New Orleans

I have arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, the United States of America. After a gruelling, but quite problem-free 20+ hour flight and 20 hour sleep in the coolest hotel I have ever been to, I must say that I feel great about being here. Yesterday we (I am travelling with a colleague) did nothing except walking around the Vieux Carré a bit and had alligator and shrimp Po-Boys and local beer at the Pierre Maspero’s Restaurant.

We will be in New Orleans until Monday morning, after which we go to Nashville, Tennessee. I will write more soon.

Welcome to our new TUT overlords

It was made public today that International University Audentes is to merge with Tallinn University of Technology, if everything goes according to the plan, then by the end of this academic year. Although I do not really know what will happen, I am cautiously optimistic as having a backing of a larger educational institution allows to develop faster and further. I do not want to say anything bad about Audentes, so I will not say anything.

One thing that irritates me is the constant name changes of this institution I am associated with. Concordia International University Estonia’s assets were bought by Audentes Mainor University (itself a result of several mergers), which was renamed Audentes University, with the international studies institution named International University Concordia Audentes. Then the two institutions were put together under the name International University Audentes, a name which I personally despised. So now a new chapter will begin, if everything goes according to plans.

The draft of the new laws on higher education

If anyone is interested, then here is the new draft on the quality reform (in Estonian). Pretty interesting.

Some thoughts about the Estonian Higher Education Quality Reform

It was announced yesterday that there are going to be changes in the accreditation of Estonian higher education institutions, mainly that institutional accreditation is going to be introduced. This means that any university which passes this will be operate with constant fear of losing some of its programmes and can focus on continuous institution-building, rather than worrying only about specific curricula. This also allows the universities to be more efficient, flexible and synergetic.

I do not really know what exactly this means for my current employer, but in any case it is much better to finally have clarity on these issues. Too long has the Estonian higher education system been in legal limbo, and it is too long that certain practices and obviously worthless institutions have been allowed to exist.

In my opinion having a competitive and efficient higher education market is a prerequisite for Estonia’s long term economic development. The stepts announced yesterday will definitely bring us closer to that, but there are also many uncertainties in the application of the quality reform. There is a threat, that could derail the reform, or not bring the desired results.

Although there has been much talk about being internationally competitive, Estonia’s higher education laws do not really allow for meaningful international cooperation to take place (joint degrees and diplomas have still not been allowed for example). This is not a problem only for Estonia, but the whole EU: in a situtation where there is a common market, common laws on commercial activities, movement of goods and provision of services, the higher education market has remained fractured. This is due to lack of coordination: even the much discussed Bologna reform remains to be completed.

Universities are still very national entities: we talk mostly about UK, Belgian, French, German, Finnish, etc universities, but not European universities. Compare this with the US, where location of a university does not really matter that much (Harvard is Harvard, regardless of its location).

For Estonia, the best option would be to be open. Open to students coming in and supportive of students going out. Open to cooperation with other universities in the strive for internationalisation of higher education. This requires a significant shift away from the current local-student-oriented approach, real competitions for staff instructors, and, in most areas, shift away from Estonian as the full language of instruction.

It also requires that universities develop its own niches where they can offer world-class education and research. Estonia is way small for everything under the sun to be taught here, locally. But we can concentrate on a few areas where we can be internationally competitive.

Law School brochure + Teeviit

I made a small brochure on what our Law School has to offer. The main part took ca 1 hour to put together using Apple’s Pages.

Tomorrow I will be at the educational fair Teeviit, representing the Law School (and handing out the brochures).

Human Rights Week at International University Audentes

The Human Rights Centre at International University Audentes is having a Human Rights Week. More info from www.humanrights.ee.

The winning entry

Kakerdaja raba
Originally uploaded by Kari Käsper

I won a photo contest organised by our university health club. We went to the Kakerdaja bog and took photos. And this one, mine, was voted the best.

Come and study at the Law School of International University Audentes!

We have an admissions period at the university right now, so I thought to use my blog to disseminate information about the Law School.

What can you study and in which form?

1. Law Bachelor (120 Estonian (180 ECTS) credit points, three years):
a) full-time in English;
b) full-time in Estonian;
c) weekend studies (every other weekend) in Estonian.

The studies will give you an Estonian state accredited Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences degree.

2. Law Master (80 Estonian (120 ECTS) credit points, two years):
a) executive style in English (two non-consecutive intensive weeks (Mon-Sat) during first three semesters, plus virtual courses, thesis writing during the fourth semester)
b) weekend studies (every other weekend) in Estonian.

The studies will give you an Estonian State accredited Master of Arts in Law degree.

Why choose Audentes Law School?

- multicultural and international learning environment
- heritage of the acclaimed Concordia University Law School
- contemporary curricula, with emphasis on European and international law
- flexible and student-centric approach

Additional admissions information from the IUA Admissions Office.

Leadership sans authority

On Friday I had a chance to listen to an open lecture by professor Adel Safty. First of all it was a very fortunate decision for me actually not to go home, but stick around at the university until the lecture, second of all I am very grateful to whoever organised this visit. These lectures should take place more often, and with people who have the same kind of credentials as professor Safty.

He talked about many things, but I found most interesting the concept of having leadership without actually being in power. This applies not only to global politics, but also to societies and smaller groups. We live in an age where a single person with a great idea can lead others whereas the traditional power structures sometimes prove to be somewhat inflexible.

I agreed with his comments regarding the role of the UN and the importance of establishing genuine leadership there, and not allow it to be usurped for national interests (which is made possible by the existence of vetoes for certain permanent members of the Security Council). I truly feel that we live in a world that is changing, and it is changing for the better. Governments no longer can exercise full authority over their subjects.

There are several factors which make this change possible from the possibility of an individual uploading a video filmed on his or her mobile phone to YouTube to almost failed US politicians finding new courage and missions in fighting global warming (I refer to Al Gore and his slideshow and subsequent film which won an Oscar for best documentary). As prof Safty pointed out, the person does not necessarily have to be well-known person such as Al Gore, it can be anyone.

This is the kind of leadership I feel comfortable providing as well. I do not like power, I am afraid that a position of power might change me for the worse. I have never wanted power, but I do have ideas that I wish to be implemented.

Concordia trouble

As a Concordia student I feel the need to explain why I think that the school is in trouble. It is a reflection of how the education system in Estonia is itself in a deep crisis and that private universities are not able to sustain the quality of education in unfair circumstances where state universities receive huge financial support AND charge half of their students. I would compare the situation with the problems that radio stations have had in Estonia because of the state sponsored BUT still commercial (ie using advertisement revenues) forced private radio stations such as KUKU to cut down on their programme and expenses.

If you have a university then there is not much to cut down without it having effect to the quality of education. Concordia has always been giving quality education, which is why it has been able to survive as long as it has with extremely high tuition fees.

The worst thing about the whole situation is the fact that although Concordia has been not very successful in marketing the university, the media smear campaign will not make many people want to come here. It would be necessary for past Concordia graduates and current students to tell that the quality of education has been outstanding when compared to other universities. The outcome of the negotiations with the Pedagogical University must come quickly and assure people that Concordia will be remaining as an independent entity. The longer the uncertainty exists the harder it will be to restore the credibilty and reputation of the university.

The problems that Concordia has had have been mostly with the administration, not faculty. And the faculty is what is very strong in Concordia and contributes to the high standards of education that people receive. I hope there will be a speedy end to the uncertainty and when I return for the summer semester everything is back to some level of normalcy.