Folia Canonica 11. (2008)

NEWS IN BRIEF - Nikos Maghioros: The Profile of the European Thematic Network on Religion and State Interaction

NEWS IN BRIEF

FOLIA CANONICA 11 (2008) 257-263.

NIKOS MAGHIOROS

THE PROFILE OF THE EUROPEAN THEMATIC NETWORK ON RELIGION AND STATE INTERACTION

(EuReSIS NET)

A Thematic Network is a co-operation between departments of higher education institutions and academic associations, learned societies, professional bodies, other partners of socio-economic importance in the public or private sector, and, where appropriate, student organisations. Their philosophy has always been to emphasise the “teaching” dimension of university activity. The “Europe of Knowledge” and the “Bologna Process” put a new emphasis on the need to pool resources and to create centres of excellence at higher education level fostering internal European development and stronger links with other continents.

Normally, all countries participating in the Socrates-Erasmus programmes (EU, EFTA and Candidate Countries) should be represented in a Thematic Network. The main aim of the programme is to enhance quality and to define and develop a European dimension within a given academic discipline or study area. Alternatively, it can take up a topic of an inter- or multidisciplinary nature, or other matters of common interest, such as university management or quality assurance. Co-operation within Thematic Networks is expected to lead to outcomes which will have a lasting and widespread impact on universities across Europe in the field concerned.

The aim of the Thematic Networks is to help higher education institutions create forums to analyse and study the state of development of various education and training fields in Europe in order to encourage the European dimension and improve the quality of education and training. Thematic Networks tend to focus: 1) Mapping and enhancing education, 2) Activities in the field of quality assurance, 3) Facilitating European cooperation, 4) Defining and updating generic and specific competences using the method of the Pilot Project “Tuning Educational Structures in Europe”,5) Promoting synergies between teaching and research, 6) Reinforcing the link between education and society, 7) Creating links with other continents on activities within the scope of TNs.