Language Technology From A European Perspective

This paper describes the cooperation of four European Universities aiming at attracting more students to European master studies in Language and Communication Technologies. The cooperation has been formally approved within the framework of the new European program “Erasmus Mundus” as a Specific Support Action in 2004. The consortium also aims at creating a sound basis for a joint master program in the field of language technology and computer science. 1 European higher education: Erasmus Mundus The Erasmus Mundus programme [1] is a cooperation and mobility program in the field of higher education. It aims to enhance quality in European higher education and to promote intercultural understanding through co-operation with non-EU countries. The program is intended to strengthen European co-operation and international links in higher education by supporting high-quality European Masters Courses, by enabling students and visiting scholars from around the world to engage in postgraduate study at European universities, as well as by encouraging the outgoing mobility of European students and scholars towards non-EU countries. The Erasmus Mundus program comprises four concrete actions: ACTION 1 Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses: high-quality integrated courses at masters level offered by a consortium of at least three universities in at least three different European countries. ACTION 2 Erasmus Mundus scholarships: a scholarship scheme for non-EU-country graduate students and scholars from the whole world. ACTION 3 Partnerships: Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses selected under Action 1 also have the possibility of establishing partnerships with nonEU-country higher education institutions. ACTION 4 Enhancing attractiveness: projects aimed at enhancing the attractiveness of the European higher education.