Improving Higher Education and Training

 The EU–US Higher Education and Training Agreement which was launched in 1995 has proved to be an excellent cooperation tool. Accordingly, at the 2006 EU-US summit in Vienna , a new eight-year education agreement was signed between the two parties, renewing their long-standing cooperation program in higher education and vocational training. The new agreement will usher in innovative Transatlantic Degree programs, promote exchanges of students, teachers and other professionals, strengthen the Schuman-Fulbright Program and encourage greater institutional collaboration in tertiary education.

The aim of the agreement is to encourage innovative cooperation projects between EU and US educational institutions, in particular through joint study programs which provide a framework for mobility for students wishing to spend part of their studies on the other side of the Atlantic . These programs provide also for the possibility of acquiring joint transatlantic degrees. Educational links between the EU and the USA were strengthened further in 2004 with the launch of Erasmus Mundus. This program supports the establishment of European Master’s courses, provides scholarships for graduates and scholars from all over the world to participate in them and supports the establishment of partnerships and exchanges with higher education institutions outside the EU.

The European Commission plans to allocate € 45 million to the cooperation program over the period 2006-2013 with a target of 6 000 EU and US persons participating in mobility activities over the duration of the program. The text signed in Vienna will promote structural, long term partnerships among EU and US higher education and vocational training institutions.

The program enabled the creation of over 100 transatlantic consortia involving more than 700 institutions. Over 4 000 students have benefited from the resulting exchanges.