  hardly  any  demand  or  pressure  from  students  to  enhance  their 
learning 

employability, 
transferable skills. 
 Students express their general interest in studying abroad, but are doing little to 
request new support services from HEIs that will enhance their competences and 
chances  of  mobility.  There  are  hardly  any  requests  from  student  representatives 
or  students  for  better  support  for  learning  foreign  languages,  or  training  in 
interdisciplinary and transferable skills. 

interactive  education  and 

through 

  Student  representatives  participating  in  university  management  bodies  are  often 
reproached  by  university  staff  and  students  alike,  that  they  are  acting  as 
spokespersons  for  political  parties.  They  appear  to  do  little  to  promote  student 
support services at HEIs.  

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  HEIs  are  rather  conservative,  resisting  change  and  dismiss  requests  to  assume 
greater social responsibility. Practices of ex-cathedra teaching to large numbers of 
students are still predominant, partly due to a lack of resources and partly due to 
the resistance of teaching staff to adopt interactive teaching. Students are seen as 
“billing categories”8 rather than active participants in the learning process. 

  Academia  is  largely  detached  from  the  labour  market,  which  in  turn  is  strongly 
influenced  by  political  parties,  especially  in  the  public  sector.  Under  these 
conditions,  an  opinion  amongst  students  prevails  that  the  quality  of  the  study 
programme is not important. What appears as important to them is to get through 
their  studies  with  as  little  effort  as  possible,  and  then  look  for  connections  to 
access the job market. 

  National  resources  to  ensure  the  more  widespread  transfer  of  knowledge  do  not 

 

support mobility that would enhance ‘brain circulation’.  
Interdisciplinarity  is  often  taken  as  a  quest  for  creating  a  new  department  or  a 
new 
‘interdisciplinary  profession’.  In  a  non-integrated  university,  highly 
autonomous  faculties  are  competing  for  students  (and  equipment)  and  are  not 
driven to developing authentic joint interdisciplinary programmes. 

  The  HEI  landscape  in  the  Western  Balkans  is  affected  by  unfavourable  economic 
circumstances.  Industry  is  weak  and  is  not  significantly  involved  in  shaping 
university study programmes and/or sponsoring programmes, students and staff.  

 

2.2. Challenges  

The  obstacles  encountered  during  the  implementation  of  Tempus  IV  projects,  and  the 
views expressed by the stakeholders about the challenges, can serve as guidance for the 
forward-looking  enhancement  of  the  social  responsibility  of  stakeholders  and  the 
establishment of a more comprehensive set of student support services. 

2.2.1. Quest for the future 

In  the  Western  Balkans  region,  the  main  focus  of  on-going  university  management 
reforms is on enhancing the performance of the best and the most talented students and 
graduates. This is the objective of all educational systems. However, ineffective or non-
existent  student  support  services  leave  considerable  proportions  of  the  student 
population  to  fend  for  themselves.  This  is  particularly  the  case  for  students  who 
encounter  transitional  difficulties,  who  find  themselves  trapped  in  failure  over  one 
subject,  who  have  special  needs  at  one  point  in  time  or  during  the  entire  educational 
process,  or  experience  academic  burnout.  The  lack  of  structured  support  to  students 
lagging behind results in longer studies and drop-out, frustrated young people and high 
social costs of failure.9  

Western Balkans countries are lagging behind in interdisciplinary education, the provision 
of structured training in transferable skills and comprehensive student support for mobile 
students  and  early-stage  researchers/assistants.  The  commitment  of  resources  for 
circular mobility10 is very low. 
Interdisciplinarity  is  seen  as  condition  sine  qua  non  for  addressing  the  21st  century 
complexities  also  in  the  Western  Balkans.  However,  overcoming  disciplinary  barriers  in 
HEIs  is,  as  a  rule,  pursued  only  or  mainly  via  plans  to  create  a  special  interdisciplinary 
department or interdisciplinary course. This is positive but insufficient. Instead of forming 
special  ‘interdisciplinary  experts’,  efforts  should  be  made  towards  broadening  students’ 

8  A  university  professor  used  the  term  “billing  category”  to  explain  lack  of  concern  for  employability.  It  is  because  only  the  numbers  of 
students on public scholarships and self-paying students that matter and not the quality of teaching and support services provided. 
9  By way of example it is assessed that there are thousands of so-called  “eternal students”, those trapped in student status for 10 years or 
more. 
10 Repetitive mobility of a students and staff between home and host higher education institution.  

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perspectives, bridging disciplinary barriers and involving the key stakeholders in the co-
production of knowledge.  

There  are  numerous  students  graduating  in  the  Western  Balkans  without  having  been 
equipped  with  the  skills  needed  to  be  sufficiently  attractive  for  the  labour  market. 
Structured training in transferable skills, such as the training provided under Tempus IV 
projects,  is  very  rare  at  HEIs  in  the  Western  Balkans.  It  is  not  even  an  aspiration  for 
many HEIs.  

In  the  Western  Balkans,  the  self-perception  of  HEIs  about  their  importance  is  still 
measured  by  input  and  output  numbers.  They  rarely  address  the  quality  of  outcomes, 
employability and the career pathways of graduates.  

Disengagement/disempowerment of students was often identified in the Western Balkans 
as  a  consequence  of  a  process  that  starts  with  early  childhood  education.  Children, 
adolescents and students are not sufficiently encouraged to develop critical thinking and 
to strive for positive change. They are guided to get through their education with as little 
as  possible  desire  to  “rock  the  boat”.  Actions  for  which  students  mobilise  are  as  a  rule 
limited  to  student  excursions  and  lobbying  for  obtaining  more  exam  sittings.  It  is  often 
heard  from  the  stakeholders  in  the  Western  Balkans  that  many  student  organisations 
operate  as  spokespersons  for  political  parties  rather  than  for  the  student  population. 
Students and even student organisations often reiterate this observation.  

All  the  stakeholders  in  the  Western  Balkans  countries  highlighted  the  importance  of  the 
internationalisation  that  occurred,  thanks  to  Tempus  IV  projects.  They  share  the  view 
that  students  benefited  immensely  from  the  establishment  of  regional  and  broader 
international  networks  during  the  implementation  of  the  Tempus  IV  projects.  However, 
they  all  also  reported  low  sustainability  of  international/regional  networks  after  the  end 
of EU funding. Following the end of EU funding, it was difficult or impossible to maintain 
and  broaden  international  relations.  HEIs’  efforts  to  maintain  international  contacts 
established during Tempus IV projects are at best, seen as vehicles for applying for more 
EU funding. Public-private partnerships and the involvement of employers in establishing 
and  maintaining  an  international  transfer  of  knowledge  that  also  entails  student  and 
early-stage  researchers’  mobility,  is  still  a  matter  for  future  national  strategies  and 
implementation plans. 

2.2.2. Quest for greater social responsibility of HEIs  

In  interviews,  stakeholders  have  systematically  been  raising  the  question  of  the  social 
responsibility  of  HEIs,  of  the  university  staff  and  the  students,  and  the  lack  of  this 
responsibility in the Western Balkans.  

Ministries  reproached  HEIs  that  they  are  focused  on  enrolling  as  many  students  as 
possible,  without  taking  sufficiently  into  account  their  capacity  to  deliver  high  quality 
education  and  with  little  concern  for  the  employability  of  graduates.  Industry  is  aware 
that  graduates  lack  the  skills  required  for  the  available  jobs,  and  request  work 
experience.  This  request  makes  it  difficult  for  young  people  to  find  a  first  job,  without 
having  the  right  ‘connections’.  Students  are  aware  that  they  do  not  exercise  sufficient 
pressure  on  the  establishment  to  improve  out-dated  teaching  practices.  Therefore  they 
feel disempowered.  

HEIs in turn often reproach ministries that there is a lack of commitment to delivering a 
coherent  national  strategy.  They  affirm that the  standards  for HEIs, set  by  the ministry 
often  remain  ‘aspirational’,  as  funds  are  not  made  available  for  their  implementation. 
This is typically the case for incoming and outgoing mobility that is in principle promoted 
in policy circles, but is not supported by the allocation of funds. 

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Addressing the issue of the social responsibility of stakeholders was not a specific remit 
of  Tempus  IV.  It  was  not  an  objective  of  this  study  either.  However,  the  stakeholders 
raised  the  issue  so  frequently  in  interviews  that  it  merits  a  brief  comment  and  a  few 
examples. 

In  the  Western  Balkans,  it  was  frequently  mentioned  that  university  studies  are 
considered  to  be  ‘parking  spots’  for  some  young  people,  as  it  postpones  their  pending 
unemployment.  The  public  costs  of  the  practice  of  massive  enrolment  of  insufficiently 
motivated youth, and the negative effect for committed students, may need to be better 
factored  into  strategic  planning  in  the  region.  This  ‘parking  opportunism’  may  partly  be 
an  explanation  for  the  passivity  of  students.  The  lack  of  requests  for  comprehensive 
students support services may be associated with low expectations by a large segment of 
the  student  population  towards  university  studies  in  general.  It  may  also  partly  explain 
the  weak  commitment  of  HEIs  to  providing  a  comprehensive  set  of  student  support 
services.  

Stakeholders  are  unanimous  in  the  assessment  that  Tempus  IV  projects  enabled  the 
establishment of student support services, which promoted social responsibility. This was 
achieved through instruments such as student agreements, detailing students’ rights and 
obligations, and through project monitoring instruments. 

However,  there  is  always  room  for  improvement  and  better  quality  control  for  funding 
agencies.  Some  Tempus  IV  project  partners  underlined  the  importance  of  external 
monitoring  to  ensure  that  all  partners  actually  deliver  all  they  were  promised.  Some 
national ministries also suggested more stringent monitoring by the EU of the quality of 
project  outputs.  One  ministry  was  quite  explicit  about  the  mixed  outputs  of  Tempus  IV 
projects  -  some  good  and  some  unsatisfactory  and  some  Structural  Measures  projects 
with little use for policy improvements. 

Tempus IV projects were externally monitored for the quality of their achievements, but 
the  main  focus  was  on  the  overall  achievements,  and  there  was  considerable  tolerance 
for deviations from the initial project objectives. This was also the case when the project 
objectives  specifically  included  the  establishment  of  a  student  support  service.  An 
example is a project that had to establish an alumni association, as one of its objectives. 
A partner that was supposed to deliver simply stated in the final report of their activities 
that  they  abandoned  the  task  because  it  was  difficult  to  achieve.    Abandoning  a  task 
under  an  EU-funded  project  may  be  accepted,  but  with  well-justified  reasons  which 
cannot  be  ‘it  is  difficult’.  Some  social  responsibilities  exercised  by,  for  example,  re-
allocation of EU resources to another task or another partner would be in order.  

A  weak  sense  of  social  responsibility  may  also  be  reflected  in  the  way  former 
beneficiaries of Tempus IV projects reacted to the request by this study for information, 
after the end of EU funding. In the light of the objective of achieving worldwide visibility 
of  EU  actions  and  programmes,  the  request  for  accountability  and  the  increasing 
importance  of  impact  assessment  in  view  of  justifying  the  use  of  public  funding,  some 
obligations for providing information would be in order. It may also be necessary to build 
into  the  EC  rules  and  regulations,  some  guiding  principles  regarding  the  beneficiaries’ 
commitment  to  providing  feedback  after  the  end  of  EU  funding.  The  good  practice,  and 
even  the  statutory  obligation  to  assess  the  impact  of  programmes  two  years  after  their 
end, can be fully robust, only if there is an authentic commitment by – and an obligation 
for – the beneficiaries to cooperate in the exercise. 

2.2.3. Quest for attributing more importance to the student support services on 
offer 

There is evidence that Tempus IV projects have contributed to changes in the university 
culture  in  the  Western  Balkans.  However,  there  is  still  a  certain  distance  between  what 

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academics  consider  as  important  areas  for  student  support  for  skills  and  capacity 
building, and the needs of modern industry to innovate.  

The perception of top priorities by the university staff regarding student support services 
may  be  considered  as  an  important  indicator  of  their  commitment  to  empowering 
students.  

Learning  support,  being  central  to  the  quality  of  the  education  and  employability  of 
graduates,  was  considered  as  the  top  priority  by  all  the  stakeholders  in  the  Western 
Balkans.  

This study shows that the most essential or core scientific competences to be passed to 
students  are  ranked  by  HEIs  as  a  top  priority  (multiple  answers  were  possible  -  see 
Appendix  1  Figure  28).  The  majority  of  HEIs  in  the  Western  Balkans  attach  the  highest 
importance to improving the offer of learning facilities, such as laboratories and libraries 
(seven out of 10 consider it to be a top priority), followed by international relations and 
mobility  (six  out  of  10).  The  development  of  information  systems  for  students  is  a  top 
priority for one out of two HEIs. The least important are the provision of student support 
services for housing, health care and psychological counselling. This is to be expected, as 
these  forms  of  support  are  not  within  the  remit  of  universities  in  the  Western  Balkans. 
However,  student  participation  in  university  management  is  not  given  great  importance 
either.  Student  unions  are  considered  to  be  a  top  priority  by  a  small  share  of  HEIs. 
Student  unions  are  formally  part  of  the  university  management  structure,  but  they  are 
considered by the overwhelming majority of stakeholders to be poor performers. In that 
context, the overwhelming majority of HEIs do not consider that ensuring their input is a 
top priority. 

