EGM 30 download.pdf - European Federation of Geologists

Euro-AgesMapping the European geologicalqualificationEuropean geologists sometimes askthemselves how their qualificationis related to similar qualifications inother European countries. The EuropeanFederation of Geologists has triedto answer this and other questionson European qualification in Geologyunder Euro-Ages, a European projectfunded by the European Union, DGEducation and Lifelong Learning Programme.One of the first challenges ofthis project has been to map geologicalqualifications within the EU countries.The main data from this studyare presented in this article.by Dr. Isabel Fernández Fuentes 1 and David Norbury 2Les géologues européens se posentparfois la question de savoir à quoi correspondleur niveau de qualification parrapport à des qualifications comparables,délivrées dans d’autres pays européens.La Fédération Européenne des Géologuesa essayé de répondre à cette question et àd’autres interrogations touchant la qualificationdes géologues en Europe, à traversEuro-Ages, un Projet européen financé parl’Union européenne, le Programme pourl’Education et la Formation, tout au long dela vie. L’un des premiers défis de ce projeta consisté à recenser les qualifications engéologie pour chaque pays européen. Cetarticle présente les principaux résultatstirés de cette étude.Los geólogos europeos a veces sepreguntan en qué medida su títuloacadémico se relaciona con títulossimilares en otros países de Europa.La Federación Europea de Geólogosha tratado de responder a esta y otrasinquietudes sobre las titulacioneseuropeas de geología con el proyectoEuro-Ages, un proyecto financiado porel Programa de Aprendizaje de porVida de la DG de Educación y Culturade la Comisión Europea. Uno de losprimeros retos del proyecto ha sidocartografiar las titulaciones geológicasen los países de la UE. Los principalesdatos de este estudio se incluyen eneste artículo.Over the past year, the partners in theEuro-Ages project have workedtowards developing a Europeanqualification framework for geology, in thefirst and second cycles defined by the BolognaProcess, based on learning outcomesrather than input factors (course curricula).The objectives of the work are to increasetransparency of Earth Sciences qualificationsacross Europe and therefore to facilitateimproved academic and professionalmobility across Europe. At the same time,the project aims to encourage students andgraduates in the field of geology, as well asprofessional geologists, to pursue LifelongLearning. The project objectives are beingachieved through a structured exchange ofbest practices, expertise and characteristicsof professional practices in geology in thedifferent European countries. Importantreference points have been identified forquality assurance and related recognitionissues focused on learning outcomes. Theproject is supported by the European Commission,DG Education and Culture.One of the first steps was to map theexisting qualifications for geology informal, non-formal and informal settingsand to link these to national qualificationsystems. The European Federation of Geologistswas the coordinator of this study.1EFG Office Director2Chairman, EFG Registration AuthorityA precedent of this study is the Reporton Education, Professional Activity andRecognition of Qualifications, EFG Office,July, 2005. The objective of this documentwas to report on the status of Earth Scienceseducation and professional training,with the aim of achieving the harmonizationof Earth Sciences curricula, to informon general aspects of Earth Sciences professionalactivities, to establish the map ofdifferent specialties and to promote the recognitionof qualifications and the mobilityof professionals. The data analyzed in thisreport were derived from a questionnaireon education and training that was sent tothe EFG National Associations.The present article is based on the reportfor European Accredited Geological StudyProgrammes, Euro-Ages project, 2010.The data come from the summary reportsproduced by 27 European Countries:Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark,Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway,Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia,Spain, Sweden, Switzerland andUnited Kingdom (Fig. 1).Each country has produced a summarywith the following structure:- Status of implementation of Bolognaprocess- Education in Geology, including;•The structure of education•Universities offering geological programmes•Number of freshman students andgraduates in the country- Learning outcomes;•Definition of learning outcomes•Academic and professional learningoutcomes and competence profiles forstudy•Programmes in geology•Example of programme structure foreducation- Professional input to course structure- Teaching course accreditation systems.The full report with the 27 summary countriesis available on the Euro-Ages Projectwebsite, European Accredited GeologicalStudy Programmes, Euro-Ages project,2010.This article is focused on the implementationof the Bologna Process, educationin geology, professional prerequisiteand accreditation systems. The LearningOutcome is presented in this magazine(p. 19).Status of implementation of the BolognaProcessIn most European counties the establishmentof education in accordance with theBologna process is well advanced. Mostgeology degree courses have switched tothe three cycle style of courses and the first14 European Geologist 30