Texts for reading and discussion Text 1 bologna process

In May 1998, the European Ministers in charge of higher education of France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany signed the Sorbonne Declaration on the "harmonisation of the architecture of the European Higher Education System" at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Other European countries subscribed to the Declaration later. In June 1999, 29 European Ministers in charge of higher education met in Bologna to lay the basis for establishing a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by 2010 and promoting the European system of higher education world-wide. The European Ministers decided to meet every two years. While confirming their support to the general principles laid down in the Sorbonne Declaration, they agreed to focus on the following six action lines of the Bologna Process: -  adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees;

-  adoption of a system with two main cycles (undergraduate/graduate);

-  establishment of a system of credits (such as ECTS);

-  promotion of mobility by overcoming obstacles;

-  promotion of European cooperation in quality assurance;

-  promotion of the European dimension in higher education.

In the Prague Communiqué (2001), three additional action lines were introduced: -  Lifelong learning; -  Higher education institutions and students; -  Promoting the EHEA. In the Berlin Communiqué (2003), another action line was introduced: -  Doctoral studies and the synergy between the EHEA and the European Research Area (ERA).

Fill in the gaps in the given statements:

1. Originally … signed the Sorbonne Declaration.

2. European Ministers met in Bologna to … .

3. Initially there were … priority spheres for the participants of the Bologna Process.

4. Lifelong learning is one of … introduced by the Prague Communique.

5. Nowadays there are … main directions in the activities of European higher education institutions aimed at the establishment of the European Higher Education Area.

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