GLOBED Master on Education Policies for Global Development

GLOBED Master on Education Policies for Global Development Progress Report Public Part 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI

Project information Project acronym: Project title: Project number: Sub-programme or KA: Project website: GLOBED Master on Education Policies for Global Development 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI Lifelong Learning Program (LLP) www.globed.eu Reporting period: From 01-10-12 To 30-09-13 Report version: 1 Date of preparation: 29/10/2013 Beneficiary organisation: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Project coordinator: Dr. Xavier Bonal Project coordinator organisation: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Project coordinator telephone number: 0034935814654 Project coordinator email address: Xavier.bonal@uab.cat This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 2008 Copyright Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency. The document may be freely copied and distributed provided that no modifications are made, that the source is acknowledged and that this copyright notice is included. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 2 / 17

Executive Summary GLOBED is a project that aims to set up a Masters on Education Policies for Global Development. The project is being developed by a consortium of five European Universities. The consortium includes the Globalisation, Education and Social Policies research group of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, as the coordinating institution, the Euro Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research (EMCER) from the University of Malta, the IS Academie Education and International Development from the University of Amsterdam, the Department of Educational Research from the University of Oslo and the Faculty of Philosophy from the University of Sarajevo. Experts from these five institutions have sound experience in the field of education and international development, both from a research and teaching perspective, and by developing consultancy work. Interestingly, the five partners count with expertise in different regions of the world (Africa, East Asia, MENA countries, Latin America), a strength that offers many possibilities for future students aiming to work in different countries and regions. GLOBED is also an interdisciplinary group that brings together approaches from sociology, international development studies, educational sciences, anthropology or economics. This interdisciplinary approach is a clear asset in order to respond to the current complexities and challenges of education policies in a global context. The GLOBED Consortium is working to design a European Master (that is, a Master programme with a joint degree) that aims to become a world reference in the field of education policy and international development. The new Masters will train specialized researchers, consultants and education experts that aim at developing a professional career in the context of international organizations, ministries of education, international NGOs, aid agencies or the academia. GLOBED will have a wide range of associate partners on board, including key international stakeholders in the education for development field, that, among other things, will offer the opportunity to our students to develop internships in the institutions they represent. GLOBED foresees to start as a European Masters in September 2015. Thus, GLOBED aims to respond to the following challenges: To give response to an increasing need of well-prepared professionals in the area of education and international development. To develop an integrated rather than a compartmentalized European approach within the education for development field by identifying the main challenges that education systems face in a globalised economy. To become a central Master of education policy for development globally that is able to respond to the current education challenges of all world regions from an interdisciplinary perspective. To establish solid links with different organisations in the field, which will be associate partners of GLOBED. During the first year of the project, the GLOBED consortium has developed many activities to achieve these goals. Four 2-3 days meetings have taken place, where we have discussed aspects like curriculum development, strategies to attract associate partners on board, 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 3 / 17

communication and dissemination strategies for GLOBED, the necessary administrative and institutional arrangements, processes of Masters accreditation or quality assurance mechanisms. From a pedagogical perspective, GLOBED is advancing a clearly innovative approach. A strong emphasis in professional competencies is given in the programme to ensure that GLOBED will offer the necessary skills needed in the field. GLOBED lecturers will develop teaching strategies with a strong focus on those competencies required to develop professional work in this field. These competencies, aligned with those recognized by the EHEA, will be developed in a transversal form in different teaching and learning strategies previously planned. A special focus will be given to the development of communication skills, collaborative work and critical thinking. Skills development will have a key role in the structuring of teaching and learning strategies. A special emphasis in research and academic skills will be given for those students aiming to develop a future PhD thesis in the field. Competencies for developing analytical capacities, and writing skills will be provided. During the first year of development of GLOBED, several outputs have been achieved: A solid network structure and team-work methodology A rigorous curriculum development rationale A clear definition of GLOBED itineraries and academic tracks The creation of instruments for the dissemination of GLOBED (Website, Newsletters, twitter, promotional video) The definition of admission and selection criteria for enrolling in GLOBED A clear strategy to get accreditation processes of GLOBED in National evaluation agencies by the next academic course. Basic ideas about models of lecturers and student mobility within the Masters The testing of teaching content and methods in the pilot First GLOBED Summer School. Informal contacts with associate partners and plan for reaching specific agreements in the project s second year. Models of internal and external evaluation mechanisms for quality assurance. All these goals have been partially or fully achieved. The Consortium has found significant difficulties to achieve some of them due to institutional constraints that may have implications in the GLOBED final design. Nevertheless, the clear motivation and involvement of all partners have made possible to overcome most obstacles and to achieve the expected results. In the second year of the GLOBED project, the Consortium has significant tasks to do to complete the work plan and to bring the GLOBED Master to reality by September 2015. Main remaining tasks are: Produce a complete document on GLOBED curriculum, including all courses and programmes, a complete fieldwork guide, a scientific portfolio for the Masters secondyear (including thesis characteristics, academic article, policy-oriented report, etc.). This 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 4 / 17

