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BMGkrant InternationalpagesEUHEM: new European Master in Health Economics andManagementAntoinette de BontAs from September this year amaximum of five HEPL students willhave the opportunity to take extracourses abroad and obtain a doubledegree from Erasmus University andeither the University of Bologna,the University of Oslo, or theManagement Center Innsbruck.In the past years iBMG studentsalready went to Oslo or Innsbruck.Then, more than a year agoRoland Bal took the initiative toreinforce these partnerships bydeveloping a joint programme.An important difference betweenan exchange programme and adouble degree is that the latterrequires harmonisation of theeducational programmes. Thanks tothis initiative the four universitiesnow offer five specialisations:management in health careinstitutions (Oslo and Innsbruck);decision-making in health care(Rotterdam and Innsbruck);evaluation of public health care(Bologna and Oslo); public healthcare economics (Bologna andRotterdam); and evaluation ofhealth care innovations (Rotterdamand Oslo). A highlight of the doubledegree is a two-week EU summerschool in Venice on the subject ofhealth care beyond borders in 2013.A subsidy of 100,000 eurosenables iBMG and the threeother universities to developthe double degree into a jointdegree. The EUHEM students willreceive a diploma from the fouruniversities. Further steps will betaken to harmonise the educationalprogrammes. Plans include astandardised first semester withfive compulsorycourses (using theHEPL programmeas model); a jointexaminationboard that will setthe graduationrequirements; anduniform thesisassessment (30ECTS).The iBMG teamresponsible for thedouble degree andthe joint degreeis composed ofHans Severens,Antoinette de Bont, Job van Exel,Astrid van Keulen, en Astrid Buysse.Harmonisation of educationalprogrammes within Europe is noteasy. Nothing goes without saying.Still, a joint curriculum requires astarting date. In Oslo however theuniversity year starts mid August;in Italy not until late September.Even more complicated is the matterof tuition fees. Dutch studentspay 1,750 euros to follow lectures;Austrian students half this amount;and Norwegian students neednot pay tuition fees at all. What’smore, universities in Norway arenot allowed to charge tuition fees.A new programme cannot just doaway with such differences rooted inregulations, routines and traditions.On the other hand, we get all thehelp we need from the EUR centraloffice, colleague universities, andthe NVAO to accommodate for thedifferences and even to exploitthese. The other day, with the legaltext on the table and five expertson all regulations and systemsaround it, we discussed whichregulations may be bendable andwhich definitely not. All in all, wethus go some way towards achievingEuropean integration. Exactly as theBologna Process seeks to promote.