UNICA
UNICA is an "Institutional Network of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe". It consists of 41 universities with a total of 120,000 employees and 1,500,000 students. UNICA was founded in 1990 and is amongst the five leading institutional academic univerity networks in Europe.
UNICA's Role
UNICA's role is to promote academic knowledge, integration and cooperation between the member universities. The network seeks to be a driving force in the development of the Bologna process and to facilitate the integration of the universities in Eastern and Central Europe into the European Higher Education Area.
Organisation
The organisation of the network is based on three bodies: The General Assembly (one annual meeting), the Steering Committee (four annual meetings), and the International Relations Officers' Committee (two annual meetings and an informal meeting at the EAIE conference).
A representative from the International Office at The University of Copenhagen participates in the International Relations Officers' Committee meetings. The University Rector or Pro-Rector participates in the General Assembly meeting which is held once a year, typically in October or November.
Working groupes and networks are coordinated by the member universities to ensure the highest level of commitment amongst the memebers. The general secretariat is located in Brussels and manages the general cooperation and administration of the network.
The Bologna Laboratory
The Bologna Laboratory is a committee under UNICA which has put together status reports (in relation to Bologna) from all member universities. The committee works on a proposal regarding common guidelines for joint degrees at Master's level within UNICA. The Bologna Lab has a website where all the information has been made available. As part of the Bologna Lab, two groups are working on the following projects:
Group I: "Clarification of Criteria". The group looks at which criteria to implement for joint UNICA degrees.
Group II: "Project Management". The group works on overall programme guidelines. The guidelines are to form the basis for the development of future joint degrees.
Student Conferences
Every second year UNICA holds a student conference focusing on European issues and education policies. It is attended by 200-300 students. The University of Copenhagen sends around 10 students to the conference; five are elected and five are selected by the International Office based on merits. The conference provides the students with the opportunity of exchange views and experiences with fellow European students.
Working Groups
UNICA has a number of working groups. Presently there are four groups in the following areas: Equal Opportunities, Science Park and Icubators, Urban Issues, and Disability, working with disabled students.
Seminars and Other Projects
UNICA organizes a number of seminars about relevant and current issues. Examples of previous seminars include: Diploma Supplement, Equal Opportunities, Fundraising and Scholarly Communication. UNICA also approaches other issues where cooperation is useful. More recently UNICA has suggested setting up a network of EU research administrators. The idea is to meet once a year to exchange experiences with EU fund-raising for research.
Questions regarding UNICA can be directed to the International Office.