When  looking  at  the  personal  views  of  the  teaching  staff  about  competences  that 
students  should  acquire  for  accessing  research  jobs  in  academia  and  contributing  to 
innovation in industry, it can be seen that they consider the ability to learn and adapt as 
a  top  priority.  The  capacity  for  analysis  and  the  grasp  of  sophisticated  IT  tools  are 
identified as a top priority for scientific competences by a minority of professors (multiple 
answers  were  possible  -  see  Appendix  1,  Figure  29).  The  ability  to  work  in  a  team  is 
considered to be a top priority and the graduate’s skill in project and team management 
by  seven  out  of  10  professors.  However,  business  culture  and  management  skills,  the 
ability  to  manage  and  steer  teams,  or  awareness  of  the  pertinence  of  research  and  its 
impact on the environment is a top priority for a small minority. Only about a quarter of 
respondents consider these as a top priority.   

The majority of HEIs see motivation/involvement and personal aptitudes or interpersonal 
skills  as  a  top  priority,  whereas  the  ability  to  self-assess  is  a  top  priority  skill  for  the 
minority (see again Appendix 1 Figure 29).  

Very  tentatively,  it  may  be  said  that  considerable  numbers  of  HEIs  are  still  facing  very 
basic  obstacles  to  teaching  and  research/innovation  training,  due  to  the  lack  of  well-
equipped  labs  and  libraries,  and  overcrowded  classes.  As  a  consequence,  individual 
mentoring/tutoring  is  not  seen  by  the  majority  of  professors as a particularly  important 
issue to be aspired to or achieved. It is perceived as too ambitious a goal and largely out 
of  reach.  Along  the  same  vein,  some  skills  which  are  considered  to  be  instrumental  for 
succeeding  in  Horizon  2020  projects  and  in  particular  programmes,  such  as  Erasmus+ 
and  Marie  Skłodowska-Curie  Actions,  are  not  considered  to  be  a  top  priority  by 
many  professors  in  the  Western  Balkans.  Typically,  they  concern  the  ability  to 
work  in  an  interdisciplinary  environment,  leadership  qualities  such  as  being  able  to 
manage  and  steer  teams  or  awareness  of  the  pertinence  of  research  and  its  impact  on 
the environment. These skills are not likely to be supported by a significant proportion of 
professors  in  the  Western  Balkans.  Only  around  half  of  the  respondents  identify  the 
‘ability  to  develop  a  network’,  ‘language  skills’,  ‘the  ability  to  assess’,  and  ‘project 

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management skills’ as a top priority (see Appendix 1, Figure 28). In view of the relatively 
low  competitiveness  of  graduates  from  the  Western  Balkans  in  EU  mobility  schemes, 
raising  awareness  of  professors  to  valorise  and  develop  these  skills  is  an  area  where 
major advances are necessary. 

In  summary,  teamwork  is  considered  to  be  very  important,  whereas  applied  aspects  of 
research (business, societal and environmental issues) are deemed not to be particularly 
important  by  a  considerable  proportion  of  professors.  Universities  are  clearly  in  need  of 
focusing  more  on  so-called  Third  Mission  activities,  i.e.  striving  towards  promoting 
economic growth and social progress, as well as empowering students. 

2.3. Recommendations  

Based on lessons learnt and reflections by the key stakeholders in the Western Balkans 
region, the following recommendations are put forward. 

2.3.1. Recommendations to the European funding agencies 

R1 – The Commission could consider including in the grant agreement, a clause whereby 
recipients  of  EU  funding  are  committed  to  providing  feedback  about  the  outcomes  and 
impacts  of  projects,  over  a  period  of  say  three  to  five  years,  following  the  end  of  EU 
support.  This  would  correspond  to  the  period  during  which  beneficiaries  are  obliged  to 
keep  all  records  for  possible  financial  audits.  This  new  commitment  would  in  fact 
constitute  an  innovative  scientific,  policy  and  social  impact  audit,  with  a  potential  for 
achieving considerable European added value. 

R2 – The Commission could consider elaborating guidelines for a comprehensive range of 
student support services that modern HEIs are expected to offer.  

R3  –  The  empowerment  of  students  to  have  their  say  in  the  quality  assurance  and  the 
improvement  of  structures  and  procedures  for  taking  into  account  the  needs  and  the 
expectations  of  students  could  be  central  to  future  EU  support  to  HEIs  in  the  Western 
Balkans.  

R4 – In all programmes funded by the EU, even when they are bottom-up, with respect 
to  the  choice  of  topic,  the  Commission  could  require  that  projects  having  students  as  a 
priority group, commit to an interdisciplinary approach and the provision of transferable 
skills.  

R5  -  It  is  suggested  that,  whenever  relevant,  applicant  institutions  and  beneficiaries  of 
EU  funding  are  asked  to  elaborate  in  the  application,  a  road-map  for  the  recognition  of 
credits for their mobile students and to facilitate and accelerate the recognition process. 

R6 – It is suggested that more systematic external quality control of the implementation 
and  achievement  of  project  objectives  by  peer  reviewers  be  requested  from  the 
beneficiaries of EU funding, in order to better support a culture of social responsibility. 

R7  –  The  European  Commission  could  consider  putting  even  greater  efforts  into 
disseminating  information  about  opportunities  and  explaining  in  detail,  the  evaluation 
and  selection  procedures  for  projects  in  order  to  inform  stakeholders,  and  in  particular 
students  and  early-stage  researchers  or  assistants  that  the  selection  rules  for  projects 
are fair, transparent and are rigorously applied. 

2.3.2. Recommendations to HEIs and national stakeholders  

R8  -  Student  agreements  detailing  the  rights  and  obligations  of  students  are 
recommended  to  be  general  practice  at  HEIs.  The  empowerment  of  students  through 

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comprehensive student support that gives a voice to students for shaping their learning 
environment  and  for  ensuring  robust  channels  for  taking  up  student  aspirations  and 
grievances as part of student agreement is highly recommended. 

R9 - Student organisations could develop codes of conduct to strengthen their ability and 
capacity to address corrupt practices and interference by political parties in matters that 
concern student support services at HEIs. 

R10  -  Ministries  responsible  for  education  could  elaborate  on  guidance  on  a 
comprehensive  set  of  student  support  services  that  HEIs  should  offer.  External  control 
bodies could be given the mandate to implement systematic monitoring of the delivery of 
student  support  services.  This  would  be  a  measure  for  empowering  the  student 
population.  It  could  also  be  one  of  the  robust  indicators  for  funding  and  ranking 
universities.  

R11 – Greater attention to structured training in transferable skills as a standard part of 
curricula at HEIs is suggested.  

R12  -  University  and  faculty  autonomy  need  to  go  hand  in  hand  with  accountability 
measures  and  a  comprehensive  system  of  monitoring  for  quality  assurance.  It  is 
suggested 
internal  HEI 
to  students. 
evaluation/quality  assurance 
Involvement  of  a  full  range  of  stakeholders  in  quality  control,  including  industry/the 
business community is recommended.  

through  external  and 
for  academic  provision  and  support 

that  better  data  be  collected 

R13  –  It  is  suggested  that  HEIs  put  more  effort  into  enhancing  the  societal  value  of 
learning,  research  and  innovation.  This  can  be  done  by  promoting  interdisciplinarity, 
involving  stakeholders  as  co-producers  of  knowledge,  and  by  regularly  assessing 
immediate  and  longer-term  impacts  of  learning  outcomes  by  internal  and  external  peer 
reviewing.  

R14  –  Tracer  studies  by  HEIs  are  recommended,  in  order  to  gather  information  about 
employability, access to first job and career trajectories, together with the establishment 
of alumni associations for monitoring longer term outcomes and ensuring peer support.  

R15  –  The  employability  and  career  advancements  of  graduates  could  be  used  as  a 
robust  indicator  of  the  quality  of  learning  at  HEIs.  This  could  be  one  of  the  key 
performance indicators for national planning, in order to supplement the output statistics 
as data sources, about the quality and societal value of learning. 

R16  –  As  a  rule,  the  involvement  of  non-academic  organisations  in  curriculum 
development and performance evaluation, enhances the innovation potential of HEIs and 
employability  of  graduates.  A  more  interactive  transfer  of  knowledge  between  industry 
and  academia  is  suggested.  This  would  constitute  strong  student  learning  and 
employability support. 

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References 

APEC/DELOITTE (2010) Skills and Competencies Needed in the Research Field Objectives 

2020; APEC/DELOITTE Paris 

Avramov,  D.  (2016)  FP7  ex-post  evaluation  PEOPLE  Specific  Programme  (2007-2013): 
Commission, 

implementation 

European 

Rationale, 
https://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/fp7-ex-
post_evaluation/people_final.pdf 

achievements, 

and 

Avramov,  D.  (2013)  Joint  International  Master  Programmes,  EACEA  synthesis  report, 

European Commission, 
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/tools/documents/repository/joint_intl_

master_progr_web131120.pdf  

European  Association  for  Quality  Assurance  in  Higher  Education  (ENQA),  European 
Students’  Union  (ESU),  European  University  Association  (EUA),  European 
Association  of  Institutions  in  Higher  Education  (EURASHE),  in  cooperation  with 
Education  International  (EI),  BUSINESSEUROPE  European  Quality  Assurance 
Register for Higher Education (EQAR)  (2015). Standards and Guidelines for Quality 
Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). Brussels: EURASHE 

European  Commission/EACEA/Eurydice  (2015).  The  European  Higher  Education  Area  in 
2015: Bologna Process Implementation Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of 
the European Union. 

European  Commission,  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  (EACEA) 
(2014).  Core  statistics  on  applications,  projects  and  budget  2008-2013.  Brussels: 
European Commission.  

European  Commission,  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  (EACEA) 
(2014).  Participation  of  Higher  Education  institutions;  Main  themes  in  Tempus  IV 
projects. Brussels: European Commission.  

 European  Commission,  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  (EACEA) 
(2014).  Preferred  partnerships  in  Tempus  IV  2008-2013.  Brussels:  European 
Commission.  

European  Commission,  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  (EACEA) 
(2014). Mapping by country; Erasmus+: Higher Education – International Capacity 
Building. Brussels: European Commission.  

European Commission, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) 

(2013) The main achievements of the Tempus Programme in the Western Balkans, 
1991-2013. Brussels: European Commission. 

European Commission, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) 

(2012) Overview of the Higher Education Systems in the Tempus Partner Countries: 
Western Balkans. Brussels: European Commission. 

Hénard,  Fabrice  and  Mitterle,  Alexander  (2008).  Governance  and  quality  guidelines  in 

Higher Education. Paris: OECD www.oecd.org/edu/imhe 

Nusche,  D.  (2008)  Assessment  of  Learning  Outcomes  in  Higher  Education:  A 
Comparative  Review  of  Selected  Practices.  OECD  Education  Working  Papers,  No. 
15: OECD Publishing. 

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Reale  E.,  D.  Avramov,  C.  Donovan  et  al  (2016  (forthcoming)  A  review  of  literature  on 
evaluating  the  scientific,  social,  and  political  impact  of  social  sciences  and 
humanities research. Special issue of Research Evaluation  

Selected Tempus IV projects11 

Conversion Courses for Unemployed University Graduates in Serbia (2008) 

Developing  and  Setting  up  Measures  for  Initiating,  Enhancing  and  Sustaining  Higher-

Education-Society Cooperation INTERFACE  (2010) 

Developing Third Mission activities in Albanian Universities (2012) 

Development of Career Guidance Aimed at Improving Higher Education in Serbia (2011) 

Developing information literacy for lifelong learning and knowledge economy in Western 

Balkan countries (2011) 

Development of Lifelong Learning Framework in Serbia (2008) 

Development of Master Study Programmes in Education (2008) 

Development of the Lifelong Learning Concept at the University of Montenegro (2010) 

Enhancing  the  Quality  of  Distance  Learning  at  Western  Balkan  Higher  Education 

Institutions (2010) 

Equal Access For All: Strengthening the Social Dimension For a Stronger European Higher 

Education Area (2011) 

Fostering and Developing the Quality Culture at the University of Prishtina (2008) 

Governance and Management Reform in Higher Education in Serbia GOMES (2009) 

Improvement of Students' Internship in Serbia (2010) 

Internal Quality Assurance at Serbian Universities (2008) 

International Accreditation of Engineering Studies (2008) 

Kosovo Interdisciplinary Knowledge Triangle Centre - PhD based Education, Research and 

Training for Medical and Natural Sciences (2009) 

Matching  Competences  in  Higher  Education  and  Economy:  From  Competence  Catalogue 

to Strategy and Curriculum Development COMPETENCE  (2008) 

Network  for  Post  Graduate  Masters  in  Cultural  Heritage  and  Tourism  Management  in 

Balkan Countries (2011) 

New Library Services at Western Balkan Universities (2009) 

Production and Profitability improvement in Serbia Enterprises by Adopting Lean Thinking 

Philosophy and Strengthening Enterprise – Academia Connections (2010) 

11

 For details see Appendix 3. 

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Strengthening Student Role in Governance and Management at the Support and Inclusion 

of Students with Disabilities at Higher Education Institutions in Montenegro (2011) 

Support  and  Inclusion  of  students  with  disabilities  at  higher  education  institutions  in 

Montenegro (2011) 

Strengthening Student Role in Governance and Management at the Universities of Serbia 

in line with the Bologna Process (SIGMUS) 

Virtual Manufacturing Network - Fostering an Integration of the Knowledge Triangle WBC 

(2008) 

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Appendix1: Figures 

Figure 1: Type of administrative support provided (1) (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce information on the study
programmes offered by the University?

 Was this information available online?

Did you use mass media to promote the
University programmes?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the end
of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on the study programmes
offered by the University?

Is this information up to date and still available
online?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce information for students
and/or trainees on admission criteria?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your 
institution introduce information for students 
and/or trainees on student agreement detailing 
students’ rights and obligations?  

