2. The Government's strategy for internationalising education

The Danish education system is decentralised and largely based on a fundamental confidence that the given framework and opportunities are utilised locally and at the individual school/institution to create the best quality for pupils and students. The Government's primary task is to set targets and establish a framework for this work. This is also reflected in the main points of the strategy for internationalisation that the Government is putting forward here. This strategy includes:

• The international dimension of the content of education and training programmes;
• Mobility of pupils, students and teachers;
• Use of IT as an internationalisation tool;
• Opportunities for institutions to cooperate and compete internationally;
• Danish involvement in international cooperation forums for education – including international comparisons of education systems;
• Follow-up and assessment.

2.1 The international dimension of the content of education and training programmes must be enhanced

Motivation
Danish pupils, students and workers must be qualified to succeed in international environments. The international dimension will therefore have to be integrated into the content of education and training programmes, the legislative framework and executive orders, and – where appropriate – in descriptions of targets, curricula, syllabuses and guidelines. Not all subjects need the same level of internationalisation. Some subjects are international by definition, e.g. languages, while other subjects will have to be assessed with regard to the need for internationalisation. The work on internationalisation at school and institution level should also be publicised, both in teaching and in institutions' relations with the outside world, so that citizens can exercise their freedom of choice on a qualified basis in this area too.

Action

• The Government will ensure that the international dimension is taken into account when the statutory basis for an area of education is amended and implemented, as happened with the upper secondary school reform and the Universities Act.
• Educational institutions, local authorities and county councils will be encouraged to include the international dimension in their objectives and planning, and to publicise their work on the international dimension in teaching.
• The Government will focus on increased use of English as the teaching language in higher education with a view, among other things, to attracting highly qualified foreign students and researchers.
• The Government is supporting a pilot project entitled “Min første Sprogportfolio” (My First Language Portfolio) as part of its focus on language skills.

Status
Generally speaking, the international dimension is well integrated in the majority of education programmes. The importance of the international dimension is underlined in the most recent multi-annual agreements for vocational and higher education programmes. But there are differences, partly owing to the special nature of individual education programmes and partly because the content of some education programmes has not been revised for some time.

Cross sectoral initiatives
Language, culture and communication skills are a prerequisite for internationalisation. Sufficient attention must therefore be paid to them throughout the education process, not least in foreign language teaching in basic education. Schools and institutions should formulate a policy for language and communication in accordance with the report entitled “Sprogpolitik i de danske universiteter” (Language Policy in Danish Universities) of March 2003 by the Danish Rectors' Conference.

Basic School
At basic school level the focus is on developing language and culture skills, including through early language teaching and increased use of information technology. The curricula and study guidelines for subjects provide the basis for the international dimension to be included in local planning.

The Danish Evaluation Institute has evaluated the international dimension as an interdisciplinary topic in primary and lower secondary education. In order to enhance the international dimension in teaching, the report recommends that the Ministry should set precise standards.

Local authorities and schools should also set common targets for this interdisciplinary work. On the basis of the policy paper the Government will produce an inspiration booklet on how internationalisation work can be tackled appropriately in local authorities and schools.

A socalled “Language Portfolio” was launched as part of the European Year of Languages in 2001. In 2004 a pilot project involving a total of around 15,000 pupils in Year 3 is being implemented. The project is based on the language skills that children in this age group have. Danish is the starting point, but with a focus on other language skills. Among other things, the pilot project will reveal whether pupils have skills in English before being taught it at school. The portfolio is also a tool that can be used at all levels of education.

General upper secondary education
Increased professionalism and quality measured by international standards will require an enhancement of the international dimension of upper secondary education. International problems and perspectives must be integrated into teaching, so that young people acquire the skills to succeed in an international world. With the upper secondary school reform that will take effect in 2005, the Government will ensure that the international dimension is brought into focus by drafting new curricula.

Vocational education and training
The vocational education and training sector is continuing a long-standing tradition of dealing with international matters and engaging in international cooperation and transnational development projects on the content of education and training programmes, methods, etc.

Higher education
All executive orders now require programmes and teaching to be related to similar international programmes. As recommended by the Higher Education Council, the focus should be on the international dimension in medium-cycle programmes, but that focus should be differentiated according to the content of the programme and students' future professions.

More programmes conducted in foreign languages, particularly English, must be offered in higher education.

