5.2.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 31/14


CALL FOR PROPOSALS — DG EAC/04/08

Tempus IV — Reform of higher education through international university cooperation

(2008/C 31/11)

1.   Objectives and description

The Tempus programme will be continued for a new phase from 2007-2013.

The overall objective of the programme will be to contribute towards facilitating cooperation in the field of higher education among Member States of the European Union (EU) and partner countries in the surrounding area. In particular, the programme will help promote voluntary convergence with EU developments in the field of higher education deriving from the Lisbon agenda and the Bologna process.

Tempus promotes multilateral cooperation among higher education institutions, authorities and organisations from EU Member States and partner countries and focuses on the reform and modernisation of higher education.

National projects must adhere to national priorities which are established in close dialogue between European Commission Delegations and the relevant authorities in the partner countries. Multi-country projects must comply with programme-wide priorities which have been defined along the lines of the EU's modernisation agenda in the higher education area.

The two principal instruments for cooperation through this Tempus call for proposals are:

Joint Projects: projects with a ‘bottom-up’ approach aiming at modernisation and reform at institutional (university) level. Joint Projects aim at transferring knowledge between universities, organisations and institutions from the EU and from the partner countries as well as between partner country entities as appropriate.

Structural Measures: projects with a ‘top-down’ approach. Structural Measures will seek to contribute to the development and reform of higher education systems in partner countries, as well as to enhance their quality and relevance, and to increase their convergence with EU developments. Structural Measures will concern interventions designed to support structural reform of higher education systems and strategic framework development at national level.

2.   Eligible applicants

Institutions and organisations which may participate in the Tempus Programme range from higher education institutions and organisations through to non-academic institutions and organisations such as non-governmental organisations, companies, industries and public authorities.

These institutions and organisations have to be based in the following four groups of eligible countries:

27 Member States of the European Union,

6 countries of the Western Balkan region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia including Kosovo (1) and Montenegro,

15 countries in the Southern and Eastern neighbouring area of the European Union: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Territory governed by the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine,

the Russian Federation,

5 Central Asian Republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

3.   Budget and project duration

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects amounts to EUR 50,55 million.

The financial contribution from the Commission cannot exceed 95 % of the total eligible direct costs.

The minimum grant size for both Joint Projects and Structural Measures will be EUR 500 000. The maximum grant size will amount to EUR 1 500 000. In the case of Albania, Montenegro and the five Central Asian countries, which have a country allocation of less than EUR 1 million, the minimum grant size for both project types is set at EUR 300 000.

The maximum duration of projects is 24 months or 36 months.

4.   Deadline

Applications for Joint Projects and for Structural Measures must be sent no later than 28 April 2008.

5.   Further information

The full text of the call for proposals and the application forms are available on the following website: http://ec.europa.eu/tempus

Applications must comply with the requirements set out in the full text and be submitted using the forms provided on the website.


(1)  Under the auspices of the United Nations, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999.