document will be uploaded to the website and distributed to all associate partners (and other interested agencies) to inform about GLOBED s rationale, content, competencies and working programmes. Consolidate the GLOBED Summer School as an intensive week that will be a regular part of the academic GLOBED offer. External lecturers will be invited if supplementary funding is available. Update and complete the GLOBED website, by uploading new key documents, resources for students, and disseminating the content of the GLOBED programme. Continue producing and disseminating the Quarterly GLOBED Newsletter with the contribution of all the partners. Complete a document containing main guidelines regarding admission and selection criteria within the Masters. Consolidate the accreditation process in each national institution during the current academic year. Prepare a detailed mobility plan, including practical facilities for students staying in different countries and institutions. Prepare a complete marketing plan to disseminate GLOBED programme to potential students and to organisations interested in the project. Prepare an application to the new Erasmus + programme, in the context of the EU Horizon 2020 new framework. Prepare a complete protocol on forms of collaboration with associate partners. Complete the internal and external quality mechanisms assurance system by writing specific guidelines and by ensuring the participation of external evaluators in the last GLOBED meeting (Barcelona, September 2014). Actively look for supplementary sources of funding to ensure GLOBED implementation in the near future. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 5 / 17

Table of Contents 1. PROJECT OBJECTIVES... 7 2. PROJECT APPROACH... 9 3. PROJECT OUTCOMES & RESULTS... 11 4. PARTNERSHIPS... 14 5. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE... 16 6. CONTRIBUTION TO EU POLICIES... 17 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 6 / 17

1. Project Objectives GLOBED aims to develop a Masters joint programme in Education Policy for Global Development. The general objectives of GLOBED are: To give response to the increasing need of well-prepared professionals in the area of education for development research and in the area of international cooperation and intervention projects in education policy in developing countries. To develop an integrated (rather than a compartmentalized) European approach within the education for development field by identifying the main challenges that education systems face in a globalised economy. To become a central Master of education policy for development globally that is able to respond to the current education challenges of all world regions from an interdisciplinary perspective, and that attracts talent from all around the world. To establish solid links with different organisations in the field, which will be associate partners of GLOBED: International Organisation, Aid Agencies, Civil Society Organisations or Research centres and consultancies. To foster the use of ICT, as both a learning subject in itself and as an approach to support the learning process of Master students. Moreover, GLOBED aims to facilitate student mobility among European Universities and among other associate partners, to ensure the development of international and interdisciplinary approaches by including intensive courses in partners institutions with the participation of different members of the network, to implement quality assessment mechanisms according to the European standards and guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and to acquire the necessary resources to ensure the sustainability of the future Masters. The target groups of GLOBED include the participant institutions, the students and the key stakeholders in the field of education for development. The participant institutions are involved in the everyday preparation of the GLOBED Masters by holding regular meetings and carrying out different tasks in between those meetings. Participant institutions include academic staff and technical staff. Academic staff works on the scientific and organisational aspects of the programme (curriculum development, sustainability plan, links with associate partners, mobility plan, quality assurance mechanisms, etc.). Apart from the academic staff, technical staff of each university is included to give support in all the administrative aspects of the Master. The five participant institutions are constructing solid links and ensuring that a European perspective prevails in the GLOBED programme. A second clear group of beneficiaries of GLOBED is made by students. GLOBED is addressed to different student profiles that aim to work in the field of education and international development from either developing academic research or working as consultants or practitioners in the field. Prospective students are estimated by considering the students at graduate level of the participating universities and those professionals from 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 7 / 17