This is a prerequisite when it comes to attracting foreign students, and it benefits Danish students, giving them the opportunity to develop languages skills in a professional context. This strategy must be seen in conjunction with the Government's conscious endeavour to enhance the Danish language without giving English or other relevant foreign languages a lower priority, as set out in the language policy paper of December 2003, which states that: “In order to avoid losing ground, the Government wants doctoral theses, including PhD theses, written by Danish researchers in a foreign language to be accompanied in future by a more detailed summary in Danish than is currently required. Similarly, theses written in Danish should be accompanied by a more detailed summary in the relevant main language than is currently required.”⁴ Therefore, increased use of English will not alter the fact that Danish is the language of the Danish education system.

The majority of programmes will continue to be anchored in the Danish language, but English has achieved the status of “lingua franca”, a neutral platform that can be used and developed whenever people with different national and cultural backgrounds need to communicate. Experience shows that foreign students want to get to know the local language and culture when they have the chance. The meeting of cultures provides an opportunity for mutual enrichment. Therefore strategies must be developed for integrating foreign students without relinquishing Danish values.

2.2 The mobility of pupils, students and teachers must be enhanced

Motivation
Development of the European labour market will require increased mobility and access to education so as to make labour more mobile, which is essential for social development and economic growth. Danish students studying and training abroad and bringing international experience home with them is a good thing. In the same way, foreigners studying in Denmark are an enrichment. Once such students have completed their studies, it also benefits society if they find employment in Danish enterprises and act as ambassadors for Denmark when they return home. On the other hand, it is inexpedient if large numbers of our best students and researchers go abroad permanently without a similar number of highly qualified foreigners making Denmark their home – a phenomenon known as the brain drain. In the report entitled “Vækst Gennem Globalisering” (Growth through Globalisation) of September 2003, the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs pointed out that there is an imbalance, though a modest one, to the disadvantage of Denmark in this respect.

Those Danish enterprises that are organised on a transnational basis are increasingly demanding manpower with different national backgrounds. The Board of Economic Advisors pointed out in a report of May 2003 that those countries that can train highly qualified manpower themselves, or are able to attract the highly educated, do best in international competition. In the report entitled “Samspil – nye veje mellem forskning og erhverv” (Danish Strategy for Public-Private Partnership on Innovation) the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation also points to hitherto unexploited potential in the working relationship between research and the business community.

Action

• The Government will establish an internationalisation taximeter for short-cycle higher education programmes and vocational education and training programmes.
• The Government will take the initiative to implement a targeted campaign for heads and tutors.
• The Government will promote the development of strategic partnerships, among other things with a view to joint degrees.
• The Government will maintain the option for students to use their student grant to study abroad.
• The Government will increase access to work experience abroad.
• The Government will enhance the international dimension in educational and vocational guidance.
• The Government will ensure that Denmark continues to play an active role in developing the EU's new education programmes from 2007 onwards.
• The Government will encourage institutions to set objectives and quantitative targets for the balance between Danish and foreign students on programmes.
  

Status
Mobility in education covers a multiplicity of activities, and a wide range of different forms of financing and incentives has been established. This multiplicity is also reflected in the fact that such activities are assigned very different priorities in the many branches and on the many levels of the education system. The following list provides an outline of the schemes that currently exist to encourage mobility for the purposes of education:

• Pupil and teacher exchanges as a component of international cooperation by local authorities and county councils with twin towns, for example.
• Programme applicants from within the EU have equal opportunities for being accepted on programmes throughout the EU. The opportunities for mobility cover both full programmes and exchanges of varying duration.
• The education programmes of the Nordic Council of Ministers and the EU support stays abroad, among other things. Since it started in 1988, the Erasmus Programme, the largest EU programme aimed at higher education, has been a catalyst for student exchanges and international cooperation on education and networks within the EU.
• The PIU (Work Experience Abroad) Scheme, which is financed by the Employers' Reimbursement System for Apprentices and Trainees, has been providing grants for students on vocational programmes to do work experience abroad since 1992.
• Bilateral cooperation between Denmark and the USA. The most recent agreement covers exchanges and work experience in the vocational schools sector. Study and work experience in the USA is also supported by traditional schemes within the framework of the Denmark-America Foundation, Denmark's International Studyprogram (DIS) and the Fulbright Program.
• Cooperation between educational institutions – particularly in the university sector.

