Over the next three years, the University of Oldenburg will be supporting partner universities in Jordan, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt in the introduction of Master's degree programmes in the field of business informatics.
"Exporting Master Programmes in Enterprise Systems Engineering to Jordan, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt" is the name of the project, which is headed by Oldenburg business informatics specialist Prof. Dr Jorge Marx Gómez. The European Union is providing around 1.1 million euros for its implementation through the EU university cooperation programme "Tempus IV". "Tempus IV" aims to modernise the higher education systems of EU neighbouring states - so-called target countries - in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East through joint projects.
In addition to the University of Oldenburg, the University of Magdeburg, the Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (Barcelos, Portugal), the Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona (Spain) and the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden) are involved in the project. Of the target countries, two universities each in Jordan, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt are taking part in the project. "Our partners there are excellent universities that have the best prerequisites for establishing a promising and innovative degree programme," says Marx Gómez. He is also delighted that his project is the only one funded by Tempus IV that supports co-operation with Syria.
Over the next three years, the academics and experts will be developing a Master's degree programme in Information Systems that is based on the Bologna Process. They will design new teaching modules and seminars, but also incorporate courses, teaching materials and the expertise of the European partner universities. The speciality: Compared to other degree programmes in business informatics, a focus is placed on research, emphasises Marx Gómez. "The latest research results are incorporated into teaching and students are involved in research. In addition, modules on environmental and sustainability topics are also being developed - areas that have rarely been the subject of research in business informatics."
The first phase of the project will focus on the analysis, design and accreditation of the Master's degree programme in the target countries. This will be followed by intensive networking between business and universities as well as between academics. In addition, workshops and seminars will be organised at the EU partner universities to provide participants with the latest developments in the field of teaching and enable the exchange of research findings.
