Compatibility of the Palestinian joint MSc in electrical engineering (JMEE) with the EU system of higher education

Abstract

The Bologna higher education process aims at improving the quality of services and human resources through mutual learning, comparison and exchange of good practice. Some Partner Countries outside the EU have been encouraged to reflect the Bologna specifications in their higher education systems as a result of their international cooperation and in particular their participation in EU programmes such as Tempus. Even though these countries have not signed the Bologna Declaration, they have started initiating reforms using the Bologna Process recommendations and tools on a voluntary basis, as a source of inspiration. The paper considers a joint master programme in electrical engineering, developed under the Tempus project “Joint Master in Electrical Engineering (JMEE)”, and particularly the compatibility of the programme with the EU system of Higher Education. The JMEE programme is developed by all project partners — three Palestinian universities, four EU universities and two Palestinian companies. The main focus is curriculum reform in electrical engineering higher education by developing the first electrical engineering Master of Science Programme in Palestine, as well as promotion of the Bologna HE process. Studies of the Bologna process in the Partner courtiers are presented in the paper. Analyses of the EU guidelines for developing a successful joint programme is done. The most important actions and good practices are provided: joint coordination and external representation of the consortium; joint development; joint quality assurance; joint financial administration; joint student administration; joint promotion of the programme and joint student recruitment. The structure of the developed joint master programme is presented. The JMEE programme is two years master programme and according to the European Qualification Framework (EQF) it corresponds to the 7th level — Master's degree after obtaining a professional bachelor's degree. The JMEE programme was accredited by the Palestinian Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission. The role of Palestinian universities, Palestinian industry and EU university partners in the development of the JMEE is presented. The joint actions of the consortium according to the EU guidelines in the stage of the development of the programme are analysed: Defining the need for the programme; Market and technical studies, Financial study, Defining the target student group, Content development, etc. A comparison of the Palestinian credit systems, used in JMEE and European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is done. The Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO) groups defined in the JMEE are presented. A comparison of the ILOs and the learning outcomes defined in EQF is presented. In general the elements of compatibility of the JMEE with the EU system of Higher Education and particularly the EU policy and guidelines for the joint programmes are analysed. Based on the evaluation some conclusions are made.