Education Departments from low and middle-income countries or staff from Aid agencies or international organisations. The development of a Summer School in Amsterdam in June 2013 demonstrates that GLOBED is a highly valued programme and an interesting opportunity for future professionals. Finally, GLOBED collaborates with a number of associate partners. The list of partners covers different types of organizations, including European aid agencies, international organizations, international NGOs and Southern universities. The consortium has already established a number of contacts with associate partners to involve them in the project. Associate partners will intervene in defining the type of competencies and skills needed in the field of education and international development. They will collaborate with GLOBED by providing scholarships, teaching in the programme or facilitating internships to students. The stakeholders will benefit from well-trained interns, building international networks with university actors, knowledge transfer and strengthening their research initiatives and programmes. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 8 / 17

2. Project Approach To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, GLOBED uses an integrative approach defined by the following characteristics: A strong project management structure, with leading institutions for each work package and the inclusion of one representative of administrative staff from each University. A constant communication system among partners, with intensive use of shared folder systems and team-work software, working groups for different work packages and online meetings. A careful study and design of possible Masters itineraries of specialisation and their corresponding requisites. The study and design of flexible forms of offering academic courses, including the design of some intensive weeks. The development of a website including all necessary programme information and supplementary resources for Master students. www.globed.eu The development of a Quarterly GLOBED Newsletter to inform about important news and events in the field of education and international development. The use of a GLOBED twitter to inform about news in the field and to share relevant information about the GLOBED project. The production of a promotional video to disseminate GLOBED programme. Methods for recognising the needs in the field, including a Call for Expression of interest to potential associate partners. Developing a complete Business Plan to ensure the financial sustainability of the Masters. This includes the search for funds to support teaching and student mobility and the funding to facilitate students fieldwork and institutional internships. Preparing an Erasmus + proposal during the second year of the project. Establishing the systems of quality assurance, including both internal and external quality procedures and quality assessment mechanisms. This approach brings a clear added value in terms of its European focus, its interdisciplinary orientation, the use of ICT as a central tool for communication and dissemination of GLOBED. Dedicating many efforts to define a curriculum useful for both students and associate partners ensures that all mentioned aspects are met. A strong emphasis in professional competencies is given in the programme to ensure that GLOBED will offer the necessary skills needed in the field. GLOBED lecturers will develop teaching strategies with a strong focus on those competencies required to develop professional work in this field. The need to cover a wide range of professional competencies implies the use of a variety of teaching methods and strategies. These competencies, aligned with those recognized by the EHEA, will be developed in a transversal form in different teaching and learning strategies previously planned. A special focus will be given to the development of communication skills, collaborative work and critical thinking. Skills development will have a key role in the structuring of teaching and learning strategies. A special emphasis in research and academic skills will be given for those students aiming to develop a future PhD thesis in 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 9 / 17

the field. Competencies for developing analytical capacities, and writing skills will be provided. GLOBED also brings a new pedagogical spirit in the teaching field, with a strong orientation towards student participation and intervention in their training itineraries and professional experiences. This convivial and collaborative spirit will be fostered and encouraged in a number of ways, including: non-hierarchical relations; strong student representation on the governing boards of the course; opportunities for joint teaching; a large number of core courses that bring all the student group together for sufficiently long periods of time to ensure deeper interaction, while allowing specialization through a smaller number of electives; promoting academic apprenticeship through such initiatives as joint publications and other forms of research dissemination between staff and students. GLOBED is constantly assessing its progress against the work programme. To test content and teaching methods that are being designed GLOBED organised the First GLOBED Summer School in Amsterdam in June 2013. Students feedback was very positive but also valuable in terms of suggestions for improvement. The Summer school also served as a scenario to share and observe different teaching strategies among partners and to enhance mutual learning. Internal and external evaluation mechanisms were ensured during the development of the summer school, including the participation of an external evaluator that provided feedback to all the lecturers. GLOBED has disseminated its work through the project website, twitter and the newsletter. GLOBED members have also developed networking activities in academic and professional conferences in the field, like the Comparative International Education Society (CIES) Conference or the UK Forum for International Education and Training (UKFIET). The second year of GLOBED project will be significantly more active in terms of project dissemination to different stakeholders. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 10 / 17

