OECD International Conference: Attaining and Sustaining Mass Higher Education

This conference will take place from 17-19 September 2012 in the OECD headquarters in Paris, France. It constitutes a unique opportunity for policy makers, institutional managers, civil society representatives and academic researchers to be part of a showcase for a high level audience.

The IMHE biennial General Conference is IMHE's standout event, attracting around 500 participants comprised of higher education policy makers, institutional leaders and academic experts. Notable speakers and stimulating sessions provide an opportunity for members and non-members to share their views and ideas, discuss relevant topics and forthcoming trends, as well as network.

The topics of the conference include:

• The Globalisation of Higher Education
• Funding & Financing
• Quality & Accountability
• System Management & Institutional Diversity
• Exploiting Technology for Learning
• The Academic Workforce

The conference will seek to identify longer-term trends and will include analyses of national and institutional policies, case studies and the latest research from the OECD and elsewhere.

To make a submission, go to www.oecd.org.

For further questions, please contact: imhe@oecd.org

Call for papers: The deadline for the call for papers has been extended until 4 January 2012.

Source: OECDdirect E-mail Alerts

20th NISPAcee Annual Conference: Public Administration East and West: Twenty Years of Development (23 May 2012)

The annual conferences of NISPAcee focus on a significant theme, which facilitates a better understanding of important issues regarding the administrative development and policymaking capacity in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The conferences include experts, scholars and practitioners who work in the field of public administration in Central and Eastern Europe (including all countries covered by NISPAcee's membership, the Russian Federation, Caucasus and Central Asia), as well as from many other regions and countries of the world.

The conference takes place in Ohrid, FYR of Macedonia, May 23 -26, 2012, deadline for online registration for the conference is March 31, 2012.

More information on the event you may find on the conference page: http://www.nispa.org/conference2012

Online registration: - via the NISPAcee Secretariat - Deadline: March 31, 2012
www.nispa.org/conf_registration_prenote20.php

The preliminary schedule of the conference programme is available from mid December 2011.
The papers accepted for the presentation will be added to the sessions of the conference within January 2011.

Source: e-mail by
NISPAcee (The Network of Institutes and Schools of PA in CEE)
Polianky 5 840 02 Bratislava 42, Slovak Republic
Tel: +421-2-6428 5558, Tel/Fax: +421-2-6428 5557

Conference: EUROPE 2020 - Towards Innovative and Inclusive Union (17 May 2012)

University American College Skopje holds the sixth annual academic research conference on European integration "EUROPE 2020: Towards Innovative and Inclusive Union" on Thursday May 17, 2012.

Prolonged multiple crises in the past years have provoked ever more people to question the viability of the basics of European integration. This inter- and multi-disciplinary one-day conference seeks to analyze the different components of European political and institutional architecture in search for sustainable solutions to the current fundamental challenges of the European Union. Researchers are invited for multidimensional and cross-sectional examinations of the key drivers behind the negative trends in the various areas from finance, economy, social cohesion and environment to education, media and culture. The basic point of departure is our belief that the nations of Europe possess the capabilities to reshape the Union by 2020 and reinvent the attractiveness of the EU model, which is so far considered the most successful instance of economic and political integration in the history of humankind.

Major issues to be addressed include:

• Federal Europe based on deeper political integration and common economic governance as a solution to the debt and Euro crises vs. revival of economic nationalisms on the continent;
• Creation of a society of knowledge as a developmental priority;
• Improving higher education policies in order to cope with the new challenges and global competition;
• Sustaining information society and reducing the digital gap within Europe as a prerequisite for wider integration;
• Making multicultural practices an asset, not an obstacle towards building more inclusive communities;
• Euro-scepticism as a by-product of political (un)accountability and poor delivery of EU institutions, enlargement fatigue of EU members and transitional fatigue of would be members;
• Western Balkan countries between domestic reform inertia and distracted EU;
• Social cohesion, marginalized human resources and gender aspects in the time of crisis.

Comparative case studies and research-based policy recommendations are encouraged, including but not limited to those concerning the countries of South East Europe.

By tradition, key speakers and high level officials from the country and from abroad are invited to address the conference.

Accommodation expenses will be covered by the University American College Skopje on as-needed basis only for a limited number of selected presenters who need to submit a bursary form.

For abstract & paper guidelines, conference programme and other updates please visit our web page: http://www.uacs.edu.mk/conference

Structural Frameworks for Open, Digital Research – Strategy, Policy & Infrastructure; International conference & workshop (11 –13 June 2012)

The Digital Agenda for Europe has set sail along as one of the seven flagships of the European Commission under the header of Europe 2020. The agenda calls to unite European research infrastructures backed by several recent reports. Many different individuals and organisations have each their piece of the overall infrastructural jigsaw puzzle that needs to be assembled before scientific and cultural information and data can be managed, shared and re-used more openly and efficiently. The conference aims to bring these stakeholders together and move closer to a coherent vision for the needed action ahead.

Conference segments:

• Infrastructure & research output / Introductory speaker: prof. dr. Søren Brunak, Denmark's Technical University
• Organisation & collaboration / Introductory speakers: dr. Liz Lyon, director UKOLN & dr. Andrew Treloar, director ANDS
• Policy & strategy / Introductory speaker: prof. dr. Sverker Holmgren, Uppsala University and programme director for NordForsk eScience global initiative

Important dates:

• December (primo): Conference web site operational
• December (primo): Call for participation and 5-minute madness sessions
• December (ultimo): Registration open
• January: Official programme

A preliminary programme and invitation can be downloaded in pdf HERE.

More information is available here: http://www.nordbib.net/

EC announces new Health for Growth programme

The EC has announced a new Health for Growth Programme for 2014-2020, which will support and aid delivery of actions that encourage innovation in health. The proposed budget for the programme is €446 million. Its four key aims are to: develop innovative and sustainable health systems; increase access to better and safer healthcare; promote health and the prevention of disease; and protect citizens from cross-border health threats.

Areas in which further action is expected include co-operation on rare diseases at European level to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment for patients with rare diseases across the EU. Cancer prevention and control will also be a key element of the programme, with an emphasis on the introduction of EU-wide screening guidelines and the exchange of knowledge and best practice on cancer research, prevention and care. Also included will be co-operation on health technology assessment (HTA) through the establishment of an EU-wide voluntary network of Member States‟ HTA agencies. The programme will now be discussed by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers, with a view to adoption by the end of 2013 in time for a start date at the beginning of 2014.

Further details of the new programme are available from the Growth for Health 2014-2020 website: http://ec.europa.eu/health/programme/policy/proposal2014_en.htm