The SALEIE Project : A successful International Collaborative Project and springboard for future projects

Abstract

The Strategic ALignment of Electrical and Information Engineering in European Higher Education Institutions (SALEIE) Project was the latest project in a series of projects submitted with the support of the EAEEIE. The project was EU funded and ran from October 2012 to December 2015. It had 45 project partners, 44 from Europe and one from Russia. With a focus on Electrical and Information Engineering, the project explored academic programme governance issues across the consortium and proposed models for ways in which curricula can be specified to help ensure the detail of the programme can be easily understood by others. The project also established a set of fully developed curricula for the ICT Securities and Renewable Energies at the First and Second Cycle Degree levels. Finally the project developed an extensive online resource for the support of students with disabilities. All three of these project ‘threads’ combine to provide a solid foundation for teaching collaborations across Europe especially those which have, as an integral component, a transnational student mobility. The resources created together lay down a suggested academic programme in the two technical areas considered but also as a model that can be used in other technical areas; and also to ‘level the playing field’ of student engagement – opening programmes up for students who need additional support. The paper starts with a summary of the rationale for, and the aims and objectives of the project. It leads on to state the main deliverables and the specific deliverables that should be of interest to curriculum developers across Europe and the impact it has had in terms of dissemination. Finally it makes suggestions for possible follow on projects that promote collaborations and the support of all students.