3. Project Outcomes & Results During the first year of the GLOBED project several outcomes have been already achieved. These outcomes are closely related to the above-mentioned objectives, although, as in any other project, there are some tasks that have been redefined during the work in progress. In this section we refer to the achieved objectives and their observable or foreseen impact. When necessary, we provide reasons for justifying those objectives that have not been achieved yet and have been postponed for the second year of the project. 1. A solid network structure and team-work methodology By holding regular meetings, sharing professional experiences in conferences and teaching together, GLOBED partners are developing not only a Masters project but also a solid academic network. Partners are sharing distance teaching for their courses in their graduate and postgraduate courses. Some of them have also been present in other partners universities to teach. Moreover, the Summer School in Amsterdam has provided an excellent space for sharing teaching methods and experiences. Partners are therefore really involved in the project and putting effort in transforming GLOBED into a real European Masters in the short term. Regarding the project management, GLOBED uses a centralised management system that facilitates that partners can mostly concentrate in the scientific aspects of the project. Administrative staff from each university is providing good support to share and implement a common accreditation strategy on the basis of the different institutional procedures. They participate in some of the meetings, as it was foreseen in the application, and share GLOBED objectives with the academic staff and administrators in their respective academic administrators. The administrative staff has strategically supported GLOBED partners in key decisions by making them aware about what is feasible and what is not considering national and institutional regulations. 2. A strong curriculum rationale Partners have dedicated a substantial effort in sharing the curriculum rationale and designing a Masters that is not the simply result of the addition of each partner experience. Many hours have been dedicated to discuss what is new and what is needed in the field of education and international development in order to construct a useful and meaningful curriculum programme. GLOBED partners have invested time in building a common perspective on the type of curriculum and the type of competencies that will characterise the new Masters programme. A document with the main GLOBED principles has been produced 3. GLOBED itineraries and academic tracks GLOBED partners have defined the academic/thematic itineraries that are feasible within the Masters. These itineraries have taken into consideration several principles: - To ensure that students share a common and basic knowledge and competencies 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 11 / 17

- To design itineraries according to the minimum requirements defined by the EHEA for accrediting a joint Masters. - To design itineraries which are consistent with different regional and disciplinary specialisations of each partner institution. - To design a comprehensive curriculum useful for both future researchers and future practitioners. - To ensure that all modules and courses are developed following the norms and procedures of the Bologna Process. - To ensure that students are able to met together in different occasions and are able to share experiences within the GLOBED network. - To facilitate teaching mobility exchange during the Masters. - To maintain an annual Summer School as an intensive week that ensures working together and preparing the students for the second year Masters. - To include a fieldwork guide for the Masters second year, both for those following the research track and for those opting for a professional internship in a partner institution. - To involve associate partners in several activities, such as lectures, tutoring internships and professional advice. Most of these characteristics have been met in a high percentage in the curriculum design process, although not all of them are still reflected in a complete programme. Some pending tasks are the definition of the fieldwork guide and the definition of associate partners involvement, which will be developed in the second year. 4. Website, newsletter and twitter GLOBED has clearly bet for developing an internet-based communication and dissemination system. A project website has been developed (www.gloebd.eu), which currently contains information regarding the last summer school in Amsterdam and the main information regarding Why GLOBED and What s GLOBED. In a very short period we foresee to upload the first complete curriculum document into the website and other information regarding the accreditation progress of GLOBED. GLOBED consortium has also produced three quarterly newsletters up to know (http://www.globed.eu/newsletter.html). Each newsletter includes and Editorial reflecting on current trends in the education and international development field, news about important events or meetings, new relevant publications and forthcoming key conferences in the field. Finally, we use GLOBED twitter to be aware and contribute to key debates in the education and development field. 5. Admission and selection criteria for accessing to GLOBED Masters The consortium has collected information about specific requirements that have to be met in order to ensure postgraduate/masters access to national institutions and that will have consequences on GLOBED admission and selection criteria. A specific working group has worked on this matter, and is gathering data from each institution that is combined with specific admission and selection criteria that GLOBED will aim to address specifically. The same working group is designing conditions for accessing to possible scholarships within GLOBED if, as we hope, GLOBED is able to offer some scholarships for students. The meeting hold in Barcelona in October 2013 has almost made possible to reach an agreement 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 12 / 17