Was this information available online?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

37 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 2: Type of administrative support provided (2) (“yes” answers in %) 

 As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce information for students
and/or trainees on admission criteria?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your 
institution introduce information for students 
and/or trainees on student agreement detailing 
students’ rights and obligations?  

Was this information available online?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on admission criteria?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the 
end of EU funding, did your institution continue 
providing information on student agreement 
detailing students’ rights and obligations?  

Is this information up to date and still available
online?

0

20

40

60

80

100

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 3: Type of administrative support provided (3): (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution provide applicants, students and/or
trainees, information on tuition fees or conditions
for waiving tuition fees?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on tuition fees or
conditions for waiving tuition fees?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution provide applicants, students and/or
trainees, information on medical insurance?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on medical insurance?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution provide applicants, students and/or
trainees, information on financial and legal
advice?

 As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on financial and legal
advice?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution provide applicants, students and/or
trainees, information on access to grants and
loans?

 As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on access to grants and
loans?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

39 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 4: Social integration support: accommodation/housing (“yes” 
answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution provide information on access to
student accommodation?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution provide information on access to
private rentals?

Was this information available online?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on access to student
accommodation?

 As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
providing information on access to private
rentals?

Is this information up to date and still available
online?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

40 

 
 
 
 
 
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Figure 5: Social integration support: local organisation of social activities  
(“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce the following services to
students and/or trainees:  alumni support
service?

 As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students: alumni support
service?

 As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce the following services to
students and/or trainees:  welcome
reception/meeting for newcomers?

 As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students:   welcome
reception/meeting for newcomers?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce the following services to
students and/or trainees: lab tour?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students:  lab tour?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce the following services to
students and/or trainees: social media?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students: social media?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce the following services to
students and/or trainees: internet library?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students: internet library?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce the following services to
students and/or trainees: pairing of students?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students: pairing of students?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Figure 6: Social integration support provided: welfare for families and 
children  
(“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: housing facilities for
families?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: legal advice for families?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: family counsellor?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students: housing facilities for
families?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students:  legal advice for families?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students:  housing facilities for
families?

0

20

40

60

80

100

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Figure 7: Social integration support: services for disabled students (“yes” 
answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce provisions for persons with
special needs: easy access to teaching location?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students and/or trainees with
special needs: easy access to teaching location?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce provisions for persons with
special needs: legal advice?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students and/or trainees with
special needs: legal advice?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce provisions for persons with
special needs: confidential counselling?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students and/or trainees with
special needs: confidential counselling?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce provisions for persons with
special needs: extra teaching hours/tutoring for
students and/or trainees with special needs?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to current students and/or trainees with
special needs: extra teaching hours/tutoring for
students and/or trainees with special needs?

0

20

40

60

80

100

43 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Study of the Achievements of Tempus IV Projects in Improving Student Services in Higher Education      

Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 8: Social integration support: gender issues (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce
courses/workshops/discussions on: gender
discrimination?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the end
of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students
courses/workshops/discussions on: gender
discrimination

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce
courses/workshops/discussions on: gender
harassment and/or other forms of violence?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the end
of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students
courses/workshops/discussions on: gender
harassment and/or other forms of violence?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce
courses/workshops/discussions on: confidential
counselling on gender issues?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the end
of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students
courses/workshops/discussions on: confidential
counselling on gender issues?

During the Tempus IV project did you receive any
complaint of gender related violence or
discrimination?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 9: Learning support: learner centred approach (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce teaching practices that
include: developing critical thinking?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
teaching practices that include:  developing
critical thinking?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce teaching practices that
include: tutoring?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
teaching practices that include:  tutoring?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce teaching practices that
include: academic supervision?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
teaching practices that include:  academic
supervision?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce teaching practices that
include: structured guidance and consultations
for thesis writing?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
teaching practices that include:  structured
guidance and consultations for thesis writing?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce teaching practices that
include: training in research methodology?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
teaching practices that include:  training in
research methodology?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

45 

 
 
 
 
 
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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 10: Learning support: interdisciplinary approach (“yes” answers in 
%) 

As a result of the Tempus IV Project, did you
offer integrative,
multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary teaching for
overcoming fragmentation of learning content
and methods?
As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering interactive,
multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary teaching for
overcoming fragmentation of learning content
and methods?

As a result of the Tempus IV Project, did you
offer to students teaching in interdisciplinary
research techniques?

As a result of Tempus IV project, after the end of
EU funding, did your institution continue offering
teaching in interdisciplinary research techniques?

As a result of the Tempus IV Project, did you
offer teaching in new and/or advance scientific
methods in your field?

As a result of Tempus IV project, after the end of
EU funding, did your institution continue offering
teaching in new and/or advance scientific
methods in your field?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 11: Learning support: transferable skills (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: public speaking and
communication?

 ...and after the end of EU funding?: public
speaking and communication?

As result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: intellectual property rights
(IPR)?

 ... and after the end of EU funding: intellectual
property rights (IPR)?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: research ethics?

...and after the end of EU funding: research
ethics?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: commercialisation of
research outputs?

...and after the end of EU funding:
commercialisation of research outputs?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: project and human resource
(HR) management?

...and after the end of EU funding: project and
human resource (HR) management?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: entrepreneurship?

...and after the end of EU funding:
entrepreneurship?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: project proposal drafting?

...and after the end of EU funding: project
proposal drafting?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 12: Learning support: internships/placements (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution: introduce obligatory internship?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, does your institution include
internship for students and/or trainees:
introduce obligatory internship?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution: introduce voluntary internship?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, does your institution include
internship for students and/or trainees:
introduce voluntary internship?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution: award ECTS for internship
contributing toward degree?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, does your institution include
internship for students and/or trainees: award
ECTS for internship contributing toward degree?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution: ask students to find themselves
internship institution?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, does your institution include
internship for students and/or trainees: ask
students to find themselves internship
institution?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution: suggest/find internship institution for
the students?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, does your institution include
internship for students and/or trainees:
suggest/find internship institution for the
students?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Figure 13: Learning support: e-learning (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce online access for students to
teaching and learning resources?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students and/or trainees online access
to teaching and learning resources?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Figure 14: Learning support: training for research, and involvement of 
students and trainees in research (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce practical training and/or
involve students in research and innovation?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students training for research and/or
involvement in research and innovation?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Figure 15: Governance: representation of students in HEI management 
bodies (“yes” answers in %) 

As result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution offer: student representation in
Faculty/Department?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students: student representation in
Faculty/Department?

As result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution offer: student representation in
University?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students: student representation in
University?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

Figure 16: Governance:  student feedback (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution set in place mechanisms and
procedures for dealing with student complaints?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, following
the end of EU funding, did your institution
continue implementing mechanisms and
procedures for dealing with complaints of
students?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Figure 17: Governance: evaluation of teachers (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did you
involve students and/or trainees in quality
assurance of teaching practices/teachers?

As a result of Tempus IV project, following the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
involving students and/or trainees in quality
assurance of teaching practices/teachers?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

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Figure 18: Career guidance: employment opportunities and alumni 
associations (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your 
institution introduce “meet the employers” 
event?  

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce structured discussions with
students and/or trainees about career options in
various sectors of economy?

Does your institution implement tracer study to
monitor career development or keep track
record of your former Tempus IV
students/trainees?

As a result of the tempus project, did your
institution introduce alumni association for
sharing of experiences, career opportunities and
follow up of graduates

0

20

40

60

80

100

Figure 19: Career guidance: exposure to knowledge from different sectors  
(“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce lectures by: visiting
lecturers from academic organizations?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students lectures by visiting lecturers
from academic organizations?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce lectures by: visiting
lecturers from non-academic organizations?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution continue
offering to students lectures by: visiting
lecturers from non-academic organizations?

0

20

40

60

80

100

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 20: Career guidance: joint activities with Tempus IV partners 
(“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution offer: summer school bringing
together students and staff from all Tempus IV
project partner institutions?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution offer: workshops with some partners
from your Tempus IV project?

As a result of Tempus IV project, after the end of
EU funding, did your institution continue some
joint activities with your former Tempus IV
partners?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Figure 21: Career guidance:  women in academia and business organizations 
(“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your 
institution address gender sensitive dimensions 
of career guidance (e.g. hidden discrimination in 
recruitment, overcoming “glass ceiling”, etc.)?  

As a result of Tempus IV project, after the end of 
EU funding, did your institution continue 
addressing with students gender sensitive 
dimensions of career guidance (e.g. hidden 
discrimination in recruitment, overcoming “glass 
ceiling”, etc.)? 

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Figure 22: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: mobility of 
students (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: student exchange/mobility
programmes with Tempus IV project partner
institutions?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution establish
new forms of cooperation including: student
exchange/mobility programmes with Tempus IV
project partner institutions?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: cooperation of students
from different Tempus IV project partner
institutions on joint academic tasks and/or
research projects not involving student mobility?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution establish
new forms of cooperation including: cooperation
of students from different Tempus IV project
partner institutions on joint academic tasks
and/or research pro

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution introduce: international mobility of
students and/or trainees with institutions outside
the Tempus IV partnership?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, after the
end of EU funding, did your institution establish
new forms of cooperation including: international
mobility of students and/or trainees with
institutions outside the Tempus IV partnership?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Figure 23: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: specific 
support offered by HEI to enable/facilitate mobility  

a) Administrative support for obtaining visa

during the project

after the end of EU funding

b) Medical insurance for mobile students

during the project

after the end of EU funding

c) Welcome office for incoming students

during the project

after the end of EU funding

d) "Buddy support” or pairing of students 

during the project

after the end of EU funding

e) Assistance for finding accommodation:

during the project

after the end of EU funding

f) Learning the host country’s language:  

during the project

after the end of EU funding

g) Supervision in remote for outgoing students:

during the project

after the end of EU funding

h) Joint supervision together with the outgoing
institution:

during the project

after the end of EU funding

 i) Online access to learning and teaching
materials:

during the project

after the end of EU funding

0

20

40

60

80

100

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Figure 24: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: learning 
foreign languages (“yes” answers in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did you
offer foreign language teaching to students
and/or trainees?

As a result of Tempus VI project, after the end of
EU funding, did your institution continue offering
students teaching of foreign languages?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Figure 25: Cross-border networking and internationalisation: sensibilisation 
to cultural specificities of partner organizations 

As a result of the Tempus IV project, did your
institution offer
seminars/cultural/workshops/discussions
addressing cultural specificities of partner
regions/countries?

As a result of the Tempus IV project, following
the end of EU funding, did your institution
continue offering to students
seminars/workshops/discussions on cultural
specificities of other regions/countries?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

Figure 26: Transfer of knowledge among tempus IV partners (“yes” answers 
in %) 

As a result of the Tempus IV project did you
learn about student support that other partners
offer that you consider useful?

As result of the Tempus IV project, after the end
of EU funding, did your institution introduce new
student support services inspired by former
Tempus IV partners?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Figure 27: Satisfaction with achievements regarding student support 
services  
(“very or rather satisfied” in %) 

Overall, how do you assess the
comprehensiveness of student support your
institution offered as a result of the Tempus IV
project? ( very or rather satisfied)

Overall, how do you assess the quality of student
support your institution offered as a result of the
Tempus IV project? (very or rather satisfied)

Did your Tempus IV project contribute to the
development of national policies relevant for
student support?

Did your Tempus IV project contribute to
reform/improve national regulations relevant for
student support?

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Figure 28: Importance for HEI of student support services (multiple choices 
of categories for ‘top priority’ were possible) 

Student accommodation services

Health-care and psychological counselling

Student unions

Targeted support services for lifelong
learners

Special support for first year students

Alumni career services and alumni
networks

Individual mentoring/tutoring

Academic advice during regular courses

Student participation in quality assessment
processes or governance reforms at
University

Student internships/practical placements in
enterprises

Development of information systems for
students

International relations and mobilities

Laboratory, library and learning facilities

0

20

40

60

80

100

Percentage top priority 

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Figure 29: Opinions of professors about the importance of competences for 
accessing research jobs in academia and/or industry in their country  

Capacity for analysis and grasp of sophisticated
IT tools

Ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment

Scientific knowledge

Ability to incorporate existing knowledge

Ability to formulate a research issue

Ability to learn and adapt

Awareness of the pertinence of the research and
its impact on the environment

Ability to manage and steer teams

Business culture and management skills

Project management skills

Ability to assess

Language skills

Ability to develop a network

 Communication skills

Ability to work in a team

Ability to self-assess

Adaptability

Creativity

Open-minded approach

Motivation / Involvement

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percentage 'top priority' 

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Appendix 2: Project fiches 

The  Education  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  (EACEA)  provided  the  attached  project 
fiches as a suggested list of topic-related projects for the “Study of the achievements of 
Tempus IV projects in the development of student support services at universities in the 
Western  Balkans”.  They  are  based  on  the  project  description  submitted  by  the  partner 
organisations in their application. 

Project fiches illustrate the broad range of topics covered by selected Tempus IV projects 
and  the  number  of  partners 
in  them.  They  are  evidence  of  the 
internationalisation that occurred at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Western 
Balkans, as a result of the Tempus IV projects.  

involved 

Project  fiches  have  served  as  a  reference  to  launch  a  study  among  participating  HEIs 
about student support services established/promoted as a result of Tempus IV projects. 
This  study  did  not  have,  as  its  objective  to  evaluate  if  and  how  each  individual  the 
Tempus IV project achieved each and every one of their objectives.  

