The European Union invested up to 6.8 M€ for academic cooperation with industrialised countries in North America, through its longstanding cooperation with the US and Canada. Under this cooperation scheme, de Commission has announced the launch of 33 new and innovative projects involving universities and training institutions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Each project is jointly funded and supervised by the European Commission and the governments of the partner countries. Their objective is to promote mutual understanding, transparency and quality in higher education and training and provide students from both Europe and North America the experience of studying abroad. This is accomplished through the establishment of long-term institutional cooperation at the bachelor's and master's degree levels. The 33 projects launched in 2009 involve 154 institutions and more than 1220 student exchanges. In 2008, the Commission already launched 24 innovative projects involving universities and training institutions on both sides of the Atlantic, consolidating the longstanding cooperation with the US and Canada.

EU Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján Figel highlighted that due to the lasting cooperation within the EU-US Atlantis and the EU-Canada programme on higher education, the European Union has been inviting university professors, and particularly students, from our partners in North America to come to Europe to take part in joint study projects. By participating, students have the chance to work towards joint and double degrees, helping advanced education hubs in Europe and in North America develop, work closer together and aim higher.

4th EU-US Atlantis Programme Edition

The European Commission and the US Department of Education have jointly launched 25 new cooperation projects. These were selected from a record 75 applications to the Call EACEA 34/08 launched on December 2008; an increase of 50% from 2008. The projects involve 116 universities and training institutions from the EU and the US. The European Commission and the US Department for Education each contribute with 5.7 M€, an increase of 18% compared to 2008, to support 840 students in two-way transatlantic exchanges .

The Atlantis Programme now focuses on innovative courses and degree structures, such as transatlantic joint or double degrees. It seeks to encourage an innovative and sustainable range of student-centred activities, in both higher education and vocational education and training (VET).

2009 EU-US Atlantis Programme selected projects

• Nine Transatlantic Degrees. These absorb most of the budget and are joint or double Bachelor's or Master's degrees, which see students spend a full academic year on the other side of the Atlantic.
• Eight Excellence in Mobility projects. These projects are similar to the EU's Erasmus exchange programme in higher education and focus on curriculum development with student mobility for one academic term.
• Eight Policy Oriented Actions. These projects aim to enhance transatlantic collaboration through studies, seminars, working groups, and benchmarking exercises that address comparative higher education and vocational training issues.

New EU-Canada projects

Eight new projects have been launched under the EU-Canada agreement in the fields of higher education, training and youth (2006-2013). They will involve a total of 38 universities and training institutions in Canada and Europe. The number of applications to Call EACEA 33/08 under EU-Canada agreement increased substantially, with a 100% increase over last year for a total 44.

The European Commission's contribution of 1.1 M€, to be matched by Canadian authorities, will support joint projects on curriculum development and joint study or training programmes, allowing for the mobility of 384 students over the course of three years. These exchanges will be supported by the necessary mutual recognition of credits, linguistic and cultural preparation and a range of essential services and infrastructure.

This year's selected projects comprise six university-led projects and two VET-sponsored projects involving 18 Canadian universities/training institutions from five provinces and 20 European universities/training institutions from nine Member States. These eight projects are from a variety of disciplines including neuroscience, sustainable development, environmental and earth sciences, cooperative education, and computer intelligence.