Today, higher education doesn’t accept the system of manual control, emphasizes the European expert, Professor Ian Sadlak, one of the participants of Bologna process formation.

Let us recall that last weekend a representative conference “Public participation in modernization of higher education: the role of state education in implementing the Belarus Roadmap for higher education reform” was held in Minsk.

The conference was organized by the Public Bologna Committee (Belarus), the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) and the Belarusan National Platform of the EaP CSF, the International Consortium “EuroBelarus”, Centre for European Transformation (Belarus), and the Agency of Social and Political Expertise (Lithuania). The partner of the conference is the Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Belarus).

The conference was aimed at discussing strategies of the implementation of the Roadmap of the higher education in Belarus and bringing Belarusan higher education to the European values ​​and standards.

On September 23 the keynote speaker of the plenary session at the conference was Ian Sadlak, an expert on politics, management and higher education administration, president of the International Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence (IREG Observatory), the former director of the UNESCO European Center for Higher Education (CEPES, 1999-2009), and Head of the Politics Department in Higher Education UNESCO, Paris (1992-1999).

In conversation with the correspondent of EuroBelarus Information Service Ian Sadlak said that he was very curious to visit the country that was accepted to the Bologna Process on special terms. Despite very modest, less than 10% index of the implementation of the Roadmap of higher education after one third of the time that was allotted for this, Ian Sadlak said he was satisfied with the fact that “one might already say that Belarus is another participant of the Bologna process, as once I was very much involved in its appearance.”

But as Ian Sadlak observed, for the full inclusion of Belarus in the European Higher Education Area “all actors should take part: both higher educational institutions, as well as government and public organizations.”

“I am not disputing the fact that the previous education system — the Soviet system — had significant achievements, but the world is changing. The needs and expectations of the higher education and science are also changing — and the Bologna process offers a scheme and a form for these changes that will improve the situation in higher education. Though it seems to me that Belarus is alert re these changes; while the Bologna process in its essence is more flexible in comparison with the old approaches. Therefore, the inclusion of Belarus presupposes taking into regard its peculiarities,” said Ian Sadlak.

“And once again, let me remind you of the main objective of the Bologna process, which is not only to speed up the mobility of knowledge, but also to create conditions for the mobility of students themselves, thus benefiting all parties,” said Ian Sadlak.

In our next note, EuroBelarus Information Service will offer its readers to get acquainted with the list of recommendations elaborated by the conference participants, as well as with the outcome of the conference sections.