59 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

Reference 

144677-TEMPUS-1-2008-1-IT-TEMPUS-JPCR      

Title 

Development of master study programmes in education 

The  project  development  of  "Master  Study  Programs  in  Education" 
aimed at improving the existing programs and the establishment of a 
new curriculum in master studies as regards education in Albania.  
The wider objectives were: 
  Establish  a  new  vision  and  tradition  for  pedagogical  higher 
education,  making  profit  of  the  experience  of  participating 
countries  in  line  with  the  most  advanced  and  successful  available 
experience. 

  Establish  a  new  status  for  teachers  and  the  specialists  of 

educational sciences. 

  Contribute  to  a 

further  development  of  professionalism 

in 

education.  

  Provide  concrete  basis  for  the  re-planning  of  pre-service  teacher 
training programs, according to the Western European Trends. 
  Create conditions for involving students and trainees in educational 

research.  

The project covered these aspects: 
1. Curriculum 
2. Expected skills at the end of the course 
3. ECTS procedures and accreditation system 
4. Student assessment 
5. Internship 
6. Final dissertation procedures 

Broader  perspectives  included  also  the  impact  on  innovation  of 
curricula  for  training  of  other  teachers  (primary  education,  special 
needs,  arts,  technology)  as  well  as  production  of  the  new  tools, 
including  handbooks  on  assessment,  on  internship  and  thesis 
procedures (lifelong learning concept). 

Two  central  parts  of  the  project  were  fundamental  revision  of  the 
curricula  for  master  studies  in  teacher  education  and  educational 
sciences and the design of the new master programs. The revision had 
the  main  aim  to  make  the  curricula  updated  and  consistent  with  EU 
standards  and  EHEA  requirements  and  to  harmonize  the  structure  of 
curricula  within  all  faculties  in  the  countries  that  participants  in  the 
project.  The  establishment  of  the  new  master  programs  in  three 
Balkan  countries  had  the  main  aim  to  prepare  the  specialists  of 
education according to their needs. 

Coordinator 

LPS Laboratorio di Pedagogia Sperimentale – Diped – Dipartimento di 
Progettazione Educativa e Didattica – Università Roma Tre 
Via del Castro Pretorio 20 
Roma 00185,Italia 
Phone: 00390657339674 
Fax: 00390657339662 

Contractor 

Università Roma Tre 

                              Via Ostiense 159 
                              Roma 00154, Italia 

Partners 

Phone: 00390657335736 

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

   Fax: 00390657335736 

CDELL - University of Nottingham, United Kingdom 
Danish School of Education - University of Arhus, Denmark  

Faculty of Education, Kosovo  

Faculty of Social Sciences, Tirana Albania 

Graduate School, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)  

University of Pristina, Kosovo 

Graduate School, Tetovo 

Original Project Budget: 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

991.470 
880.582 
24 months 
923.748 

Reference 

144684-TEMPUS-1-2008-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPHES 

Title 

WBC  virtual  manufacturing  network  –  fostering  an  integration 
of the knowledge triangle 

intended 

Description  Within the knowledge triangle of education, research and innovation in 
the  area  of  virtual  product  and  process  development  the  proposed 
TEMPUS  project 
to  establish  efficient  and  effective 
mechanisms and structures of collaboration between key actors for the 
knowledge  triangle  throughout  the  WBC  region  -  HE  institutions, 
enterprises  (especially  SMEs),  research  and  innovation  centers,  local 
and  regional  authorities.  The  project  aimed  to  contribute  to  enhance 
and  modernize  HE  capacity  in  the  area  of  virtual  manufacturing 
technologies,  as  a  core  condition  for  success  of  renewed  Lisbon 
strategy. Part of purpose of the project was: 

1.  To  set  up  and  equip  regional  Collaborative  Training  Centers  in  four 
WBC countries 

2. To enlarge VMnet network throughout the WBC region, bringing new 
research,  business  and 
experts  and  members  of  academia, 
governments 

3.To develop, assess and implement new regional model for university- 
enterprise cooperation 

4.  To  modernize  and  adjust  vocational  training  programme  to  address 
the needs of small business and labor market 

5.To  provide  students  with  opportunity  to  gain  practical  experience  in 
industry 

6.To  raise  awareness  in  the  society  about  necessity  of  integration  of 
the  knowledge  triangle  for  the  region  prosperity  and  to  ensure  quality 
dissemination of project results and ideas 

Coordinator  University of Kragujevac 

Sestre Janjic 6 
Kragujevac 34000, Serbia 

Contractor 

Partners 

University of Kragujevac 
Sestre Janjic 6 
Kragujevac 34000, Serbia 
C3M D.O.O., Slovenia 
Elcon Geeatevau D.O.O, Croatia 
Institute For Production Engineering (IPU), Denmark 

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

METALIK D.O.O., Montenegro 
Regional  Economic  Develoment  Agency  of  Sumadija  and  Pomoravlje, 
Serbia  
SCGM D.O.O., Serbia 
Tri best D.O.O., Bosnia and Herzegovina  
University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia  
University of Padova, Italia  
University of Podgorica, Montenegro 
University of Rijeka, Croatia 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration: 
Approved Project budget      

720.370 
686.670 
45 months 
720.370 

Reference 

144856-TEMPUS-1-2008-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPGR     

Title 

International accreditation of engineering studies 

Description 

The  overall  objective  of  this  project  was  to  enhance  the  quality  and 
relevance of higher education in engineering area in partner countries 
and  to  reach  the  integration  of  partner  country  universities  into  the 
European  university  system  by 
international  accreditation  of 
engineering  studies.  Fulfilling  defined  priorities  for  partner  countries 
(both  national  and  programme),  the  project  aimed  to  finalize  with 
three firm results: 
1. Governance reform (University management and student services) 
where  EU  established  standards  for  institution  quality  assurance  and 
excellence would be introduced in at least one partner country and the 
results  will  be  approved  by  international  accreditation  of  such  an 
organized institution. 
2.  Curricular  reform  (Modernization  of  curricula  in  at  least  two  study 
programs)  in  partner  countries  in  such  a  way  that  these  programs 
would pass international accreditation. 
3. Development of partnerships with enterprises, especially concerning 
EU standards for student internships and mobility, which is extremely 
important  for  engineering  studies.  Such  students  would  be  ready  for 
EU  labor  market.  This  would  contribute  to  more  intensive  relation 
between Higher education and society. 
At  least  two  study  programmes  at  different  partner  country  faculties 
were  to  be  accredited  by  relevant  European  Accreditation  Agency 
(ASIIN) as a result of performed reform activities. The planned reform 
activities were to encompass: 
1. Introduction of quality assurance system based on the best practice 
of recognized European engineering schools;  
2. Improvement of laboratory, library, learning and teaching facilities 
(to  procure  necessary  legal  software,  laboratory  scale  models, 
textbooks, blended learning facilities, etc.);  
3.  Local International Offices establishment;  
4. Local Student Office improvement by development of informational 
system facilities;  
5.  Student  practice  organization  through  development  of  partnership 
with enterprises; 
6. Indispensable curriculum corrections, and,  
7.  New  teaching  staff  employment  *(if  necessary).  International 
accreditation  of  selected  study  programs  was  anticipated  by  this 
project,  too.  Accredited  study  profile  was  to  be  more  competitive  in 

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the increasingly contested education market. 

Coordinator:  Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade 

Contractor 

Partners 

Kraljice Marije 16 
Belgrade 11120, Serbia 

University of Belgrade 
Studentski trg 1  
Belgrade 11000, Serbia 

ASIIN Consult GmbH, Germany 
German University in Cairo, Egypt 
Imperial College London, United Kingdom 
Informatika, Serbia 
IvDam  Process  Control  doo,  Rep  office  of  EMERSON  Process 
Management for Serbia 
Mihajlo Pupin Institute, Serbia 
Robotina d.o.o., Slovenia 
Technical University of Munich, Deutschland 
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, España 
University Karlsruhe (TH), Germany 
University of Kragujevac, Serbia 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

853.536 
643.235 
48 months 
675.111 

Reference 

145009-TEMPUS-1-2008-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPHES    

Title 

Conversion  courses  for  unemployed  university  graduates  in 
Serbia 

Description  One of the major goals of the EU society is to increase the adaptability 
of  workers  and  enterprises,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  flexibility  of 
labor  markets,  on  the  other.  These  goals  could  be  achieved  more 
efficiently  if  investing  in  human  capital  through  better  education  and 
skills  are  encouraged.  This  area  is  where  the  project  saw  growing 
need  for  expert  involvement  in  helping  educated  young  people  adapt 
to  new  demands  and  helping  Serbian  society  to  face  the  problem  of 
large number of unemployed graduates. 
Relevant  national  authorities 
in  Serbia,  such  as  four  biggest 
universities,  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  the  National  Council  for 
Higher  Education,  but  also  National  Employment  Service  and  Serbian 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  decided  to  take  on  the  challenge  of 
developing  new  teaching  programmes  which  will  provide  additional 
skills, highly desired at the labor market. By identifying the employers' 
needs  and  allowing  them  to  influence  the  Serbian  national  education 
system  in  order  to  contribute  to  increase  its  efficiency,  one  of  the 
wider objectives of our Project, to achieve synergy of the HE system in 
Serbia with the labor market, was to be addressed. 
The main objective of the project was to increase the employability of 
the  university  graduates  in  Serbia  by  offering  them  to  acquire 
additional  integrated  skills,  complementary  to  their  basic  vocational 

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skills  gained  through  their  basic  education.  That  was  to  be  achieved 
by  developing  8  Master  Programmes  for  Graduate  Conversion,  in  the 
field  of  engineering,  agriculture,  business  and  economy.  In  this  way, 
mobility  and  employability  of  graduates  in  Serbia  at  local,  regional, 
and European labor market was to be increased. 
The  developed  courses  were  conducted  through  the  Centres  for 
Education  Conversion,  which  were  to  be  established  at  each  of  the 
four  participating  universities  in  Serbia,  as  one  of  the  main  goals  of 
this  project.  A  group  of  300  graduates  was  to  undergo  the  training 
within the duration of the Project. 

Coordinator  University of Novi Sad  

Trg Dositeja Obradovica 5 
Novi Sad 21000, Serbia 

Contractor  University of Novi Sad 

Trg Dositeja Obradovica br.6 
Novi Sad 21000, Serbia 

Partners: 

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Ireland 
National Council for Higher Education, Serbia 
National Employment Service, Serbia  
Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Serbia  
University of Belgrade, Serbia  
University of Exeter, United Kingdom  
University of Kragujevac, Serbia  
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia  
University of Nis, Serbia  
Wageningen University, Nederland 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget: 

877.750 
666.422 
36 months 
701.586 

Reference 

145010-TEMPUS-1-2008-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPHES  

Title 

Development of lifelong learning framework in Serbia 

Description 

The main goal of this project was the development of lifelong learning 
framework in Serbia. It is important to emphasize that the project was 
in line with the national priorities: development of lifelong learning in 
the context of the reform of higher education in Serbia, the training of 
non-university teachers, development of partnerships with enterprises 
and  employers,  reduction  of  the  unemployment  and  definition  of 
qualification framework. 
In order to achieve the general objective of the project, development 
of  national  strategy  for  lifelong  learning  in  Serbia  ensuring  a 
successful transition to knowledge-based economy and society, it was 
vital  to  create  the  institutional  framework,  develop  institutional 
mechanisms and define the infrastructure for the realization of lifelong 
learning concept. 
In  broader  context,  it  aimed  to  enhance  the  quality  and  efficacy  of 
human resources, form the sound basis for dynamic knowledge-based 
economy and contribute to greater social cohesion. 