Denmark also has a tradition of voluntary education for adults that does not provide qualifications. These activities are offered by folk high schools, day high schools and adult education centres. The folk high schools in particular have shown an increased interest in internationalisation. This was apparent in connection with the Danish Presidency of the EU in the autumn of 2002, for example, when approximately 25 per cent of high schools took part in the Youth 2002 project. This involved a 2-week stay for 1000 young people from all over Europe, the result of which was a joint proposal for a new constitution for the enlarged European Union.

The majority of foreign students are in Denmark as part of exchange programmes, bilateral national agreements or agreements between institutions. The scope of exchanges cannot be calculated precisely, but during 2001 approximately 5.9 per cent of students at institutions of higher education were from abroad. By far the majority of foreign students are in Denmark for short periods of study, but these must last at least 3 months if they want to obtain a programme credit.

Danish pupils, students and teachers often take part in exchanges and foreign trips as part of their programme (see appendix with mobility statistics). But Denmark lags behind in comparison with the other Nordic countries. Students typically take part in the EU's Leonardo, Socrates and Youth programmes, plus the Danish PIU Scheme. In 2002, a total of 4,735 students completed a full educational programme abroad (with a student grant).

The number of research programmes is growing rapidly, and there are currently 500 foreign PhD students in Denmark, corresponding to 9 per cent of students. There are 250 Danes studying abroad with the aim of acquiring a PhD there.

Cross sectoral initiatives
Internationalisation taximeter
The Government will introduce an internationalisation taximeter for short programmes of higher education and vocational programmes so as to ensure that all programmes covered by the Bologna and Copenhagen Declarations are put on an equal footing with regard to financial incentives for internationalisation.

Preparing for mobility by establishing project support
The Government will implement a campaign in order to involve teachers, tutors and heads of schools and institutions in this task. The campaign will include a combined travel grant and project preparation scheme and is intended to ensure that the best possible use is made of the new opportunities for mobility provided by the initiatives in the Government's “Bedre Uddannelser” (Better Education Programmes) action plan. The aim is to establish contact and cooperation with other countries with a view to initiating joint projects and exchanges.

Strategic partnerships
The tradition of working in partnerships within research- based university programmes should be enhanced and disseminated throughout the education system by means of such measures as drawing up joint curricula, exchanging pupils, students, teachers and researchers, and developing joint and double degrees. This will make it easier for Danes to access the international education and labour markets.

Taking student grants abroad
The Government will maintain the option for students to use their Danish student grant to study abroad for up to 4 years. The Government will try to use international cooperation to get other countries to introduce similar opportunities. The first step was taken in connection with the Berlin Communiqué of September 2003 (see p. 32).

Increased access to work experience abroad
The Higher Education Council recommended that there should be greater focus on the international dimension in medium-cycle programmes, which are typically professionally oriented. The focus must be differentiated in relation to the nature and aim of the programme. Access to quality-assured work experience abroad for teachers and educators should be maintained. Access should, however, be increased for other medium-cycle programmes of higher education. The EU's Leonardo Programme can be used for this expansion.

Educational and vocational guidance on the opportunities for mobility
Pupils and students should be given satisfactory knowledge of the existing opportunities through competent guidance. The new independent study guidance on the opportunities for mobility, including the options for getting credit for study trips abroad, will be enhanced by the Danish guidance reform of spring 2003.

New EU education programmes
The Government will ensure that Denmark continues to play an active role in developing the EU's Erasmus Mundus Programme and work to ensure that the new EU education programmes for 2007 and beyond will help to increase and improve mobility, while actively supporting the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy of 2000.

Publicising internationalisation and mobility
Danish and foreign students should have the opportunity to assess the international dimension at Danish institutions when they apply for admission. Educational institutions will be encouraged to publish their internationalisation policy on their website. They will also be encouraged to set objectives and quantitative targets for the balance between Danish and foreign students on programmes.

Basic school
Good examples need to be publicised, and local authorities and schools will be encouraged to take care of this. In particular, publicity should be given on how activities can help to develop linguistic and intercultural skills, as well as knowledge of other countries and cultures.