of admission and selection criteria. A document will be produced in the following weeks and submitted to the approval of all partners and all partners institutions. 6. Mobility plan for lecturers and students In the application for getting GLOBED project approved, the mobility structure and actions were foreseen to a clearly too early stage. Partners have realised that we needed first to have much more clear the curriculum structure and itineraries before we could address the issue of a complete mobility plan and facilities for students and lecturers. The last meeting in Barcelona this month has established the basis for developing a complete mobility plan. GLOBED will design a mobility plan which will include both teaching and student mobility, and will look for facilities for accommodation in each institution. A plan for using teaching mobility exchange resources will be developed to make possible that several lecturers participate in different modules. 7. Masters promotion and contacts with associate partners The Masters promotion and the contacts with associate partners, although included in two different work packages, have a close relationship. From the very beginning we have conceived the two work packages with many common tasks and have organised a single working group to avoid possible overlaps. Although these activities will mainly be developed during the second-year project, some tasks have been already developed on this matter. Obviously, the website, the twitter account and the newsletter are already important instruments for the Masters promotion and dissemination. A complete Marketing plan is being developed and will be executed in the coming year, which includes the production of brochures, internet adds and dissemination in different sites and conferences. Regarding the relationship with associate partners, some informal contacts have been already established with different organisations like NORRAG, Education International, Oxfam, Global Campaign for Education, Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish Aid Agency of International cooperation, Educación sin Fronteras, Open Society Foundation or Porticus. All these organisations are really interested in GLOBED as a future Masters that can train good quality professionals in the field of international development and education, and are willing to actively participate and contribute to the success of the project. In this second year a more systematic plan for approaching associate partners will be developed. A call for expression of interest will be disseminated and a protocol and ToR with possible forms of collaboration will be produced. 8. Quality plan mechanisms From the very beginning GLOBED has ben planned taking into account internal and external monitoring systems of quality assurance. A first document identifying the guidelines of the quality plan was produced. Internal and external evaluation systems were defined. An external evaluator attended the Summer School to provide critical feedback to lecturers about curriculum development and teaching strategies being developed. For the second year, complete guidelines will be defined to ensure that GLOBED masters follows all EHEA requirements and meets all the necessary quality standards. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 13 / 17

4. Partnerships As it has been already stated, the process of partnership has been highly positive up to now. Partners have internalised GLOBED as their own project and have shown a high level of motivation and willingness to contribute to the Masters programme. Of course, as in any other project, there are ups and downs in the intensity of team members involvement in the work process. In these occasions, I have acted as a project coordinator to remind and require task assignments and their accomplishments in the agreed deadlines. Regarding the potential of the network, a very visible strength of the Consortium is the diversity of disciplines, specialisations and international experiences of partners. Partners belong to five research groups specialised in the area of educational and development studies. They count on different scientific backgrounds in the areas of comparative education, sociology of education, political economy of education, anthropology and development studies. All research groups have carried out significant research projects in different regions of the world. Thus, knowledge and case studies of all world regions are covered in the Masters by this collaboration. All groups have long experience in developing strong links between research projects and teaching content. They have also brought their expertise as consultants for international organisations and national governments into the teaching practice. All partners participate in masters and/or other postgraduate courses in their own institutions. Partners teach in these programmes some modules or courses in education and development. The pilot Summer School developed in Amsterdam allowed to all the partners to get to know better the teaching styles and strategies used by their colleagues, and produced a highly positive peer to peer learning environment. The experience of working together in a European partnership is extremely positive. Diversity among partners becomes a source of inspiration and a clear richness for future students enrolled in GLOBED. GLOBED is being constructed taking into account all EHEA standards and requirements and, most importantly, including a new and specific European view in the field of education and international development. Compared to mainstream understandings underlying USA or British Masters in the field, GLOBED ensures a diverse and critical approach to education and international development, including different European traditions and approaches to social sciences and to development studies in particular. The European perspective is also noticeable in the fact that GLOBED is aligned with the objectives of European cooperation policies, and specifically with the principles of the Paris and Accra Declarations. Professional and ethical issues will be absolutely central in the training of future professionals in a field that can be highly sensitive to power relations and to conflict of interests issues. GLOBED students are expected to finish the Masters not only with the necessary theoretical knowledge and technical competencies in the field, but also with social and ethical competencies that can be central in their professional lives. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 14 / 17