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the 

Higher  education  in  Serbia  should  constitute  the  major  source  of 
knowledge,  skills  and  competences,  but  economy  and  employment 
sector  should  also  more  rely  on  universities  and  take  advantage  of 
closer  cooperation  with  them.  The  public  resources  for  education  are 
very  limited and  private  funding  (e.g.  from  businesses) has  not  been 
enough  mobilized.  The  proportions  of  GDP  allocated  to  public 
expenditure on education and to research and development are 3.4% 
and 0.25% respectively. Therefore it is necessary to establish stronger 
and  redefined  ties  between  institutions  of  higher  education,  society 
and  employment  sector.  Universities  and  other  institutions  of  higher 
education should be the key poles of lifelong learning culture. But this 
calls  for  the  reform  of  higher  education  process  in  the  segment  that 
relates to lifelong learning, making it more accessible to broad public 
improvement  of  skills  and  qualifications  and 
ensuring 
encouragement  of 
innovation  actions,  entrepreneurship  and 
knowledge transfer towards economic sector. 
In developing lifelong framework in Serbia it should be ensured that it 
will  be  in  accordance  with  EU  LLL  polices  on  key  competences  for 
lifelong 
following  eight  domains: 
communication  in  the  mother  tongue,  communication  in  a  foreign 
language,  mathematical  literacy,  science  and  technology,  digital 
competence,  learning  to  learn,  interpersonal,  intercultural,  social  and 
civic  competences,  sense  of  innovation  and  entrepreneurship  and 
cultural awareness and expression. 
Serbian  universities,  headed  by  the  University  of  Kragujevac,  as  the 
grant applicant of the project, attempted to achieve the specific aims 
of  the  project:  monitoring  and  meeting  of  the  existing  and  new 
knowledge  and  skills  requirements,  establishment  of  lifelong  learning 
centers,  development  of  core  lifelong  courses,  setting  up  of  teaching 
and  learning  environment  based  on  ICT,  development  of  National 
system  for  recognition  and  evaluation  of  formal  lifelong  learning,  as 
well as other tasks envisaged by the project proposal. 
All  the  key  stakeholders  (government,  universities,  employers, 
commercial  sector,  municipality,  etc.)  had  agreed  to  support  the 
realization of these project goals since they are in line with the needs 
of  ongoing  social  and  economic  reform  in  Serbia  and  the  current 
European  trends  in  the  development  of  knowledge-based  economy 
and greater social cohesion. 

that  defines 

learning 

the 

Coordinator  University of Kragujevac 

Jovana Cvijica bb  
Kragujevac 34 000, Serbia 

Contractor: 

University of Kragujevac 
Jovana Cvijica bb  
Kragujevac 34 000, Serbia 

Partners 

Aarhus University, Denmark 
Belgrade Information Technopark, Serbia 
City of Kragujevac, Serbia 
Ministry of Education, Serbia 
National Council of Higher Education, Serbia 
National Employment Service, Serbia 
SPARK, Nederland 
Union of Employers of Serbia, Serbia 
University of Craiova, Romania 
University of Novi Pazar, Serbia 

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University of Technology and Life Science, Poland 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

599.582 
534.354 
36 months 
562.499 

Reference 

145129-TEMPUS-1-2008-1-BA-TEMPUS-SMHES      

Title 

Matching  competences  in  higher  education  and  economy:  From 
competence catalogue to strategy and curriculum development 

Description  The  main  objective  of  the  project  was  the  development  and 
advancement  of  procedures  and  tools  for  assessing  and  improving  the 
match  between  competences  developed  by  institutions  of  higher 
education and those required by the labour market in the four Western 
Balkan  partner  countries.  Tools  were  to  be  created  for  an  up-to  date 
linking  strategy  based  on  the  European  Qualifications  Framework. 
These  tools  were  to  be  based  on  knowledge  transfer  from  EU  partner 
universities, which have significant experience applying similar tools. In 
each of the four target countries, Competence and Observation Centres 
(COC)  were  to  be  established  to  serve  as  national  knowledge  transfer 
and  training  centres 
institutions,  relevant 
for  higher  education 
stakeholders  and  as  service  centres  for  their  home  university 
institutions.  Furthermore,  the  project  was  to  have  an  observatory  and 
documentation  function  about  national  strategy  developments  and 
processes. 
The key objectives were: 
1.  To  develop  or  advance  methodology  and  tools  for  assessing  the 
match  between  skills  and  competences  developed  by  institutions  of 
higher education and those required by the labour market in 4 partner 
WB countries and develop recommendations for curricula adaptation. 
2.  To  found  four  Competence  and  Observatory  Centres  (COC)  which 
would  serve  as  a  national  knowledge  transfer  and  trainings  centre  for 
relevant stakeholders and as a service centre. 
3.  To  conduct  the  knowledge/skills/competences  analysis  based  on  8 
pilot study projects. 

Coordinator  University of Zenica 

Fakultetska 3 
Zenia 72000, Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Contractor  University of Zenica 

Fakultetska 3 
Zenica 72000, Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Partners 

Fachhochschule Joanneum Gesellschaft mbH, Austria 
Ka Ho Sint-Lieven Gent, Belgium 
University of Girona (UdG), Spain 
University of Montenegro, Montenegro 
University of Novi Sad, Serbia 
University- Ss. Cyril and Methodius University; FYR of Macedonia 
Business Start-up Centre – World 
University Service Austria (WUS AUSTRIA), Austria 

Original Project Budget 

817.593 

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Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

649.153 
36 months 
681.050 

Reference 

145158-TEMPUS-1-2008-TEMPUS-SMHES 

Title 

Fostering and developing the quality culture at the University of 
Pristina 

teaching, 

levels  as: 

Description  The  overall  objective  of  the  project  was  to  foster  and  develop  the 
Quality  Culture  at  all 
learning,  research, 
administrative  and  student  support  services  while  taking  in  to  account 
perspectives of internal and external university stakeholders. 
The project was aimed to contribute on constantly improving quality in 
teaching,  learning,  research  and  student  support  with  the  aim  to 
strengthen the role of the University of Pristina to society and to assure 
comparability  and  accountability  of  UP.  Comparability:  In  order  to  be 
able  to  compare,  to  benchmark  different  university  institutions,  UP 
needs  to  have  comparable  system  of  quality  assurance.  This  leads  to 
international  cooperation,  joint  degrees  and  harmonization  of  higher 
education systems in general. 
Accountability:  Everyone  in  the  process  of  delivering  higher  education 
needs to be accountable and responsible for their actions. 
Organization  of  17  workshops  at  each  Faculty  of  UP  with  the  aim  of 
awareness-raising  would  contribute  on  active  involvement  of  academic 
and non-academic staff and students as well in development of Quality 
Culture of their own institution. 
University  of  Pristina  was  launching  its  new  Doctoral  Programs  in 
October  2008.  In  Kosovo  research  is  primarily  carried  out  within  the 
Doctoral  Programs,  as  Government  is  not  providing  any  extra  funding 
for  additional  research.  The  project  was  aimed  at  developing  specific 
guidelines for ensuring quality at doctoral studies/ research so that this 
new Doctoral Program would at least be better than the old ones. 
Closer  cooperation  with  the  labour  market  that  was  to  be  introduced 
during  the  project  would  help  UP  to  design  study  programmes  that 
would  enable  graduates  to  fulfill  labour-market  needs.  With  this  UP 
would  take  an  important  step  towards  making  human  resource 
development  more  relevant  in  Kosovo  and  would  thus  contribute 
substantially  to  the  economic  development  in  the  region  while  at  the 
same time enhancing the employability of UP graduates. 
As several reports provided by the European University Association and 
most recently its Trends V report show, the provision of student support 
is a major factor in implementing a Quality Culture in higher education 
institutions.  It  facilitates  the  transition  from  high  school  into  university 
and  from  university  into  the  outside  world  and  helps  to  effectively 
implement  approaches  to  student-centred  learning.  Therefore,  one 
aspect of the project was to be the connection of Quality Assurance with 
the  provision  of  guidance  and  counseling  services.  Developing  the 
alumni  database,  advancement  of  services  offered  by  student  support 
service  center  at  UP  and  introduction  of  new  services  as  counseling  of 
students  with  disabilities  and  special  needs  were  some  of  the  activities 
planned  in  this  context.  Moreover  the  link  between  central  student 
support  service  center  and  Faculties  was  foreseen  as  well  on  the 
project. 
Self-assessment  of  6  Faculties  resulting  with  compilation  of  Self-

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assessment  report,  peer  review  group  visits  and  Quality  Improvement 
Plan  for  these  units  was  aimed  to  make  units  accountable  and 
comparable with other same units in Europe. 
Keeping  up  to  date  with  the  European  trends  in  QA  as  participation  of 
senior  management  of  UP  and  Faculty  Deans  to  European  Quality 
Assurance  Forums,  exchange  of  experiences  with  EU  partners  and 
gaining  of  experiences  as  external  reviewer  to  EU  project  partners 
would  facilitate  integration  of  UP  to  European  Higher  Education  Area. 
Study-visit of QA Faculty based coordinators at partner countries would 
contribute to further capacity building at QA staff of UP. 
Development of five years draft of Quality Assurance Strategy based on 
inputs  taken 
from  all  university  stakeholders,  and  with  active 
participation  of  experts  from  partner  countries  would  enable  UP  to 
develop the roadmap toward European Standards on Quality Assurance. 

Coordinator  University of Prishtina 

Rektorati, Nena Tereze, pn. 
Prishtina 10000,Kosovo 

Contractor  University of Prishtina 

Prishtina 10000,Kosovo 

Partners 

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Kosovo) 
National  University  of  Ireland  Cork;  also  known  as  University  College 
Cork, Ireland 
University of Salzburg, Austria 
University of Wuppertal, Germany 
World University Service Austrian Committee (WUS Austria), Austria 

539.272 
Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded  510.869 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget  537.771 

42 months 

Reference 

145677-TEMPUS-1-2008-1-RS-TEMPUS-SMGR   

Title 

Internal quality assurance at Serbian universities 

Description 

The IQA and enhancement system at Serbian universities is built with 
the  observance  of  the  autonomy  and  specific  character  of  the 
university  units,  on  the  basis  of  their  positive  experiences  in  the  QA. 
Excellent experiences and efficient suggestions of EU partners were to 
be  used  for  the  development  of  the  IQA  system  in  the  vertical  line, 
from  the  level  of  individual  HE  process  participants  up  to  the 
university  level.  This  was  expected  to  also  assist  in  a  better 
interconnection  among  Serbian  HE  institutions,  as  well  as  their 
integration into the European HE area. 
In  this  respect,  a  formation  of  quality  centres  was  planned  at  each 
teachers  and 
university,  with 
administrative staff. At the same time, university information systems 
were to be improved and transparency achieved. 

full  engagement  of  students, 

Coordinator  University of Nis 

Univerzitetski trg 2 
NIS 18000, Serbia 

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Coordinator  University of Nis 

Univerzitetski trg 2 
NIS 18000, Serbia 

Partners 

Middlesex University, United Kingdom 
National Council for Higher Education of Serbia, Serbia 
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria 
University of Arts - Belgrade, Serbia 
University of Belgrade, Serbia 
University of Kragujevac, Serbia  
University of Novi Pazar, Serbia  
University of Novi Sad, Serbia  
University of Zilina, Slovakia 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

527.448 
491.869 
39 months 
518.193 

Reference 

158764-TEMPUS-1-2009-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPGR      

Title 

New library services at Western Balkan universities 

Description 

The  aim  of  the  project  submitted  by  University  library  of  Belgrade, 
University  Library  of  Kragujevac,  University  library  of  Nis,  University 
library  of  Montenegro,  University  library  of  Sarajevo  and  University 
library of Tuzla were to ensure modernization of the existing university 
library  networks,  to  establish  new  Web  based  library  services  and 
institutional  repositories  and  to  implement  European  standards  in 
university learning environment. 
During  the  project  period  existing  library  networks  were  going  to  be 
upgraded  to  ensure  the  whole  range  of  Web  based  ILS  services. 
Institutional  repositories  for  university  e-documents  with  searching 
and  harvesting  facilities  were  to  be  established  as  well.  Partner 
university  libraries  have  joined  together  in  this  project  because  of 
their similar library experience. Being a part of larger Western Balkan 
library  network,  named  COBISS  Net,  new  established  model  of 
learning  environment  may  also  be  the  pilot  model  for  other 
universities  in  Western  Balkan.  Project  was  based  on  numerous 
training  programmes  that  should  wide  up  information  knowledge  and 
skills  of  university  researchers  and  establish  new  learning  attitudes 
among  students.  Sustainability  of  the  project  would  be  based  on  the 
already established system of financing of the existing library network 
model. 

Coordinator  University of Belgrade 

Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 71 
Belgrade 11000, Serbia 

Contractor 

University of Belgrade 
Studentski trg. 1  
Belgrade 11000, Serbia 

Partners 

Middlesex University, United Kingdom 
University of Kragujevac, Serbia 

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University of Maribor, Slovenia  
University of Montenegro, Montenegro 
University of Nis, Serbia 
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Vienna, Austria 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

697.525 
590.672 
36 months 
656.552 

Reference 

158926-TEMPUS-1-2009-1-RS-TEMPUS-SMGR 

Title 

Governance  and  management  reform  in  higher      education  in 
Serbia (GOMES)    

Description  The Project GOMES has been designed to support the structural reform 
of higher education in Serbia and the strategic framework development 
adopted  at  the  national  level  by  the  National  Council  of  Higher 
Education  (NCHE),  Ministry  of  Education  (MoE)  and  the  Conference  of 
Serbian  Universities  (CSU).  In  the  last  years,  the  higher  education 
reform  in  Serbia  has  been  conducted  entirely  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Bologna  Process  and  has  encompassed  the  principal  aspects  of  this 
Process, including ECTS, curriculum development, external and internal 
quality assurance, accreditation, qualifications frameworks. The reports 
presented at the Ministerial Conferences related to the Bologna Process 
stocktaking  have  demonstrated  undeniable  successes  in  this  process. 
However, at this moment, the Serbian higher education system is faced 
with the need to critically reconsider the obtained results and continue 
the  reform  processes,  enhancing  the  quality  and  relevance  of  higher 
education  institutions,  as  well  as  the  convergence  with  the  current  EU 
developments.  Accordingly,  this  project  was  oriented  towards  several 
selected lines, in accordance with both the priorities of Tempus and the 
decisions  adopted  at  the  level  of  NCHE.  Having  in  mind  the  national 
importance  of  the  project,  the  guidance  was  to  be  assigned  to  a 
Steering Committee, composed of the highest representatives of NCHE, 
MoE,  SCU  and  the  Student  Association  of  Serbia,  as  well  of  the 
Universities of Belgrade and Novi Sad (Novi Sad being the Grant-holder 
of  the  project).  On  the  basis  of  a  proposal  formulated  by  NCHE,  the 
Government  of  the  Republic  of  Serbia  initiated  recently  the  important 
work on the reformulation of the Strategy of the Development of Higher 
Education in Serbia. Within many aspects of this complex activity, this 
project  was  to  focus  on  the  problem  of  functional  integration  of  the 
Serbian  universities.  Integration  of  Serbian  universities  represents, 
according to the recent conclusions of NCHE and CSU, one of the main 
obstacles in the improvement of quality of both education and research 
at  Serbian  universities,  divided  into  faculties  which  possess  a  high 
degree of autonomy. Adequate measures were to be proposed, so that 
the partner universities would be in the position to implement them and 
provide  an  adequate  feedback.  All  Serbian  universities  were  to  be 
reorganized  according  to  the  adopted  model.  Within  this  part  of  the 
project,  attention  was  also  to  be  paid  to  the  adaptation  of  the  LHE  to 
the  needs  of  the  continuation  of  the  reform  of  the  higher  education 
system. 