Upper secondary education
The increased opportunities for study visits abroad should be exploited at general upper secondary level. More programme funding, relatively speaking, has been set aside for this level than the basic school sector, and greater importance is attached to trips abroad and intercultural understanding. In addition to this, language skills are supported by trips abroad. Nordplus Junior and Comenius cover general upper secondary education as well as the basic school sector, including Higher Preparatory Examination programmes and vocational programmes at upper secondary level (Higher Commercial Examination and Higher Technical Examination).

Vocational education and training and labour market programmes
For vocationally oriented programmes the focus will be on increased work experience abroad, credit transfer and mutual recognition of professional qualifications. The number of vocational school pupils on exchanges currently stands at around 400 a year, to which can be added around 1,000 on work experience abroad (PIU). These numbers can be increased considerably through educational and vocational guidance and increased utilisation of the Leonardo Programme.

In 2000 Denmark and the USA signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” on vocationally oriented programmes. The decision was taken in September 2003 to extend the agreement, which covers, among other things, study visits by heads and teachers to the USA, college stays for students on metalwork-related vocational programmes and work experience for students enrolled on short-cycle programmes of higher education of a commercial nature. In the area of IT the objective is to create a basis for the mutual recognition of IT qualifications across the Atlantic. New areas of cooperation will include methods for assessing and accrediting IT skills, including skills acquired outside the formal education system.

Adult education and adult liberal education
For adult education centres concerned with general adult education, language centres and special education for adults, international cooperation has made rapid strides only in recent years with the support of the EU's Grundtvig Programme. Colleges can take up to 49 per cent foreign pupils with a taximeter contribution. Several colleges also include a study visit abroad as part of a Danish programme.

Higher education and research programmes
From a slow start with relatively few participants, the number of Danish students on exchanges in other European countries has risen steadily (see appendix 5). But there is still a need to enhance mobility in higher education, and the Danish share of projects and student mobility should be increased. Research skills are in increasing demand on the global market. Dynamism and mobility among researchers and PhD students is necessary if skills and knowledge are to be available where and when they are needed. Denmark must continue to help meet the increasing demand. The number of PhD students rose during the 1990s, but growth in the number of PhDs acquired has been higher in Sweden and Finland, for example.

There are well-developed cooperation relations with the USA at institution level. This secures places for Danish students at universities where it would otherwise be difficult for them to gain admission.

2.3 The use of IT as an internationalisation tool must be enhanced

Motivation
IT is playing a central role in the globalisation process. The Government will ensure that IT is integrated into teaching so that pupils, students and teachers learn how to use state-of-the-art communications technology, which is a vital prerequisite for getting on in an international world. Investments in IT should help to secure a place for the Danish education system in the technological world elite.

IT should have a special place in the education system. The technology should be integrated into subjects at every stage and utilised at every level where it is relevant. Increased use of IT in the education system can contribute to increased professionalism and quality. Pupils must learn to exploit IT in specialist contexts as early as the primary and lower secondary education level. Knowledge and mastery of IT as a daily tool will give children and young people the best qualifications for getting on in working life and as a member of society in the future.

There is also an increasing amount of trade in education over the Internet. Denmark is only thinly represented on this market, so this area is a large, unused and potentially lucrative sphere of activity for educational institutions. The development opportunities are not just financial; involvement in competition will also contribute automatically to institutions' own skills development. Efforts must be made to ensure that we can continue to keep up with development.

Action

• With a view to further integration of IT in primary and lower secondary education, the Government has set aside DKK 495 million for the purchase of computers, supplementary training for teachers and the development of new methods and materials.
• The Government will work to ensure that Denmark takes active part in and gains the greatest possible benefit from the EU's e-learning programme.
• The Government will work to ensure that Denmark plays an active role in the European SchoolNet (EUN) and ICT League cooperation organisations.
• The Government will investigate the possibilities for establishing an electronic teaching and education platform.
• The Government will encourage educational institutions to involve themselves either individually or in consortia in the market for electronic education services.

Status
There have been several initiatives – both central and local – in past years, ensuring a good position for Denmark in the global IT landscape. An ICT league consisting of Canada, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries was set up in 1999, for example. The background to the cooperation is that this group of countries leads the way when it comes to integrating IT in education. The organisation shares knowledge of new development trends, and there is cooperation on concrete development projects on a bilateral or multilateral basis. The development possibilities are far from exhausted, however.

