Inter-university cooperation in agricultural sciences: institutional barriers and challenges for student mobility (the European ERASMUS Programme)

Abstract

Abstract Gradual constitution of an open European space for education and training, together with the development of inter-university cooperation is a challenge for European Union Higher Education at the fall of the twentieth century. Student mobility, initiated by the European Community through its Erasmus Programme, is rapidly developing. This article analyses the situation of higher education in Agriculture and Food Sciences, which represents 2–3% of European students. After characterising the current situation and its recent developments (1987 – 1995) within ERASMUS, it exposes specific obstacles to student mobility in that field. In the last part, the author suggests that the development of these activities requires stronger institutional involvement than has been the case in the past. Universities are faced with three challenges: -to realise the diversification and renewal of “international relations” problems; -to initiate pedagogical and scientific reflection on the notion of training internationa...