By Ana-Maria Tolbaru
Many of Romania's universities now host European Information Centres. But of how much value are they to students and universities?
To many in Europe, the workings of the EU can seem obscure and remote, its impact on their lives too indirect to pique their interest. In an effort to reduce that sense of disconnection, the European Commission in 1996 consolidated parts of its outreach effort into a single programme, Europe Direct, a major element of which consists of a network of information centres.
The busiest year in the network's history was 2008, according to the former European commissioner for multilingualism, Leonard Orban, and probably no country has been as busy as Orban's own, Romania.
Across the country, there are now 45 European information centres and documentation centres, a figure that, per capita, means Romania is better served than France (102) and Germany (109); in absolute terms, it is not far behind the UK (58), whose population is slightly less than three times larger.
The information centres, most of them established in 2008 and 2009, are aimed at one general group – the public – and two specific groups: businesses and universities. With 14 centres on campus, many of Romania's largest universities are now part of the network.
The centres' staff are clearly proud of the resources at their disposal. “We have 595 different publications here, on subjects ranging from European Community law to Romania's EU accession process and analytical papers on economic integration post-accession,” says Adriana Giurgiu, manager of the information centre at the University of Oradea. In addition, there are publications online that staff can guide students towards.
Such examples may sound too specialised to interest many, but staff report that the centres' books, journals and reports are being widely used by students for help with projects, assignments and dissertations.
Data and the most up-to-date information are in particular demand: Anisoara Popa, a lecturer at Galati's Danubius University and the manager of its information centre, says the most sought-after publications are books and reports from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
Such statements by staff members are borne out by students. Anca Dodescu, a student of European economies at Oradea, says: “The fact that I have access to a wide range of study materials on the EU makes me more confident about my skills and knowledge.”
“I used the study materials a lot for my dissertation,” says Andreea Calbeaza, who has just graduated in EU studies, political science and international relations from the Lucian Blaga University (LBU) in Sibiu. “What I found extremely useful was that the information available there is very up-to-date,” says Calbeaza, who has moved on to a master's at Université Libre de Bruxelles. The information she wanted certainly needed to be fresh, since the subject of her final-year paper in Sibiu was the Treaty of Lisbon, which was initialled in December 2007 and ratified only in November 2009.
Adrian Negrea, a student of European international relations in Oradea, highlights another benefit. “If I can't find the information I need, they ask other centres in Europe to answer my questions,” he says, though “they usually have the books I'm after”.
Calbeaza, Dodescu and Negrea are all regular users – Negra says he sometimes goes to Oradea's centre four times a week – but all are master's students with a specific interest in European issues. Are information centres of interest to younger students? And how much do they help a university?
The centres are clearly trying hard to increase usage. They use their own budget to stock up on general-interest publications to supplement the publications from the Commission.
They are also active in staging their own events, including debates. For example, Danubius University's centre organises ‘European Days' for its staff and students. Danubius and other universities also work with the students' union: the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) in Bucharest teamed up with the union to explain how the European Parliament works. The Lucian Blaga University has gone farther afield, regularly organising trips to Brussels, to show students around the EU's institutions, and to Strasbourg, to acquaint them principally with the Council of Europe.
Calbeaza is one of those who went on such a trip and has fond memories of it. “It was very different from what we had been learning at university,” she says. “We had the opportunity to talk to civil servants, members of parliament and various EU specialists – basically, to see for ourselves how the EU works.”
University administrators argue that hosting a centre gives them a competitive advantage. Nicolae Toderas, who manages SNSPA's centre, says “the fact that we have more resources and that we keep them up to date is something that attracts more high-quality applicants”.
The Romanian American University uses its centre as a means to promote itself to prospective students through what it refers to as ‘tea nights'.
“We try to put people from around the country in contact with specialists, students and teachers who can convince them to come to our university,” says Alexandru Butiseaca, the manager of the university's information centre.
Such promotion is costly and Gabriela Marchis, a lecturer and manager of Danubius's information centre, says “we can only afford to invest in our current students”.
The universities are, though, keen to use the centres as a marketing tool. “We're at the start, we're developing,” says Oradea University's Giurgiu, “but we have just had our first-ever initiative to advertise the centre to prospective students.”
In fact, Giurgiu is reaching out beyond the next wave of students. “We have just had an open day at a secondary school in Oradea, where a colleague and I, both European economics teachers, taught the 12-year-olds how the EU works,” Giurgiu says.
By the time they choose university courses, those pupils will probably have lost the EU memorabilia Giurgiu gave them, but Romania's lecturers are evidently very ready to give information about the EU to those beyond their lecture halls and information centres.Across the country, there are now 45 European information centres and documentation centres, a figure that, per capita, means Romania is better served than France and Germany
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/points-of-connection/67211.aspx
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