The possibility of spaces to work together (lecturers and students) and a curriculum design including teaching mobility exchange, ensures that the European dimension is much more than simple words in GLOBED, and our aim to build a real European and shared approach to the field. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 15 / 17

5. Plans for the Future The GLOBED project is being mainly developed as it was established in the work plan development of the application form. As it has been referred to, there are two tasks (mobility plan and agreements with associate partners that are experiencing a reasonable delay). The main reason has to be found in the timing of the project, and the agreement among consortium members on the need to develop more aspects of the curriculum before defining other specific tasks such as approaching many of the potential partners. In this second year, the main foreseen activities are the following ones: 1) Produce a complete document on the GLOBED curriculum, including all courses and programmes, a complete fieldwork guide, a scientific portfolio for the Masters secondyear (including thesis characteristics, academic article, policy-oriented reports, etc.). This document will be produced shortly. It will be uploaded to the website and distributed to all associate partners (and other interested agencies) to inform about GLOBED rationale, content, competencies and working programmes. 2) Consolidate the GLOBED Summer School as an intensive week that will be a regular part of the academic GLOBED offer. External lecturers will be invited if supplementary funding is available. 3) Update and improve GLOBED website, by uploading new key documents and disseminating the GLOBED programme for the future. 4) Continue producing the quarterly GLOBED Newsletter with the contribution of all the partners. 5) Complete a document containing main guidelines regarding admission and selection criteria within the Masters. 6) Consolidate the accreditation process in each national institution during the current academic year. 7) Prepare a detailed mobility plan for GLOBED project, including practical facilities for students staying in different countries and institutions. 8) Prepare a complete marketing plan to disseminate GLOBED programme to potential students and to organisations interested in the project. 9) Prepare an application to the new Erasmus + programme, in the context of the EU Horizon 2020 new framework. 10) Prepare a complete protocol on forms of collaboration with associate partners. 11) Complete the internal and internal quality mechanisms assurance system by writing specific guidelines and by ensuring the participation of external evaluators in the last GLOBED meeting (Barcelona, September 2014). 12) Actively look for supplementary sources of funding to ensure GLOBED implementations in the near future. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 16 / 17

6. Contribution to EU policies GLOBED project is clearly aligned with the objectives and priorities set up in consecutive EU Declarations towards the construction and consolidation of the EHEA. Firstly, GLOBED is fully immersed in the conception of the European Higher Education space that has been constructed by EU members with the strong support of the Commission. Curriculum standards and systems of evaluation are set up following the EHEA main guidelines as proposed by ENQA. Secondly, GLOBED attempts to become a high quality reference Masters attracting students from within and outside Europe. In this way, GLOBED aims to consolidate an education offer of high quality, able to compete with the best Masters in this field in the world. Thirdly, GLOBED aims to build stable and solid links with external associate partners, mainly public and private European organisations working in the field and interested in strengthening the links with the academic community. Fourthly, GLOBED includes a social dimension, as established in the Bergen Declaration, aiming to provide opportunities to all students regardless of their social, racial, gender or any other condition. GLOBED foresees to include possible scholarships for students from low-income backgrounds and countries. Fifthly, GLOBED enhances student and teaching mobility within Europe, following the priorities and strategies established in several European Declarations and in the EHEA project itself. Finally, GLOBED contributes to establish close links between teaching and research in the European context. The rich research experiences of the GLOBED partners will be easily translated into teaching lessons and practical activities in the context of the Master. Several members of GLOBED have collaborated in the past - and do still collaborate - in different research projects. GLOBED partners are planning to build in the short term a Marie Curie academic network in the context of the new EU Horizon 2020 framework as a way to bring together and further consolidate such rich experiences and synergies. 527008-LLP-1-2012-1-ES-ERASMUS-FEXI 17 / 17