The seminar was held at Sofia University and aimed to identify forms of institutional adaptation and innovation that address the need for effective and equitable policy making in HEIs by means of the exploration and analysis of the impact of existing governance change projects on HEIs in Bulgaria and other Central and Eastern European countries.
17 partners and guests attended the seminar from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the UK. The seminar addressed three key questions:
The meeting opened on Thursday, 23 January, with registration, a Network Management meeting and a welcoming reception. The seminar itself began on Friday and ran until midday on Saturday. It comprised:
Session 1 – Introduction, setting the scene for the seminar – a Bulgarian overview.
Session 2 – The key HE governance issues in East and Central Europe: 5 ten-minute presentations of key issues (key issues drawn from and substantiated by written papers) given by Bulgarian, Czech, Latvian, Croatian and Polish partners and followed by short plenary discussion to capture key points.
Session 3 – Developments within the EC – Swedish and UK perspectives: 2 ten-minute presentations of key issues followed by plenary discussion.
Session 4 - small group discussions aimed at exploring and analyzing the issues and working towards some draft conclusions. Working groups will focus on HE governance at the national, institutional and student level. Concluded with a plenary review of progress and look forward to next session.
Session 5 – Working groups gather to revise their conclusions from previous day and focus on producing firm guidance and advice based on analysis of the situation in East and Central Europe and the developing direction of EC policy.