Why Russia has joined and why it should participate in the Bologna process? Basically the reasons are the same as for any other participating country. Also in Russian case, its participation in the Bologna process can be seen through the prism of globalization. In particular, the Bologna process is indicative of three major globalization trends to which Russia is exposed.
First, one can speak of a larger process shaping the global intellectual landscape, the international academic mobility. Apart from the flow of data over computer networks, knowledge is also being carried over the globe by more conventional means, the movement of students, instructors, academic programmes, standards and teaching methods. Indeed, people turn out to be the most universal carriers of information across the globe. The processes of academic mobility, exchange and standardization are therefore an essential part of the Information Age, a human Internet of sorts. Russia cannot insulate herself from this development, like one cannot ignore the Internet.
Second, as stated above the Bologna process is a part of the emerging knowledge economy. In today's world, knowledge has turned into a major factor of production, giving the highest return for investment. In terms of the overall competitiveness and sustainability, any national economy needs to open and internationalize its knowledge, HR and innovation markets, and to invest in
the education sphere at a rate higher than the overall growth rate.
Third, the emergence of the Bologna process is closely related to
the changing patterns of power and influence in today's world. The traditional measures of state power such as territory, natural resources, military prowess (called the hard power) are giving way to factors of soft power such as competitive economy, effective governance, pro-active diplomacy and moral authority, an attractive international image of the nation, and the quality of its human potential.
The Bologna process is therefore a soft power option for Russia, a means to upgrade its global attractiveness and competitiveness, and to capitalize on its most precious national resource, the human potential. In other words, the Bologna process challenges the Russian state on three levels: the economy, society and culture, and state power. Regardless of what the authorities, universities, professors and students may be thinking of the Bologna process, it is the operational environment of higher education in today's Europe, and it is already influencing their choices and their futures. Like globalization or the weather, the Bologna process may be liked or disliked, but it cannot be avoided and therefore it has to be adjusted to. The process has started and gained considerable momentum.
Russia will anyway be involved; the question is not whether, but how
it will participate as an active policy-maker and agenda-setter, defining its place in the common European education market, or as a passive bystander, carried by the flow of the events. In a sense, it is a situation of no choice: Russia has to be pro-active, to define its interests, to evaluate the attendant risks and costs, and
to map out the practical policies.
Russia's interests
The internal interests of Russia related to the Bologna process are linked to the entire complex of modernization tasks that Russia is currently facing.
It includes:
- higher education reform aimed at bringing the Higher School in Russia up to the standards and requirements of the Information Age and the global market;
- raising the competitiveness of the Russian economy, sustainable economic growth, moving away from Russia's dependence on the natural resource export to a knowledge-based economy delivering high value-added goods and services;
- the liberalization, marketization and deregulation of the economic and social spheres in Russia, limiting state redundancy, ridding the society of its
the perennial paternalism and parasitic attitudes towards the state;
- public pluralism, the development of independent public institutions (universities, academic associations);
- the preservation of the national cultural and educational identity,
of the traditions of Russia's Higher School;
- the education of the new generation of the elite which would be Russian by its heritage and cultural belonging and global in its competence and perspective.
Broadly speaking, the main Russian domestic interest in the Bologna process lies in the fact that has a direct impact on the entire cycle of the ongoing economic, social and administrative reforms. The Bologna process directly affects
the reform of higher education, reforms of the labor market (structuring and differentiating market demand, differentiating labor supply, i. e. offering three degrees of competence, the Bachelor, the Master and the Ph. D.), and the reform of the public sector (creating independent universities and associations).
| Exercise 6. Scan the text and find out the specific information to answer the questions. |
1. What is the aim of the Bologna process?
2. What are the driving force and basic motivation of this process?
3. What do European higher education institutions really want?
4. What does the Bologna Declaration proclaim?
5. When did Russia join the process?
6. How many countries participate in the process?
7. What is considered to be an essential part of the Information Age?
8. What levels does the Bologna process challenge the Russian state?
9. What are the internal interests of Russia related to the Bologna process linked to?
10. What does the Bologna process directly affect?
Exercise 7. Complete the sentences below using the information from
the previous text.
1. In particular, …
2. Broadly speaking, …
3. Thus, …
4. In other words, …
5. In a sense, …
6. Regardless of what …
7. Indeed, …
| Exercise 8. Look at Figure 1 and Figure 2 and describe in short: a) the impact of the Bologna process on reforms in Russia; b) the Bologna process as a pan-European social dialogue. |
Figure 1
Figure 2
| Exercise 9. a) Listen to Extract 1 from a group discussion between three students about the education systems in their countries. |
1. Where are the students from?
2. What's the main point each student makes about their education system?