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National  standards  for  quality  assurance  have  been  adopted  by  the 
NCHE in 2006, and applied in the process of accreditation of all higher 
education institutions in Serbia, which started in 2007 and which will be 
terminated by the end of 2009. The accreditation process has been led 
by  the  Committee  for  Accreditation  and  Quality  Assurance  (CAQA), 
nominated  by  the  NCHE  according  to  the  Law  on  Higher  Education 
(LHE).  During  the  process,  a  lot  of  experience  has  been  acquired. 
According to this experience and the desire to maximally harmonize the 
actual standards with the EU standards, the project was to be focused 
on  the  formulation  of  new  standards  for  external  quality  assurance. 
Within  this  general  orientation,  the  emphasis  was  to  be  laid  on  the 
introduction  of 
formulation  of  study 
programmes, reconsideration of the list of degrees and titles obtainable 
at  the  higher  education  institutions,  reorganization  of  external  quality 
assessment  bodies  at  both  the  national  level  and  the  university  level, 
enhancement  of  the  student  participation  at  all  stages  of  quality 
assessment  and  tuning  of  the  study  programmes  between  the  Serbian 
universities and the selected EU universities. 

learning  outcomes 

in  the 

Coordinator  University of Novi Sad  

Trg Dositeja Obradovica br. 6 
Novi Sad 21000, Serbia 

Contractor  University of Novi Sad 

Trg Dositeja Obradovica br.6 
Novi Sad 21000, Serbia 

Partners 

Conference of University of Serbia, Serbia 
Council of Europe, France 
Jagiellonian University, Poland 
Ministry of Education, Serbia 
National Council of Higher Education, Serbia 
Singidunum University, Serbia 
State University of Novi Pazar, Serbia 
Student Conference of Serbian Universities, Serbia 
Technical University of Crete, Ellas 
Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italia 
Université de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France  
University of Arts, Serbia 
University of Belgrade, Serbia 
University of Kragujevac, Serbia  
University of Nis, Serbia 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

871.683 
787.263 
45 months 
869.011 

Reference 

159034-TEMPUS-1-2009-1-XK-TEMPUS-JPHES      

Title 

Kosovo interdisciplinary knowledge triangle center - PhD based 
education,  research  and  training  for  medical  and  natural 
sciences 

Description 

The  project  Kosovo  Interdisciplinary  Knowledge  Triangle  Center  PhD 

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based  Education,  Research  and  Training  aimed  at  improving  the 
conditions for the development of professional research capacities and 
PhD  study programmes  at  Faculties  for Medical  &  Natural  sciences  at 
the  University  of  Pristina  (UP).  Thus  the  project  followed  the  aim  of 
supporting  the  UP  in  fulfilling  a  central  role  in  Kosovo's  innovation 
system  and  society  according  to  the  Lisbon  convention  and  Bologna 
Process. 
It  was  initiated  by  the  UP  and  involved  faculties,  in  line  with  Kosovo 
University  and  Education  Ministry  strategies.  It  followed  the  TEMPUS 
programme objectives and priorities for Higher Education and Society, 
and current European Innovation, Research and development policies. 
The  project  was  devoted  to  the  contribution  to  the  aim  that  the  UP 
and  thus  Kosovo  come  closer  to  the  European  Research  Area  and  to 
the  European  Higher  Education  Area.  Also  the  national  Tempus 
priorities  for  Kosovo  address  the  issues  of  Knowledge  triangle: 
education-innovation-research  and  Training  courses 
for  public 
services, in the area of Higher Education and Society. 
The project objectives were: 
  To  support  the  UP  in  the  improvement  of  conditions  and  capacity 
building  for  both  current  and  future  PhD  study  programs  by 
development  of  a  clear  strategy  for  target  areas  based  on 
analytical  assessment  and  benchmark  analysis.  30  current  PhD 
students  were  to  visit  the  partner  institution  in  Scotland  and 
attend  intensive  2-week  trainings.  Future  generations  were 
expected to profit from project results. 

  To  contribute  to  an  interdisciplinary  knowledge  triangle  of 
education,  research  &  innovation  and  advanced  training  by 
establishing  an  Interdisciplinary  Knowledge  Triangle  Centre  -  To 
support  UP's  capacity  building  by 
initiating  a  PhD  study 
programme,  developing  models  for  future  RD  projects  and 
conducting 2 pilot projects. 

  The  adoption  and  promotion  of  the  knowledge  triangle  approach 
was  key  to the  capacity-building  of  a range of  subject  disciplines. 
The  three  dimensions  of  the  traditional  knowledge  triangle 
approach  were  to  be  supplemented  by  a  further  dimension, 
namely a lifelong learning (LLL) training component. The relevance 
of  the  problem  solution  and  thus  of  the  goals  of  this  project 
anchored  in  the  state  Strategy  for  Higher  Education  Development 
and the relevant strategies of the University of Pristina. The Target 
Faculties  for  Medicine  and  Mathematics  &  Natural  Sciences  are 
specifically  in  line  with  UP's  development  strategies,  and  in 
particular  with  its  attempt  to  gradually  remodel  UP  according  to 
the systems of the most advanced universities, such as the models 
in  place  at  the  EU  project  partners'  institutions.  Moreover, 
addressing  these  problems  was  to  fit  exactly  to  the  following  two 
of  Kosovo's  strategic  HE  objectives  (1)  advancing  of  the  capacity 
for  research  and  scientific  work,  and  (2)  development  of  a 
complete  and  functional  infrastructure  of  the  higher  education. 
This  is  also  why  these  problems  have  been  selected  as  target  for 
this specific project. 

Coordinator  University of Pristina 

Rrethi i Spitalit, Bulevardi i Deshmoreve, n.n. 
Pristina 10000, Kosovo 

Contractor 

University of Pristina 
Str. Mothere Tereza str. n 5 

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Pristina 10000, Kosovo 

Partners 

Austin, Pock and Partners Gmbh, Austria 
Edinburgh Napier University, United Kingdom 
Ghent University, Belgium 
K-Cirt-Kosovo Center for International Higher Education, Research and 
Medical University of Vienna, Austria 
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Kosovo 
World University Service (Wus) Austria 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

1.042.963 
934.764 
48 months 
1.032.799 

Reference 

510985-TEMPUS-1-2010-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPHES      

Title 

Improvement of students’ internship in Serbia 

the 

Description  Number  of  European  declarations  (Bologna  and  Bonn),  reports  of  EU 
Commission and national reports (Serbia 2009 Progress Report; Linking 
the  worlds  of  work  and  education  through  Tempus;  Revised  and 
Extended National Program for Integration of Republic of Serbia in EU) 
state 
importance  of  university  -  enterprises  cooperation. 
Universities and enterprises cooperation could be straightened through: 
internship  and  trainee  exchange,  joint  research,  LLL.  The  general 
objective of this project was better interaction between universities and 
enterprises  for  timely  preparation  of  the  university  graduates  for  the 
labour market. 
This  project  was  expected  to  contribute  to  the  improvement  of  the 
model  of  students'  internship  in  social  sciences,  humanities,  business 
and  management,  natural  sciences  and  technologies  and  to  enhance 
communication  channels  between  universities  and  enterprises  through 
which  transfer  of  know-how  from  universities  to  enterprises  in  the 
particular fields were to be achieved. 
This  project  was  to  work  on  the  definition  of  models  for  students' 
internship in selected fields based on experiences of EU partners. In the 
following  steps  all  necessary  steps  in  all  target  groups  were  to  be 
performed  (trainings  and 
the 
preparation  of  students'  internship  according  to  the  enhanced  model. 
Students'  internship  was  to  be  organized,  on  developed  basis  and 
models, carefully monitored and evaluated in order to provide feedback 
for further improvement. Finally university - enterprises communication 
canals  and  practice  were  to  be  improved  through  development  of 
contact offices, raising awareness and trainings in the field of concepts 
of  technology  transfer,  innovation  and  innovative  culture,  negotiation 
skills,  legal  issues,  good  practice  and  project  management.  Project 
results,  dissemination  and  sustainability  of  the  project  results  should 
contribute to better university - enterprise cooperation, employability of 
students and their practical skills and knowledge.  

improvement  of  capacities) 

for 

Coordinator  University of Kragujevac 

Sestre Janjic, 6 
Kragujevac 34000, Serbia 

Contractor  University of Kragujevac 

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Partner 

Jovana Cvijica, bb  
Kragujevac 34000, Serbia 

AIESEC Local Committee Kragujevac, Serbia 
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Ellas  
Coventry University, United Kingdom  
ENERGETIKA, d.o.o., Serbia 
JKP Novosadska Toplana, Serbia  
NIIT d.o.o., Serbia  
NISSAL, d.o.o., Serbia  
Politecnico di Torino, Italia  
Serbian Association of Employers, Serbia  
UNIOR Components, a.d., Serbia  
University of Belgrade, Serbia  
University of Nis, Serbia  
University of Novi Sad, Serbia  
Univerza v Ljubljani, Slovenia 

Grant 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum 
Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved 
budget 

Project 

717.133,26 
621.117,01 

36 months 
693.086,3 

Reference 

511084-TEMPUS-1-2010-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPHES    

Title 

Production and profitability improvement in Serbia enterprises 
by  adopting 
lean  thinking  philosophy  and  strengthening 
enterprise - academia connections 

Description 

implementation 

the  Bologna  process 

The wider objective of this project was the development of partnership 
between  universities  and  enterprises  in  order  to  improve  practical 
aspects  of 
in  Serbian 
Universities. 
Also,  the  goal  was  to  help  enterprises  to  become  more  competent  in 
order to prepare themselves for real, free market. 
The  specific  objectives  were:  capacity  building  for  cooperation 
between universities and enterprises, specifically to work together on 
resolving Lean implementation practical problems and educating their 
employees,  educating  and  training  university  staff  and  students  in 
Lean  thinking,  and  improve  existing  curricula  with  Lean  thinking 
philosophy.  Improved  curricula  were  to  enable  students  to  get  more 
practical knowledge (they will get  opportunity for practical  placement 
in enterprises - members of consortium) and better prepare them for 
the first day of their employment. By adjusting curricula and accepting 
methodology  for  teaching  Lean  from  EU  partners,  the  project  was  to 
fulfill Bologna process requirements for more practical knowledge. 
Established Lean Thinking Centres were to become a starting point for 
spreading knowledge and ideas about Lean thinking and they were to 
offer  that  knowledge  to  all  of  the  Serbian  enterprises,  in  order  to 
improve really low productivity rate of the whole Serbian economy. 

Coordinator  University of Novi Sad  

Trg Dositeja Obradovica 6 

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Novi Sad 21000, Serbia 

Contractor 

University of Novi Sad 
Trg Dositeja Obradovica br.6 
Novi Sad 21000, Serbia 

Partners 

Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden 
Chamber of economy of Vojvodina, Serbia 
Fabrika Auto Delova, Serbia 
Japan Tobacco International A.D. Senta, Serbia 
Metalac Company, Serbia 
Provincial Secretariat for Economy, Serbia 
Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Serbia 
Tarkett Eastern Europe, Serbia 
Unimet d.o.o., Serbia 
University of Belgrade, Serbia 
University of Kragujevac, Serbia 
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia 
University of Nottingham, United Kingdom 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

984.577,62 
781.977,3 
36 months 
870.006,3 

Reference 

511126-TEMPUS-1-2010-1-RS-TEMPUS-SMGR    

Title 

Enhancing  the  quality  of  distance  learning  at  Western  Balkan 
higher education institutions 

Description  The  DL@WEB  project  was  designed  to  improve  the  quality  and 
relevance  of  distance  education  (DL)  at  Western  Balkan  higher 
education institutions and to enable easier inclusion of partner country 
institutions  into  European  Higher  Education  Area.  The  main  project 
objective  was  to  improve,  develop  and  implement  accreditation 
standards, guidelines and procedures for quality assurance of DL study 
programs  at  national  system  levels  in  WB  countries.  Those  standards 
were to assimilate the quality of DL courses offered by higher education 
institutions 
in  WB  countries.  Developed  standards  would  be 
incorporated into existing legal and sublegal acts at the national levels 
and  also  at  the  HE  institutional  levels,  in  University  regulatory 
documents. 
In  order  to  provide  solid  base  for  the  implementation  of  newly 
developed accreditation standards, the DL@WEB project aimed to build 
the necessary capacities trough establishing a framework for improving 
eLearning  methodology  and  DL  quality  assurance  at  HE  institutional 
level,  which  will  be  incorporated  in  University  regulatory  documents  in 
Western  Balkan  beneficiary  countries.  Furthermore,  the  DL@WEB 
project was to provide extensive training for all levels of staff involved 
in  accreditation  or  delivery  of  DL  study  programs,  from  teaching  staff, 
trainers,  evaluators,  official  accreditation  reviewers  and  HE  public 
authorities from each beneficiary PC. 
Quality  Control  and  Monitoring  of  project  activities  and  results  by 
internal  and  external  mechanisms  was  to  be  realized  continuously 
throughout  the  whole  duration  of  the  project  and  evaluated  at  several 
levels.  The  project  aimed  to  make  a  wide  impact  on  the  national 

