The Trans-European mobility scheme for university studies (TEMPUS) is the EU programme that supports the modernisation of higher education in the partner countries of the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. It contributes to creating an area of cooperation in the field of higher education between the European Union and partner countries surrounding the European Union. Established in 1990 Tempus has been renewed four times (Tempus II, Tempus IIbis and Tempus III - 2000 to 2006).

The indicative total budget for the first Call for Proposals under the new phase of the programme amounts to approximately € 51 million in total, and for individual projects from €0.5 to €1.5 million. The deadline for the electronic submission of proposals is 28 April 2008.

The overall objective of the Tempus IV will be to contribute to an area of cooperation in the field of higher education involving the European Union and partner countries in the surrounding area. In particular, Tempus promotes the voluntary convergence with EU developments in higher education deriving from the Lisbon Strategy to create more jobs and growth, and the Bologna Process to establish a European Area of Higher Education.

Tempus IV invites the submission of cooperative projects under two actions types, Joint Projects and Structural Measures:

1) Joint Projects are based on multilateral partnerships between higher education institutions in the EU and the partner countries. They can develop, modernise and disseminate new curricula, teaching methods or materials, boost a quality assurance culture, and modernise the management and governance of higher education institutions

2) Structural Measures contribute to the development and reform of higher education institutions and systems in partner countries, to enhance their quality and relevance, and increase their convergence with EU developments.

Tempus is managed by the European Commission's DG Education and Culture, DG EuropeAid-Cooperation Office, DG Enlargement, with assistance given by the European Training Foundation. Tempus projects are organised as consortia between institutions in EU Member States and those in the partner countries. In each EU Member State, a National Contact Point offers advice and assistance to prospective and current Tempus projects. In Tempus partner countries, the EU is aided by National Tempus Offices that facilitate partner search and provide information on Tempus in their countries.

Application proceedure:

The call for proposals is being published in the Official Journal of the European Union and on the Internet site of the European Commission's Directorate-General Education and Culture at the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/tempus

Independent evaluators will evaluate the project proposals according to criteria like rationale of the project, description of the project, outcomes and activities, design and planning tools, cost-effectiveness, etc.

A clear priority will be given to multi-country projects targeting more than one partner country.

Applications for Joint Projects and Structural Measures must be submitted no later than 28 April 2008.
In principle, the maximum project duration is 36 months for both project types, Joint Projects and Structural Measures. Project activities should start before 15 January 2009.

The minimum grant size for both Joint Projects and Structural Measures will be € 500,000. The maximum grant size will amount to € 1,500,000.

INDICATIVE MAXIMUM BUDGET for Western Balkans (under the Instrument
for Pre-accession Assistance):

Albania: € 0.85 million
Bosnia-Herzegovina: € 1.92 million
Croatia: € 2.4 million
fYRoM: € 2.8 million
Kosovo: € 1.44 million
Montenegro: € 0.64 million
Serbia: € 5.6 million
Subtotal: € 15.65 million
(source: http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/tempus/call08/call_en.pdf, p.9)

Application criteria:

In order to be eligible for the award of a grant, applicants must meet the following criteria:

(1) Applicants must be legal persons ("legal entities") in the EU or Tempus partner
countries.

(2) Applicants for Joint Projects must be:

- State-recognised, public or private, higher education institutions;

- Associations / organisations / networks of higher education institutions dedicated to the promotion, improvement and reform of European higher education as well as to co-operation within Europe and between Europe and other parts of the world. If such associations / organisations / networks also cover other education sectors and training, the main focus of their activities must be on higher education.

(3) Applicants for Structural Measures must be
- legal entities as stipulated above;
- public authorities (Ministries, national and regional administrations linked to higher education);
- national or international rector, teacher or student organisations.

(4) All legal entities mentioned above must be legally established for more than 5 years:
they must submit a copy of the applicant organisation’s articles of association and official certificate of legal registration.

Eligible countries:

There are four groups of eligible countries:
- 27 Member States of the European Union;
- 6 countries of the Western Balkan region;
- 16 countries in the Southern and Eastern neighbouring area of the European Union and the Russian Federation;
- 5 Central Asian Republics.

Source:
Tempus homepage: http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/tempus/index_en.html
European Comission : http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/tempus/call08/call_en.pdf