Cross sectoral initiatives
The Government will work to ensure that IT is used to increase the opportunities for Danish children to receive tuition in Danish even when they are abroad. The Government will investigate the possibilities for opening an electronic education and teaching platform. The platform will be intended to ensure access to teaching materials and information on the Danish education system. This will mean that it will be easier for Danish children and young people abroad to receive tuition in Danish, and generally easier for Danes abroad to stay in contact with the Danish education system.

Basic school
IT should be integrated into teaching at primary and lower secondary education level so as to prepare pupils for success in an international world. The Government has set aside DKK 495 million over 4 years (2004-2007) for “IT i Folkeskolen” (IT at primary and lower secondary education level). The money is to be used partly to buy new computers and partly to develop new forms of teaching and teaching materials.

Higher education
The educational institutions will be encouraged to become involved in the growing market for electronic education services. The EU's e-learning programme will offer new and improved opportunities for institutions to take part in development in this field in the area of higher education too.

2.4 Opportunities for institutions to cooperate and compete internationally must be increased

Motivation
From a global perspective there is a growing need for highly educated people with international skills, which makes mobility among students and employees of vital importance. Many people are already studying outside their home country, and the number is expected to rise in the coming years.

To fulfil the growing need for study places for those students choosing to study outside their own country, it can be shown that, alongside a national public education system, education services on the international education market are increasingly being offered, resulting in greater competition and commercialisation.

In many countries, the provision of privately paid-for education is increasing, contributing to greater competition and consequently higher expectations regarding the quality of the programmes on offer. The Danish education system should be equipped to participate in this development, as the increased international relations will enhance the quality of Danish programmes. This will benefit Danish students as well as attracting increasing numbers of foreign students.

Similarly, there has been an increase in the number of calls for tenders to carry out international analyses and comparisons issued by international cooperation forums⁵. Danish universities and institutions should, either individually or as partners in international consortia, secure their share of such tasks – not just for financial reasons, but also to allow them to participate in the skills development associated with the delivery of complex reviews with high knowledge content.

Action

• The Government will discontinue taximeter contributions for students from countries outside the EU/EEC and establish a payment scheme (tuition fees) for such students.
• The government will, at the same time, establish a grant scheme targeting highly qualified students from third countries within Danish priority areas (e.g. high-technology areas, including natural sciences).
• The Government will establish a grant scheme in the university sector when the current cultural agreement programmes are restructured.
• The Government will work to extend university cooperation outside Europe, focusing on countries such as Canada.
• The Government will take the initiative to implement a professional marketing campaign for Danish programmes.
• The Government will, in collaboration with Rektorkollegiet (the Danish Rectors' Conference), investigate the possibilities of using the new supplementary and further training portal (http://www.unev.dk/) for marketing Danish higher education programmes.
• The Government will support participation by Danish institutions in international cooperation programmes relating to innovation and methodology development.
• The Government will create increased flexibility in the administration of the international education programmes to ensure that Danish activities derive the best possible benefit from the programme resources.

Status
Since the beginning of the 1980s, Danish educational institutions have been in a position to sell specially organised programmes on the international market. Examples of such programmes include a range of short and medium-cycle programmes as well as masters programmes in English. These activities are offered as commercial services, where students' fees cover all the costs and the programmes receive no public financial support.

At the same time, there are also foreign students participating in ordinary programmes where these are offered in English to both Danish and foreign students. These foreign students can redeem a full taximeter contribution, just like their Danish counterparts. It must be stressed that the content and overall aim of the ordinary programmes does not change to reflect the relative number of foreign students. In the university sector, students from countries outside the EU/EEC represent around one per cent of those studying on ordinary programmes. On short and medium-cycle ordinary programmes, there have been a large number of students from countries outside the EU/EEC. In the summer of 2003, this led to the Ministry of Education introducing a quota scheme for the uptake of foreign students from countries outside the EU/EEC for short and medium-cycle higher education programmes. No quota scheme was introduced in the university sector.

The aim of the quota scheme was to limit taximeter costs following the ascertainment that a fairly small number of programmes were experiencing a significant predominance of foreign students. The level of the quota, set at 15 per cent foreign students from countries outside the EU/EEC per programme, was determined by analysing the numbers of such foreign students on short and medium-cycle higher education programmes. The number of programmes affected by the quota scheme is limited, but the total number of foreign students from countries outside the EU/EEC at the time of analysis was in the order of just under 1000 students, and this number was expected to rise. The scheme will be in temporary effect up to and including the winter 2004/2005 uptake.

