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Adoption of the Bologna model at the Faculty of
Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de
LisboaPedro Guerreiro
Nis, March 23, 2006
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Agenda for todayo Universidade Nova de
Lisboa.o Its Faculty of Science and
Technology.o Adoption of ECTS.o Which two cycles?o Adoption of 3+2.o Current situation.o Future work.
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Universidade Nova de Lisboa
o One of 13 public universities in Portugal.
o Not the same as Universidade de Lisboa or Universidade Técnica de Lisboa.
o Five faculties:o Science and Technology.o Economics.o Medicine.o Humanities.o Law.
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Detailso http://unl.pt.o Created in 1973.o Known as “Nova” (“new”).o Several campuses across
Lisbon.o 13000 students (>1000 pg).o 20 research centers.o Current PR was a professor.
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Faculty of Science and Technology
o www.fct.unl.pt.o 6000 students.o 500 faculty.o Located south of Lisbon,
across the Tagus river.o Four kilometers from the
Atlantic ocean.
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Departmentso Chemistry.o Physics.o Biology.o Mathematics.o Informatics.o Earth Sciences.o Civil Engineering.o Electrical Engineering.o Mechanical Engineering.o Materials Engineering.o Environmental Engineering.
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ECTSo Adopted 2004-2005.o Adjusted arithmetically from
previous credit system.o Difficult for courses common
to several programs (e.g. Mathematics).
o Created havoc in the information system.
o Students initially alarmed.
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Main issue with ECTSo How do we estimate the “the
quantity of work each component requires (…) in relation to the total quantity of work …”?o Do we ask the students?o Do we negotiate among
ourselves?o Does it mean the same course
offered to two different programmes earns different credits in each programme?
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Debateo Should it be 4+1 or 3+2?o And which names for cycles?o Frequent government
changes in 2001-2004 didn’t help clarify.
o Just as engineering schools were converging to 4+1, government endorsed 3+2.
o Finally, government mandated 3+2, summer 2005.
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Mobilityo New system encourages
students to switch schools between cycles.
o How do we keep our students in and recruit more for the second cycle?
o By offering an integrated 5-year programme.
o Great idea: our students can proceed to 4th year without having completed the 1st cycle.
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Science and Engineeringo Some say: 3-years is OK for
science programmes, not for engineering.
o Science courses at Nova adhered to the 3+2 model, easily.
o Most engineering courses took on the integrated double cycle trick.
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When do we become Bolognese?
o Not later than 2007-2008, government says.
o Some engineering schools announced they are ready for 2006-2007.
o All the others had to follow suit.
o Not much time left, though.o Do we just split our current
programmes in 3+2 years or do we reform seriously?
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Current situation: Bologna panic
o New Director at the Faculty: “we cannot stay behind our competition.”
o February: prepare new programs for the March 31 deadline.
o March 17: new 1st cycle programmes approved by Scientific Council.
o Great opportunity for change without negotiating.
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Approval by Necessityo Departments had no time to
learn each others proposals.o Old disputes ressurfaced
(informatics vs electrical eng, physics vs materials sci, earth sci vs civil eng, ...)
o Mandatory hearing of the student body was skipped.
o Courses were suppressed without notice.
o But things can only get better.
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Future worko Only the first year of the new
1st cycle will debut in September.
o All students will begin to adjust immediately.
o 2nd cycle programs will be approved in November.
o Boring bureaucratic definition of the transition system for students caught midway.
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The real testo The beginning of the new 2nd
cycles.o Will our 1st cycle graduates
get a job and quit?o Will they move to different
universities, different countries?
o Will we be able to attract students that meet our high expectations for the 2nd cycle.
o Will the government pay for the second cycle?
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