Ict curricula Guidelines (2nd draft)

6. The European Higher Education System for the 21st Century

6.1 European State of the Art: Diversity of National Systems

In Europe the national educational systems are, in a special way, the expression of the cultural identity of each individual country. Despite many common roots, this has lead to pronounced structural differences.
Reflecting national needs and attitudes the first major difference can be seen at secondary school level. From country to country there are different types of schools, with a different emphasis on content, different pedagogical approaches embodying different standards, cultural norms and duration of education. Similar differences can be found in university education at tertiary level: different types of universities with their own educational profiles, different levels of theory and practice in education, different academic values for their degrees, different titles and again different lengths of study. Two main education systems have evolved in Europe:
● The "Continental System" based on two types of university program,
- the "Long Education Program" (normally 5 years, more theoretically oriented)

- the "Short Education Program" (normally 3-4 years, more application oriented).

● The "Anglo-American System" based on two consecutive cycles of university programs,

- the "Undergraduate Program" (normally 3-4 years with Bachelors' degree)

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  the "Graduate Program" (normally 1-2 years with "Masters' degree).
  

For a long time the systems had a low degree of compatibility. The result was a rather restricted mobility of students and graduates between the two systems.
In this age of globalisation, international university education is needed. An open, global society needs an open and flowing exchange between regions, and industry increasingly needs employees with an international orientation, foreign language skills and ties to diverse cultures. To meet these demands, students should have more opportunities to complete a phase of their studies abroad in order to gain experience of other cultures. Typically, knowledge of other cultures and peoples is acquired when learning foreign languages. Globally, the ICT industry works in English.