In many other European countries, a debate is taking place on payments for students from countries outside the EU/EEC, including several of our neighbouring countries such as Sweden and Germany. Many countries are already demanding tuition fees from national students and therefore also from foreign students. These countries are highly attractive to foreign students, partly because payment of fees is associated with higher quality of programmes.

Cross sectoral initiatives

Increased emphasis on programmes subject to market terms for students from countries outside the EU/EEC
The Danish education system should be guaranteed the necessary means to participate in competition on the international education market on commercial terms. For this reason, the Government is proposing a proactive internationalisation measure, namely the introduction of a payment scheme.

In order to mitigate demand and achieve a balance between the desire to attract more foreign students and the desire to control the additional expenditure that this entails, taximeter contributions for students from countries outside the EU/EEC will be discontinued. At the same time, institutions will be permitted to charge these students fees.

Overview of tuition fee policies in selected European countries:

The Government's proposal to discontinue the taximeter system and introduce participants' fees will affect students who do not have the right to equality of treatment with Danish citizens according to EU law (including the EEC agreement), etc. Such students are referred to as “students from countries outside the EU/EEC”. As a new measure, participants' fees must be available as an option for individual students accepted under general admission terms and conditions for ordinary programmes, where the basis for their stay is education. Therefore the payment scheme does not cover people who are already staying legally in Denmark for reasons other than education.

The introduction of a payment scheme will not affect Denmark's position in the current World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations on trade in services. In this matter, Denmark shares the position of the other EU member states,
i.e. that publicly managed education is a public service area that is not covered by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

From 2005 the payment scheme will replace the existing previously mentioned quota scheme, as this is incompatible with the desire for increased mobility. In the university sector, which is not currently subject to quotas, there will be a gradual phasing-in of the payment scheme until 2008.

It should be noted that the proposal does not contain changes to conditions for foreign students in higher education programmes who are participating in shorter exchange visits. There will therefore still be a need to utilise and strengthen the use of the existing exchange programmes and agreements, in which students “swap” study places with each other for short periods. The number of foreign students on exchange visits to Denmark is far greater than the number affected by the current quota scheme and the upcoming payment scheme.

Establishing a grant scheme.
The introduction of the payment scheme (tuition fees) and the discontinuation of the taximeter grant will happen concurrently with the establishment of a grant scheme that, subject to greater restrictions, will be targeted at highly qualified students from countries outside the EU/EEC. The grants are to finance tuition fees through the allocation of spare places and contribute towards living costs.

Together these three changes will form the basis of a proactive and expansively targeted education policy. The Government has plans to establish a grant scheme in the university sector when the current cultural agreement programmes are restructured.

The scheme will mean that in future the state will make the following financial framework available to students within higher education programmes in Denmark:

• Danish students can study for free and at the same time receive a study grant.
• Students from EU/EEC countries can study for free, but as a rule cannot obtain a study grant.
• Highly qualified students from countries outside the EU/EEC can study for free through allocation of spare places and receive a grant for living costs at least equivalent to the Danish study grant level. The selection of these students will follow criteria that will be specified in more detail.
• Other students from countries outside the EU/EEC must finance themselves, both in terms of tuition fees and living costs.
• Students from developing countries may receive a grant to cover living costs from the Danida Scholarship programme, which allocates around DKK 40 million annually, as education is regarded as a key element in the fight against poverty and a precondition for sustainable growth. Therefore the aim of Danida's programme is different from that of the proposed grant scheme.
• Moreover, highly qualified students from countries outside the EU can receive grants (1600 euros a month) to cover tuition fees etc. for transnational postgraduate and masters programmes through a new EU grant programme entitled “Erasmus Mundus”. A total of DKK 230 million has been allocated for this purpose in the period 2004-2007.

The grants are offered to highly qualified students from prioritised countries studying on prioritised programmes. Every four years or so a list is drawn up of the prioritised programmes eligible for grant funding. The scheme will not affect grant activities operated by Danida, which treats education as a key element in the fight against poverty and a precondition for sustainable growth; cf. the Government plan “En verden til forskel” (A World of Difference) of June 2003.

Before the European mobility programmes were established, student mobility was assured by means of reciprocal exchanges governed by cultural agreements between Denmark and European and other countries. The Government will integrate these agreements into a single grant programme for highly qualified foreign university students. Other countries have undertaken similar restructuring.