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accreditation systems in WB partner countries, and thus the synergy of 
Western Balkan higher institutions and national Ministries of Education, 
National  Councils 
for 
Accreditation  from  Serbia,  Montenegro  and  FYRM  was  expected  to  be 
the best guarantee of the sustainability of project results beyond its life 
time 

for  Higher  Education  and  Commissions 

Coordinator  University of Kragujevac 

Svetog Save, 65 
Cacak 32000, Serbia 

Contractor  University of Kragujevac 

Jovana Cvijica , b.b. 
Kragujevac 34000,Serbia 

Partners 

Commission for Accreditation and Quality Assurance, Serbia 
Council of Higher Education, Montenegro 
FON University, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) 
Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro, Montenegro 
Ministry  of  Education  and  Sciences,  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of 
Macedonia (FYROM) 
Ministry of Education, Serbia 
National Council for Higher Education, Serbia 
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (FYROM) 
The European Foundation for Quality in eLearning, Belgium 
Universite D'Aix-Marseille, France 
University Macerata, Italia 
University Mediterranean, Montenegro 
University of Belgrade, Serbia 
University of Montenegro, Montenegro 
University of Nis, Serbia 
University Primorska Faculty of Management Koper, Slovenia 

Original Project Budget 
822.144,13 
Maximum Grant Awarded  713.818,93 
Contract Duration 
38 months 
Approved Project budget  793.132,15 

Reference 

511224-TEMPUS-1-2010-1-AT-TEMPUS-JPHES      

Title 

INTERFACE  -  developing and  setting up measures  for  initiating, 
enhancing and sustaining higher-education-society cooperation 

Description  The  project  "INTERFACE"  aimed  to  contribute  to  ensure  that  the 
targeted  Universities  (PCU)  are  able  to  facilitate  the  graduates' 
entrance  into  the  labor  market  through  enhanced  partnerships  with 
enterprises,  to  set  up  -  based  on  these  partnerships  -  an 
institutionalized  lifelong  learning  (LLL)  system,  and  to  establish  a 
quality improvement system through coordinated contact with alumni. 
More  specifically,  the  project  aimed  at  enhancing  the  employability  of 
alumni,  at  ensuring  LLL  and  on  the  job  training  for  academics,  at 
fostering transfer and multiplication of knowledge to society and thus at 
combating brain drain. Moreover, the institutionalized contact to alumni 
working  for  enterprises  was  to  help  setting  up  a  continuous  learning 
and  quality  improvement  system  at  the  PCUs  which  will  be  using  the 

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input given by their alumni. 
In  order  to  achieve  these  goals,  firstly,  each  PCU  was  to  conduct  an 
analysis  of  already  existing  activities  related  to  the  domain  of  this 
project.  Additionally,  good  practice  examples  from  the  EU  partner 
universities (EUU) were to be reviewed. Secondly, a strategy was to be 
developed at each PCU on how to fill the existing gaps when it comes to 
setting up linkages to enterprises and society at large. Thirdly, so called 
Interface  Centers  (IC)  were  to  be  established  at  each  PCU.  They  were 
to  be  the  main  responsible  body  at  each  PCU  with  regard  to  the 
universities'  relations  with  students  about  to  graduate,  with  alumni, 
with enterprises and with society at large. 
The ICs launched their operations through the implementation of a pilot 
project  at  each  IC.  These  were  dealing  with  either  career  counseling, 
alumni relations or LLL. 
The  results  achieved  within  this  project  were  to  be  disseminated 
through  roadshows,  open  days,  a  web  portal  and  a  visibility  package 
and  through  the  final  conference  and  local  workshops  open  to  the 
public. 
 3-year  business  plans  were  to  be  developed  to  ensure  the 
sustainability of the ICs beyond the project period. 

Coordinator  Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz 

Universitaetsplatz, 3 
Graz 8010, Austria 
Internet site address: http://international.uni-graz.at 

Contractor  Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz 

Universitaetsplatz, 3 
Graz 8010, Österreich 

Partners 

AbsolventInnenverein der Studiengänge Management, Österreich 
European University Continuing Education Network, Belgium 
First  Private  University,  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia 
(FYROM) 
Institute  for  Strategic  Research  and  Education,  Former  Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) 
New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria 
Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania 
Serbian Unity Congress Serbia, Serbia 
Student Parliament of University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Student Union of University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Liverpool, United Kingdom 
University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Nis, Serbia 
University of Novi Sad, Serbia 
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Tirana, Albania 
University  "St.Kliment  Ohridski"  Bitola,  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of 
Macedonia (FYROM)  
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Austria 
World University Service - Österreichisches Komitee, Austria 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

1.032.890,26 
855.924,99 
42 months 
951.027,77 

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Reference 

511332-TEMPUS-1-2010-1-RS-TEMPUS-SMGR      

Title 

Strengthening  student  role  in  governance  and  management  at 
the  universities  of  Serbia  in  line  with  the  Bologna  Process 
(SIGMUS) 

Description 

The  Project  SIGMUS  was  designed  to  strengthen  the  role  of  students  in 
governance  and  management  at  the  Universities  of  Serbia  in  line  with 
the  Bologna  process.  The  models  of  student  services  in  the  EU  partner 
countries  were  to  be  in-depth  examined  through  training  periods  at  EU 
university  partners  and  at  EU  student  associations,  with  the  aim  to 
implant  their  knowledge  and  experience  in  Serbia.  Furthermore, 
strengthening of student representative bodies was to be made through 
detailed  planning  of  capacity  building  of  the  student  representative 
bodies  and  developing  on-line  visibility  of  student  parliaments  through 
creating web portals. Moreover, training programs for trainers were to be 
held at EU partner universities. In order to improve current involvement 
of  students  in  the  implementation  of  Bologna  process,  seminars  on 
student  participation  in  the  implementation  of  Bologna  process  were  to 
be  held  at  all  universities  in  Serbia  with  participation  of  EU  partner 
institutions.  Establishment  and  development  of  student  services  at 
Serbian Universities was another important task of the project. It was to 
be  realized  through  creating  a  database  of  all  student  organizations  in 
Serbia,  implementing  student  e-services,  creating  alumni  organizations 
for each university  in  Serbia and establishing  the  Student  Mentors Pool. 
The project consortium was to devote full attention to the mechanisms of 
evaluation and quality control and monitoring of the project activities and 
outcomes,  in  the  form  of  internal  and  external  evaluations.  The  project 
results  were  to  be  nation-wide  disseminated,  and  also  available  to  the 
higher education institutions in the area. Having in mind that the project 
is  of  high  national  priority,  it  had  full  support  from  all  Serbian 
Universities,  as  well  as  from  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  the  National 
Council for Higher Education; this was expected to be the best guarantee 
for sustainability of the project beyond its duration. 

Coordinator  University of Belgrade 

University Clinical Center of Serbia, Pasterova ulica, 2 
Belgrade 11000, Serbia 

Contractor 

University of Belgrade 
Studentski trg 1  
Belgrade 11000, Serbia 

Partners 

Middlesex University, United Kingdom 
Ministry of Education, Serbia  
National Council of Higher Education, Serbia  
State University of Novi Pazar, Serbia 
Student  Conference  of  Serbian  Academy  of  Applied  Studies  (SKASS), 
Serbia 
Student Conference of Serbian Universities (SKONUS), Serbia 
Students' Alliance of Belgrade, Serbia 
Student Union BOKU, Austria 
Student Union of Serbia, Serbia 
Technical University of Crete, Ellas 
The Assoc. of Directors of Serbian Schools of Applied Studies, Serbia 
University of Kragujevac, Serbia 
University of Maribor, Slovenia 

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University of Megatrend, Serbia 
University of Nis, Serbia 
University of Novi Sad, Serbia 
University of Singidunum, Serbia 
University of Udine, Italy 

Original Project Budget: 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

969.149,29 
750.767,42 
38 months 
834.311,42 

Reference 

511382-TEMPUS-1-2010-1-ME-TEMPUS-SMHES 

Title 

Development  of  the  lifelong  learning  concept  at  the  University  of 
Montenegro 

Description  The project broad aim was to improve learning opportunities in Montenegrin 
society at large and achieving higher employability. This was to be achieved 
through the development of LLL university strategy with the aim to: 
  Enable wider access to higher education 
 

Incorporate  non-formal  and  informal  education  into  the  overarching 
national qualification framework 

  Enhance partnerships with relevant social partners 
Taking  into  consideration  the  complexity  of  the  process,  it  was  planned  to 
focus  on  several  aspects,  addressing  each  with  an  appropriate  set  of 
activities. 
Therefore,  it  was  expected  that  throughout,  by  the  end,  and  after  the 
project implementation: 
  Legislative  framework  for  the  introduction  of  LLL  concept  was  to  be 
developed  -cooperation  with  enterprises  in  view  of  LLL  concept  and 
university-enterprise cooperation was to be improved 

  Learning opportunities for adults Flexible learning paths for adults were 

to be improved 

  Connections  between  stakeholders  were  to  be  improved  to  improve 

vertical and horizontal access 

  Basis  for  introducing  procedures  for  validation  of  non-formal  and 

informal learning were to be introduced 

  Comprehensive  dissemination  campaign  on  LLL  concept  in  society  at 

large was to be implemented 

  Conditions  for  the  exploitation  of  the  project  results  immediately  and 

after the project end were to be developed 

  Day-to-day  and  overall  management  process  was  to  be  secured  –and 

quality plan implemented. 

Coordinator  University of Montenegro  
Cetinjska 2 
Podgorica 20 000, Montenegro 

Contractor  University of Montenegro  
Cetinjska 2 
Podgorica 20 000, Montenegro 

Partners 

Center for Vocational Education, Montenegro 
Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, Montenegro  
Employment Agency of Montenegro, Montenegro  
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U. Leuven), Belgium  
Ministry of Education and Science, Montenegro  

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University of Aarhus, Denmark  
University of Alicante, Spain 
World University Service - Austrian Committee, Austria 

486.423,07 
Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded  385.736,72 
Contract Duration 
29 months 
Approved Project budget  428.834,6 

Reference 

516758-TEMPUS-1-2011-1-GR-TEMPUS-JPGR  

Title 

Support  and  inclusion  of  students  with  disabilities  at  higher 
education institutions in Montenegro 

Description  The  SINC@HE  project  has  been  designed  to  improve  the  quality  and 
relevance  of  support  and  inclusion  of  students  with  disabilities  in 
Montenegro.  The  main  project  objective  was  to  create  the  conditions  and 
standards  that  will  assimilate  the  quality  of  inclusion  of  students  with 
disabilities  in  EU  HEIs  and  be  harmonized  according  to  EU  practices  and 
policies. Developed standards would be incorporated into existing legal and 
sublegal acts at the national levels and at the HE institutional levels. A long 
term objective of  the  outcomes was  to  strengthen the  open  society values 
regarding  the  inclusion  of  students  with  disabilities  in  HEIs.  In  order  to 
provide  a  solid  base  for  the  implementation  of  newly  developed  inclusive 
standards  the  SINC@HE  project  was  to  build  necessary  capacities  through 
establishing  a  framework  for  improving  support  and  inclusion  and  quality 
assurance at HEIs that will be incorporated in HEI regulatory documents. 
HEIs have to keep the academic and non-academic staff well informed and 
trained  on  the  needs  of  students  with  disabilities.  Thus,  the  SINC@HE 
project  was  to  provide  extensive  training  for  all  levels  of  staff  involved  in 
support and inclusion of students with disabilities in HEIs. 
Quality  Control  and  Monitoring  of  project  activities  and  results  by  internal 
and  external  mechanisms  were  to  be  realized  continuously  throughout  the 
whole duration of the project and evaluated at several levels. 
Considering 
Information  society  and 
the  synergy  of  Ministry  of 
Telecommunications,  Association  of  youth  with  disabilities  of  Montenegro, 
Institute  for  Education  and  Rehabilitation  of  persons  with  hearing  and 
speech  disorders  and  DRUŠTVO  STUDENTOV  INVALIDOV  SLOVENIJE,  as 
well  as  the  readiness  of  the  university  institutions  from  all  beneficiary 
countries, the major assumptions for improving the support and inclusion of 
students  with  disabilities  in  HEIs  are  established  and  this  was  considered 
the  best  guarantee  of  the  sustainability  of  project  results  beyond  its  life 
time. 

