Tempus is the European Union’s programme which supports the modernisation of higher education in the Partner Countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region, mainly through university cooperation projects.
It also aims to promote voluntary convergence of Partner Country higher education systems with EU developments in the field of higher education. In addition to institutional cooperation Tempus also promotes a "people to people" approach.
Tempus provides support to consortia of institutions composed mainly of universities or university associations. Non-academic partners can also be part of a consortium.
The overall objective of Tempus is to contribute to the creation of an area of cooperation in the field of higher education between the European Union and Partner Countries in the countries neighbouring the EU.
The specific objectives of Tempus are as follows:
To promote the reform and modernisation of higher education in the Partner Countries;
To enhance the quality and relevance of higher education to the world of work and society in the Partner Countries;
To increase the capacity of higher education institutions in the Partner Countries and the EU, in particular their capacity to co-operate internationally and to continually modernize, and to assist them in opening up to society at large, the world of work and the wider world in order:
to overcome inter-country fragmentation in the area of higher education and inter-institutional fragmentation in countries themselves;
to enhance inter-disciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity between university faculties;
to enhance the employability of university graduates;
to make the European Higher Education Area more visible and attractive in the world;
To foster the reciprocal development of human resources;
To enhance mutual understanding between peoples and cultures of the EU and the Partner Countries.
Tempus also contributes to preparing the pre-accession countries of the Western Balkans for their participation in the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme. |