Universities are of vital interest for the development of modern knowledge-based societies as well as intellectually trained individuals ready to take responsibility for the political, economic, social and cultural advancement of a country, especially in Central and South East Europe. However, different conditions have to be fulfilled (legal, political, economic etc) in order to contribute to the general reform process.

After a workshop held in November 2006 and the completion of country reports and interviews conducted with numerous experts from the region, the preliminary results of the project will be discussed at the Final Conference on June 29/30, 2007 at the University of Graz (Austria) convened under the title “Institutions of Research and Tertiary Education in Central and South East Europe. Developments, Structures and Perspectives of these Institutions for their Integration into the European Higher Education and Research Area”. It aims to bring together different stakeholders and scientists from the region with their counterparts from Austria along with the relevant EU officials.

On the project website http://www.uni-graz.at/univsoe you can find the programme and further information.