The rectors and pro-rectos of higher education institutions from Republic of Moldova together with the members of the Councils for Institutional Strategic Development attended this Wednesday, September 7 2016, a seminar of evaluation of these university governance structures after one year of activity. The event was organized by the National Erasmus+ Office jointly with the Ministry of Education as part of the Higher Education Reform Experts activities in the framework of Erasmus+ Programme.
The training was delivered by the European expert Thomas Estermann, director for governance, funding and public policy development at the European University Association, delegated by the European Commission. A day before the seminar, on September 6, Thomas Estermann conducted a series of study visits at the Ministry of Education, Moldova State University, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, Nicolae Testemiteanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Technical University of Moldova, and at the Free International University of Moldova. During these visits, the expert had an open dialogue with university management and Council members about the challenges and achievements of the Councils for Institutional Strategic Development in their first year of activity. The expert’s conclusions on this topic as well as his recommendations for improvement of university governance structures were presented at the seminar on September 7.
The seminar was attended by representatives from higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education, the EU Delegation in Moldova and the National Erasmus+ Office. The event was opened by the minister of education Mrs. Corina Fusu, who spoke about the changes in the Education Code and the creation of the Councils for Institutional Strategic Development. The opening panel included Viorel Bostan, rector of the Technical University of Moldova and the host of the event, Gregory Belostecinic, president of the Council of Rectors of Moldova, Fabien Schaeffer, representative of the EU Delegation in Moldova and Claudia Melinte, coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office. The moderator of the event was Nadejda Velişco, the head of the Higher Education and Development of Science, who also presented the results of a survey that she elaborated as a member of Higher Education Reform Experts team in the framework of Erasmus+ Programme. The study was conducted among rectors, pro-rectors and members of the Councils of 18 state institutions and 3 private institutions from the higher education system of Moldova. This survey has highlighted the positive assessment of the impact of the Councils and the challenges encountered in the first year of activity.
The intervention of the international expert, Thomas Estermann, included several aspects, such as examples of governance in Europe, the process of selecting the members of the Council and their initiation, the role of external members, remuneration of members and best practice sharing between Councils. Moreover, the expert presented his reflections on the activity of the governance structures and the recommendations following the study visits to universities.
Expert presentation was followed by an open discussion where the university rectors, pro-rectors, and Council members, have actively shared their personal experiences and the difficulties they encountered in the activity of the Councils. This structure will bring added value to the academic field, but needs more improvements. It should be noted that the entire change process is lengthy and challenging, and one year of activity is not sufficient to determine with certainty the effectiveness of the Councils for Institutional Strategic Development in the current context of the Moldovan system.
We must emphasize that a year ago were created the Councils for Institutional Strategic Development in 25 universities from Moldova. These are governing bodies that have a range of competences and responsibilities to ensure the strategic development of universities and are formed from both university staff members as well as external experts.