Marketing Danish higher education programmes abroad.
For Denmark to be successful on the international education market, its profile must be raised through marketing campaigns.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation will take the initiative to launch a pilot project to provide coordinated marketing of Danish programmes, from short-cycle higher education programmes to university programmes. Marketing can help to ensure that Danish educational institutions stand out as quality providers for foreign students as well as attractive cooperation partners for foreign institutions, both in relation to higher education programmes and research. As a significant element in the marketing campaign, it will be clarified whether collaboration can be established with the universities' portal for adult and continuing education. It will also be investigated whether a portal can be established according to the Swedish model, which allows foreign students to obtain specialist and practical information about studying in Sweden.

Steps must be taken to identify which parts of the education system are relevant to include in an international profile and consider which countries and segments of the population should be targeted by the marketing campaign in order to attract the type of students and offer the type of programmes that have the most useful effect. Steps must also be taken to identify which other Danish interested parties could contribute. The inclusion of other interested parties should also contribute to the solution of any necessary follow-up tasks.

Support participation by Danish institutions in international cooperation programmes relating to innovation and methodology development.

The Government will support participation by Danish institutions in European development projects. Support will be given in the form of analyses of the relevance of projects in relation to the European political agenda for education or in the form of advice for schools and institutions whose experience of participation in transnational partnerships is either non-existent or limited in scope. In this way, schools and institutions will receive help in developing mature projects, thus reducing the risk of rejection or poor returns from projects undertaken. It is equally possible, through greater flexibility in planning and budgeting, to ensure that programme resources set aside for Danish activities are fully utilised.

2.5 Danish involvement in international cooperation forums for education, including international comparisons of education systems, must be enhanced.

Motivation
Education is no longer a purely national matter, but also a common concern for Europe. This is expressed in the Bologna Process for higher education programmes, in the Copenhagen Process for vocational education and training, and in the efforts to turn Europe into the most dynamic knowledge-based economy by 2010 that were instigated at the European Council meeting in Lisbon in March 2000. This target also implies that cooperation outside of Europe, not least with North America, Australia and Asia, must be extended.

Denmark's political interests in education are being furthered in several international forums, namely the EU, the OECD, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council of Ministers, as well as in bilateral cooperation. The work in these forums is intended to create a common understanding of the issues of education policy, to formulate common rules for transfer of credit and mutual recognition of programmes, and to collaborate on quality development.

We must ensure that the Danish education system is able to measure up to the best in the world, so Denmark must participate in education system comparisons, assessments and surveys developed and implemented by the OECD.

It is a prerequisite that the results are utilised in developing Danish education policy and in the development of methods and education theory and practice at school and institutional level.

Action

• The Government will ensure that Denmark continues to play an active role in international comparisons, surveys and qualitative assessments of the education system.
• The Government will ensure that Denmark continues to play an active role in the expert groups supporting the work on the Objective Report within the European Commission's framework. Recommendations will be formulated and benchmarks defined.
• The Government will ensure that Denmark continues to make an active contribution towards the implementation of the objectives of the Copenhagen and Bologna Declarations, including: – continued development and extended utilisation of the qualification key for higher education programmes; – follow-up of the recommendations on the establishment of
• “joint” and “double degrees”; – enhancement and further development of quality assurance in the field of education; – enhancement of mobility and mutual recognition, including the recognition of practical skills.
• The Government will take the initiative to establish cooperation agreements to further the possibilities for establishing research cooperation with governments, businesses, universities and research institutions outside Europe.
• The Government will initialise pilot projects in which two or three universities form a network with a university outside Europe.
• The Government will consider the possibilities for modernising the Danish marking scale.

Status
Some of the formal barriers for transfer of credit, mutual recognition of exams and transparency are being removed by implementing the principles of the Lisbon convention (see appendix 4). The Bologna Declaration (see appendix 1), the Copenhagen Declaration (see appendix 2) and the EU's Objective Report (see appendix 3) are of importance for the Danish internationalisation process, especially at the central level. Denmark is participating in a range of activities initiated by the OECD, e.g. PISA, and reviews, e.g. the evaluation of universities and the current OECD review entitled “Pilot Review to Examine Quality and Equity of School Outcomes”. It should also be mentioned that Denmark has a leading role in cooperation between Asian and European countries (ASEM) in lifelong learning, working on a project basis to develop a common system of concepts and create partnerships.

