Higher Education, Research and Applied Science in Kosovo

General Objective

The project contributed to the well-functioning of Higher Education and Research in Kosovo along with the principles of the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) with the long-term objective to support the socio-economic development of the country.

At the end of the project, Kosovo has sustainably and efficiently improved its HE and Research policy development and implementation in line with European standards.

Specific objectives

1. Policy development/Consultation

Aim: improved effectiveness of the public Higher Education and research system

2. HE system

Aim: enhanced quality of higher education and employability of graduates

3. Research system capacity

Aim: improved human capacities and increased internationalisation of research

HERAS produced the following ten outputs:

1. MEST has improved HE planning based on regional profiling as well as the research system and respective policies, and reflects a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) in their activities
2. Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA) has implemented ENQA recommendations and the new ESGs and has improved internal QA procedures and the transparency of its work
3. Public HEIs and the University of Prishtina (UP) in particular improved the use of QA instruments with focus onimplementation of follow up measures along European standards
4. The University of Mitrovica North (UMN) established a QA Centre and capacities of its staff and academic staff for implementation of modern QA system were improved
5. Applied study programme approach was promoted and employability fostered (main beneficiaries are the public universities in Kosovo)
6. 5 programmatic partnerships (PPs) were established between Kosovar and Austrian HEIs and support modernisation and internationalisation of HE
7. 10-15 small projects were implemented to foster the implementation of the Social Dimension in Kosovo in the field of HE
8. 10 PhD and 5 post-doc scholarships are successfully implemented
9. 8 to 10 Collaborative Research Projects were implemented and contributed to the internationalisation and strengthening of researchers and research activities in Kosovo
10. Kosovo showed a stronger performance in international research collaboration and a stronger integration into the ERA

ZSI involvement

Policy Development and Consulting

• Policy Development/Implementation: consulting the MEST
• Drafting and Revising Legal Framework: consulting the MEST

Research system enhancement and capacity bulilding

• Preparation and implementation of 10 bilateral collaborative research projects (Austria- Kosovo) : target group is researchers and subjects are currently discussed
• Trainings of researchers: how to access international funds
• Capacity Development: Support to National Contact Points (NCP)