Damascus - The Fifth Tempus National Information Day started activities on Sunday. The event is organized by the Syrian Ministry of Higher Education in cooperation with the European Union (EU) Mission.
It aims at introducing the underway projects of Tempus program and the national domains in the framework of which future projects would be presented in addition to the way the participants could present their projects.
It also reviews the possibility of cooperation between the Syrian and European universities through Tempus program.
Minister of Higher Education Ghaith Barakat said that cooperation with the EU in the field of higher education has recently witnessed a great development through carrying out a number of scientific and research projects.
He reviewed the process of reform in the sector of higher education which includes all of its domains such as the national plan for developing the curricula, quality assurance system, college admission policy and the stages it has reached, pointing out that the success of the projects comes as a result of the collective efforts of many concerned bodies.
For his part, EU Ambassador in Damascus Vassilis Bontosoglou said that the sector of higher education and developing it are one of the priorities of cooperation between the EU and the national and local institutions in Syria through launching projects and programs based on Syria's priorities and capabilities that would achieve the developmental goals of the country.
Bontosoglou hailed the success of the Syrian experience with the EU which has been translated through implementing many joint projects, pointing out that Damascus University was given a direct grant through Tempus program for the first time to fund the projects of /Accreditation... a Track for Quality Assurance / and / Skills and Employment Center/.
Tempus Program is an EU-funded program that supports higher education in the EU-partner countries including the countries of Western Balkan, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Syria's active participation in Tempus program commenced in 2002. The fourth stage of the program, which extends from 2007 to 2013, is being implemented currently.
Later in the evening the, Tempus National Information Day resumed activities by holding a session which discussed the mechanisms of submitting proposals of the projects to be carried out in the coming stage.
Head of EU Tempus Unit Haupt Klaus said that the success of Tempus program in Syria comes as a result of Syria's relentless support and keenness on developing the higher education, pointing out that the number of the implemented projects in Syria which amounted to 35 projects indicates Syria's effective contribution to Tempus program.
For her part, EU Advisor Monica Butz reviewed the mechanisms of presenting any suggested competitive project in Tempus program and the challenges facing the participants.
She considered that the quality of the project design is not only estimated by the ability of the project to pass the process of selection and assessment, but also by the rate of its success or failure through the implementation.
By Ruaa AL-Jazaeri/ Mazen
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2010