In follow-up to the EU's Objective Report, Denmark is actively striving to turn Europe into the most dynamic region in the knowledge-based economy. This involves long-term work up to the year 2010, by which the objective report's aims should be achieved. There are three main aims:

These main aims are specified in 13 subsidiary aims. There are nine expert groups with Danish participation. The groups are working on formulating initiatives and defining indicators. In spring 2004, the EU's Council of Ministers and the Commission delivered a mid term report to the European Council on the results achieved.

Cross sectoral initiatives
Denmark must play an active role in formulating measures such as the OECD's education policy working programme and participate in the development of a system of concepts for individual surveys/analyses, and Danish universities and institutions must participate in finding solutions to the tasks. Denmark must also participate in relevant qualitative assessments that can highlight the correlations between the practices of the education system and the results achieved.

The Government will consider the possibilities for modernising the Danish marking scale, partly in the light of international experience and with a view to improving international comparability. At present, a commission has been set up with the intention of discovering problems and making proposals for changes. Its considerations will form part of the work with a common discussion paper on the modernisation of tests, exams and marking schemes, which the government has initiated against the background of the supplementary government platform.

Basic schools
Denmark is also participating in the upcoming PISA surveys. In December 2004, the results of the maths survey from 2003 will be published, and in 2006 PISA will focus on natural sciences. A plan will be established to ascertain how the survey result can be utilised at school level.

Vocational education and training
There is a continued need for major action in relation to the follow-up on the Copenhagen Declaration of November 2002, in which European ministers agreed, under the Danish EU presidency, to enhance their cooperation on vocational training. In the next few years this will make it easier for students to take part of their training abroad and obtain recognition of their training on the European labour market. This cooperation includes:

Higher education and research
With the Bologna Declaration of June 1999 and the subsequent communiqués of the ministerial meetings in Prague in 2001 and Berlin in 2003, a total of 40 European countries have committed themselves to establishing the European Higher Education Area, which should be fully implemented by 2010. The Declaration has the overriding aim, in consideration of the common democratic system of values and fully respecting the differences in culture, language and national education systems, of promoting:

Denmark will make a particular contribution to quality assurance, the development of joint European programmes as well as “joint” and “double degrees”, and the further development of the qualification key for higher education programmes.

2.6 Internationalisation initiatives must be followed up and assessed

With this report, the Government brings into focus the internationalisation of programmes and setting out a strategy for future work. The Government will ensure that the strategy is realised and that the necessary steps are taken in this regard. Work connected with the administration of and information on Denmark's participation in international education programmes and the assessment of foreign programmes must be further enhanced. This will be achieved by gathering all problem solving activities into a new and effective national/international education administration by merging Cirius and CVUU (see page 9). The Government will also follow international developments with a view to taking further necessary initiatives. As part of the implementation of the Government's strategy, the Ministry of Education will be allocated a framework of DKK 15 million for use in special initiatives. There does not appear to be any further need for major readjustments, as a well-developed legal, professional, curricular and financial basis for the internationalisation of education already exists:

• The Government will take the initiative to develop methods for following up and discussing the longterm effects of internationalisation. For example, the Government will improve the statistics to make it easier to highlight internationalisation, including mobility. In the long term, it will be possible to establish concrete quantitative targets for internationalisation.
• The government will ensure that the work on internationalisation forms part of both national and international quality assessments, and by summer 2007 at the latest, an assessment of the internationalisation work across the entire education sector will be carried out in order to provide a basis for further work. For example, external assessments can be carried out, as EVA has just done in the primary and lower secondary education sector and the OECD in the university sector.
• A national/international education administration will be established when Cirius, CVUU, etc. are merged. The administration will contribute to the enhancement of internationalisation in programmes in general.
• As part of the implementation of the Government's strategy, a framework of DKK 15 million over and above the grant schemes and IT resources will be allocated for use in special initiatives.

Fodnoter

3 European Credit Transfer System

4 Language policy report, Danish Ministry of Culture, 2003, p 3

5 Fx PISA-undersøgelsen eller ALL (adult literacy lifeskills survey).

This page is included in the publication "Enhanced Internationalisation of Danish Education and Training" as chapter 2 of 3
© The Ministry of Education 2004