Coordinator  University of Macedonia - Research committee 

Egnatias 156, KZ 
Thessaloniki 54006, Greece 

Contractor  University of Macedonia - Research committee 

Egnatias 156, ΗΘ 
Thessaloniki 54006, Greece 

Partners 

Arcola Research LLP, United Kingdom 
Association of youth with disabilities of Montenegro, Montenegro 
Faculty For Management Herceg Novi, Montenegro 
Institute for Educ. and Rehab. of hearing and speech disorders, Montenegro 

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Institute of Information Communication Technology, Montenegro 
Ministry of Information society and Telecommunications, Montenegro 
The Slovenian Association of Disabled Students, Slovenia 
University Mediterranean, Montenegro 
University of Donja Gorica, Montenegro 
University of Macerata, Italia 
University of Warsaw, Poland 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget  

640.482,74 
553.257,23 
36 months 
615.212,37 

Reference 

516851-TEMPUS-1-2011-1-RS-TEMPUS-SMGR 

Title 

Equal  access  for  all:  strengthening  the  social  dimension  for  a 
stronger European higher education area 

Description 

Equal  access  to  higher  education  provides  advantage  in  access  to  labour 
market  and  represents  a  major  tool  for  eradicating  poverty  and  social 
exclusion. The project’s aim was to increase chances of youth in Serbia to 
enter and remain in higher education (HE), especially Roma, persons with 
disabilities,  rural  population,  young  people  from  lower  education  families 
and other underrepresented groups. 
This  project  addressed  identified  problems  of  diversification  of  student 
body entering and completing HE by addressing following set of activities 
organized in nine work packages. 
First  set  of  activities  encompassed  improvement  of  the  policy  framework 
for  diversifying  the  student  body  entering  and  completing  HE  through: 
analysis of existing primary and secondary data on access and completion 
of  HE,  functioning  of  relevant  institutions  and  organizations,  exchanging 
experiences  on  institutional  best  practices  of  universities  in  Serbia  and 
learning from best practices in EU partner countries. 
Second set of activities included improvement of the existing HE statistics 
in  line  with  best  European  practices  and  support  existing  structures  to 
improve  data  collection,  analysis  and  dissemination.  This  was  to  support 
establishment of the evidence based policy making. 
Third  segment  of  the  project  was  dedicated  to  the  piloting  of  measures 
intended  for  specific  underrepresented  groups.  Purpose  of  this  package 
was  to  use  available  set  of  policy  instruments,  pilot  other  identified 
instruments  and  verify  effectiveness  through  innovative  operation  of 
student  support  service.  This  should  have  enabled  the  project  team  to 
fine-tune policy recommendations for decision makers. 
Improved  policy  recommendations,  results  from  piloting  of  the  effective 
support  measures  and  enhanced  statistical  system  of  HE  were  to  be 
consequently  reflected  in  the  improvement  of  existing  national  regulation 
through  the  draft  Law  on  Pupil  and  Student  Standards  and  changes  to 
internal regulations of the universities. 

Coordinator  University of Nis 

Contractor 

Cirila i Metodija, 2 
Nis 18000, Serbia 

University of Nis 
Univerzitetski trg, 2 
Nis 18000, Serbia 

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Partners 

Association of Roma Students, Serbia 
Association of Students with Disabilities, Serbia 
Centre for Education Policy, Serbia 
Commissioner for Protection of Equality, Serbia 
Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia, Serbia 
Roehampton University, United Kingdom 
Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit, DPM Office, Serbia 
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Serbia 
St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo, 
Bulgaria 
Student Conference of Serbian Universities, Serbia 
University of Belgrade, Serbia 
University of Novi Pazar, Serbia 
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain 
University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia 
University of Maribor, Slovenia 
University of Novi Sad, Serbia 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded  945.627,2 
Contract Duration 
42 months 
Approved Project budget  1.050.697,2 

1.214.207,11 

Reference 

517117-TEMPUS-1-2011-1-IE-TEMPUS-JPHES 

Title 

Developing information literacy for lifelong learning and knowledge 
economy in Western Balkan countries 

Description  The  main  features  of  this  project  included  the  identification  of  best  IL 
practice,  transfer  of  knowledge,  development  and  implementation  of  IL 
programs  and  training  including  online  IL  suites,  development  of  IL  policy 
and  dissemination  and  exploitation  of  results  across  all  participating 
countries. 
Wider objectives:  
The project aimed to further the Bologna Process for a Europe of knowledge 
by  exploring  inclusion  of  IL  competencies  in  curricula.  The  creation,  with 
Faculty, of curriculum-integrated IL programs (embedded in the three-cycle 
system  (bachelor/master/doctorate),  quality  assurance  and  recognition  of 
qualifications  for  the  development  of  lifelong  learning  in  society  at  large. 
These  innovative  technologies  were  to  benefit  all  stakeholders  such  as 
undergraduate  and  postgraduate  students,  librarians,  academic  staff, 
ministries, national and public libraries, local communities. 
Specific objectives: 
  Development of IL programs for learners and their use in curricula.  
  Development of innovative online IL modules for lifelong learning.  
  Harmonization of the IL programs with those currently active in Western 

Balkan countries.  

  Strengthen  the  capacities  of  higher  education  institutions  for  the 
strategic  planning  and  implementation  of  information  literacy  programs 
to  instill  transferable  skills  for  a  "competitive,  dynamic,  knowledge-
based economy".  

  To develop IL policy, guidelines, - goals, mission.  
  To disseminate information about the approaches to IL development and 

ensure their sustainability. 

Principle outcomes and outputs: 

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

  Guidelines for planning IL programs. 
  Harmonized contents for the teaching of IL. 
  Training of IL practitioners. 
  Development of innovative online IL modules. 
 
  Dissemination and Sustainability of the IL programs. 

Implementation of the IL programs. 

Coordinator  Limerick Institute of Technology 
Moylish Park, null  
Limerick 0000, Ireland 

Contractor 

Limerick Institute of Technology 
Moylish Park, null  
Limerick 0000, Ireland 

Partners 

Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania 
Middlesex University, United Kingdom 
The National and University Library of Kosova, Kosovo 
Transylvania University of Brasov, Romania 
University Fan S Noli of Korce, Albania 
University of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Crete, Greece 
University of Mitrovica, Kosovo 
University of Montenegro, Montenegro 
University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
University of Tirana, Albania 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project Budget 

1.422.780,07 
1.171.557,58 
48 months 
1.301.730,65 

Reference 

517119-TEMPUS-1-2011-1-RS-TEMPUS-SMGR 

Title 

Development  of  career  guidance  aimed  at  improving  higher 
education in Serbia 

Description  Number  of  European  documents  /Memorandum  of  lifelong  learning, 
Resolution  on  better  integration  lifelong  guidance  into  lifelong  learning, 
ET2020.../  considers  career  guidance  as  key  strategic  component  for 
implementing  lifelong  learning  and  employment  strategies  at  national 
and  regional  levels.  Career  guidance  contributes  to  higher  efficiency  in 
HE,  higher  level  and  better  quality  of  human  resource,  addresses 
shortage  of  skills,  decreases  drop  out,  but  also  contributes  to  achieving 
significant objectives in field of employment. 
Project Careers was focused on development of career guidance in higher 
education  as  an  integral  part  of  development  of  system  of  career 
guidance in Serbia. Specific objectives of the project were:  
  Development of Program of Career Information,  
  Guidance and Education aiming to increase youth employability,  
  Enabling  wider  accessibility  and  variety  of  programs  in  Career 

guidance at Higher Education Institutions,  

  Raising the level of recognizing importance of Career Guidance by the 

policy makers and other stake holders and  

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Institutions in the Western Balkans 

  Development of CGC Programme for Youth and Methodology for CGC 

centers at Serbian HE institution. 

The  project  was  to  try  to  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  certain 
measures and activities of the National Strategy of career guidance and 
counseling  which  are  primarily  related  to  students.  The  document  itself 
represents  an  important  strategic  framework  and  a  platform  for 
institutionalization, sustainability and further development and promotion 
of CGC in Serbia. Readiness of the State to be more actively involved in 
dealing with career guidance system and the establishment of centers of 
the state universities which work since 2006. Represent a suitable basis 
to  integrate  "bottom-up"  and  "top-down"  processes  in  order  to 
strengthen  links  between  policy  and  practice  in  the  area  of  career 
guidance. 
Direct  benefits  of  the  project  were  expected  for  students,  universities, 
academic staff, employers and policy makers. 

Coordinator  University of Belgrade 

Studentski trg, 1  
Belgrade 11000, Serbia 

Contractor  University of Belgrade 

Studentski trg, 1  
Belgrade 11000, Serbia 

Partners 

Beogradska otvorena skola (Belgrade Open School), Serbia 
Infostud 3 d.o.o., Serbia  
Ministry of Education, Serbia  
Ministry of Youth and Sport, Serbia  
Public Enterprise for electric energy transmission, Serbia 
Student Conference of Serbian Universities, Serbia  
Swansea University, United Kingdom  
The University of Padova, Italia  
University of Kragujevac, Serbia  
University of Nis, Serbia  
University of Novi Sad, Serbia  
University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland  
University Singidunum, Serbia 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project Budget 

951.178,64 
763.903 
42 months 
849.557,32 

Reference 

517471-TEMPUS-1-2011-1-IT-TEMPUS-JPCR 

Title 

Network  for  post  graduate  masters  in  cultural  heritage  and 
tourism management in Balkan countries 

Description  The  project  aimed  at  creating  a  university  network  for  Post  Graduate 
Masters in Cultural Heritage and Tourism Management, starting also two 
Pilot Master Courses, one in Albania and one in Kosovo. Local institutions 
in  the PC have  in  fact expressed  their need  to enhance cultural  tourism 
in  their  countries  as  important  element  of  cultural  and  sustainable 
economic growth; as result this also arises the demand for a professional 
figure  with  the  skills  and  the  proficiencies  needed  to  work  in  this  field. 
These  aims  were  to  be  pursued  by  reviewing  and  reforming  the  actual 

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to  provide 

curricula of the PC with the Bologna Process guidelines and creating and 
implementing  two  master  pilot  courses  (in  Shkodra  and  Pritzen 
Universities). During the project many agreements with local institutions 
and enterprises were to be established, in order to create stages where 
the students can apply what they have learnt and help them enter in the 
labor  market.  The  project  was  also 
teachers  and 
administration  training  thanks  to  the  experience  and  the  shared 
knowledge of the EU partners. The number of EU Partners is due to the 
fact  that  they  cover  all  the  interdisciplinary  aspects  of  the  project. 
Teachers  and  students  were  also  to  take  advantage  of  short  periods  of 
study  and  stages  in  the  EU  partner  countries.  There  were  to  be  set 
quality assurance standards for the master degree. The master pilot was 
to  be  evaluated  and  then  improved  and  implemented  in  the  other  PC, 
together with tutoring work to help the sustainability of the project. The 
dissemination activities were to include opening conferences, short term 
and  medium  term  workshops  on  partial  results,  a  website  and 
publications  on  the  final  results.  The  publications  aimed  to  serve  as 
guideline  for  cultural  tourism  development,  giving  the  PC  the  cultural 
bases  for  heritage  management  policies  and  aimed  to  contribute  to  the 
development of a sustainable tourism-based economy. 

Coordinator  University "G.d'Annunzio" Chieti-Pescara 

via de' Vestini, 31 
CHIETI I- 66013, Italia 

Contractor  University "G.d'Annunzio" Chieti-Pescara 

via de' Vestini, 31 
CHIETI I- 66013, Italia 

Partners 

Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës Albania, Albania 
Alma Mater Studiorum Universita' di Bologna, Italia 
Antiquity  of  Southeastern  Europe  Res.  Centre,  University  of  Warsaw, 
Poland 
Economic Faculty Shkodra University "Luigj Gurakuqi", Albania 
Institut Catala' D'arqueologia Classica, Spain 
Instituti i Monumenteve te Kultures "Gani Strazimiri", Albania 
Svimap Network, Italy 
Università Telematica "Leonardo Da Vinci", Italy 
University of Prizren, Kosovo 
World University Service Kosova Committee, Kosovo 

849.899,93 
Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded  706.843,37 
Contract Duration 
48 months 
Approved Project budget  706.843,37 

Reference 

530243-TEMPUS-1-2012-1-ES-TEMPUS-SMHES 

Title 

Developing third mission activities in Albanian universities 

Albanian  universities  need  to  reinforce  their  role  for  the  social  and 
economic development of the country. This is a national priority stated in 
the Higher Education Strategy and in the Action Plan defined by national 
authorities. Teaching and learning and research, the traditional missions 
of  universities,  need  improvements  in  order  to  support  Albanian 
development.  Additionally  what  is  named  university  Third  Mission  (3M) 

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needs also a stronger and deeper development in Albanian universities. 
The three groups of activities which are part of 3M (technology transfer, 
continuing  education  and  social  engagement)  are  still  incipient  in 
Albanian  universities  and  a  greater  effort  should  be  undertaken  for 
making  universities  more  responsive  to  social  and  economic  needs, 
especially at regional level. 
This  project  U3M-AL  focused  on  promoting  3M  activities  in  Albanian 
universities,  training  university  staff,  establishing  Regional  Development 
Centres  in  charge  of  3M  activities  in  each  public  university  and  finally 
creating  an  Albanian  network  for  promoting  3M  activities  at  national 
level. 
The project U3M-AL was to try to promote cultural and structural reforms 
in  universities  but  not  only.  The  role  of  the  socioeconomic  environment 
was considered also critical for the success of this project. In this sense, 
the  project  was  to  promote  the  relationships  with  regional  industry, 
employers,  public  authorities  and  the  society  at  large.  All  of  them  were 
to be part of the activities developed in this project and in the remaining 
activities when the project will be over. 

Coordinator  University of León 

Facultad de Educación - Campus de Vegazana, null 
LEÓN 24071, España 

Contractor  University of León 
Avda. Facultad, 25 
LEÓN 24071, Spain 

Partners 

Istituto Superiore Mario Boella, Italy 
Ministry of Education and Science, Albania  
Turun Yliopisto (University of Turku), Suomi / Finland 
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain 
Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Italy 
Universiteti Aleksandër Moisiu Durrës (University of Durres), Albania  
Universiteti Bujqesor i Tiranes (Agricultural Univ. of Tirana), Albania  
Universiteti Eqrem Çabej i Gjirokastrës (Univ. of Gjrokaster), Albania  
Universiteti Fan Noli i Korçë (University of Korça), Albania 
Universiteti i Vlores (University of Vlore), Albania  
Universiteti Luigj Gurakuqi i Shkodrës (University of Skodra), Albania  
Universiteti Politeknik i Tiranës (Polytechnic Uni. of Tirana), Albania  
University Solutions, Spain 

Original Project Budget 
Maximum Grant Awarded 
Contract Duration 
Approved Project budget 

866.075,12 
727.825,2 
24 months 
808.695,3 

86 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ISBN : 978-92-9492-407-0 
DOI : 10.2797/83022