YOI 2005

Hello everyone!

There is regional contest for money from EU. It is INTERREG IIIA and more info is available on www.interregadriatico.it
I need partner from Italy, and it needs to be from Trieste, Udine, Venezia, Parma, Rimini, Lecce, Ancona, Bari - Faculty of Economics - public university!

I have to find partner from Italy to be able to propose a project into a contest which is open till 26.01.2005. and is aimed for improving regional cooperation. Since faculty of Economics in Zagreb, Croatia has not have any relation to any Italian university whatsoever, I am in frenzy looking for help and contact. This is serious project with little time to organize, but I belive we can make it happen. So, If you can forward this information, I would be very thankfull!

Here's more info:
Project proposal

Regional student cooperation and competition - Business Case Challenge Croatia - BC3

Introduction
Business case challenge is based on idea of competition between groups of 3-4 students solving the same problem, make presentation and present it in only 24 hours. This way students learn to cooperate in international teams with real life situations where they have to strain their experience and skills. They get opportunity to put theory into practice. Not only that, but the case they are solving is based on a real problem from a real company which is partner in case creating.

Why in Croatia
Higher education in Croatia is still undeveloped, although there is ongoing liberalisation process. Memorisation and regurgitation are prized and marked, with little critical thinking and creativity involved in the learning – teaching process. According to some researches about 95% of students in Croatia haven't been involved in some sort of international exchange organized by their schools. Whatsmore, about 99% of sutdents in Novi Sad, Serbia haven't been involved in any sort of exchange.

This project aims to change this obsolete situation, by creating competition of international scales, with 150 – 200 students involved in case solving exemplary to real life situations. Because social status of students is commonly known to be very low, we need funding from CARDS to cover costs for travel, hotel, and organizational staff. Long term effects of this project will include laying foundations of something that will become traditional event in Croatia, promoting regional student exchange, cooperation between graduate universities, especially of these so close, but so far away – between Croatia and Italia, Bosnia&Herzegovina and Serbia&Montenegro.

There is INTERREG IIIA (www.interregadriatico.it) programme aimed for regional TransAdriatic cooperation, which is perfect to boost good start between future partners. It is shamefull situation that there is no one Croatian college or university among 500 best in the world – reasons lie in non-international orientation, out of date content, old fashined teaching…this is reaction to this stalled situation in Croatian higher education system.
Project partner from Croatia will be Faculty of Economics in Zagreb, with letters of support and participation in project from Universities of Sarajevo and Novi Sad. Since there is no record of any cooperation between Faculty of Economics from Zagreb and any Italian partner, this letter is invitation to all potential partners from Italy – Economic Universities to get involved and participate in project. Contest is open till 26.01.2006. and there is 20 million EUR available for Italian project partners and 1.9 million EUR for Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian and Albanian project partners. Italian partner should ask no less thatt 200 000 EUR, and Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian partner no less than 50 000 EUR for their project activities. Italian partner is obliged to participate with 15% from their own resources, but it can be provided in kind – salaries of employees involved in project activities.

Regions from Italy that are suitable for participation are Friulli-Venezia -Giullia, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Puglia, Molise and Abruzzio. On above mentioned webpage is this list of towns: Rovigo, Ferrara, Forlě-Cesena, Rimini, Ravenna, Pesaro, Ancona, Macerata, Ascoli Piceno, Teramo, Pescara, Chieti, Campobasso, Foggia, Trieste, Gorizia, Udine, Venezia, Bari, Brindisi, Lecce, Padova, L'Aquila and Isernia.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on e-mail dpetrov1979@yahoo.com