Central Europe Universities, Colleges, and Polytechnics
Subcategories:
Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
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Overview
The Central Europe region can be defined to include about 14 countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Romania. A number of these countries are former communist countries that were part of the Eastern Bloc until 1989 when the Cold War ended. They now all have democratically elected governments, market economies and improved human rights.
Many of the Central European countries have experienced strong economic growth in the past decade after completing the transition from communist-run planned economies to market economies in the 1990's. Most of these countries have become members of the European Union and thus benefit from economic integration with Western Europe. Those with the strongest economies include Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.
About three-quarters of the Central European countries are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and most are members of the Council of Europe which works towards European integration in regards to legal standards, human rights and democratic development.
Higher Education
Higher education in Central Europe has been experiencing growing pains over the past decade as countries attempt to keep up with rising enrollments at the same time they strive to increase quality and adjust to the Bologna Agreement standards. All Central European countries have signed on to the Bologna Agreement which created standards for higher education across Europe and ensures recognition of degrees across participating countries.
Only a handful of Central European universities were in the top 500 in the world according the QS World University rankings in 2010. Charles University and Czech Technical University in the Czech Republic and Jagiellonian University and Warsaw University in Poland are the highest ranked in the region but fall in the bottom half of the rankings.
Resources
European University Association
European Association for International Education