The conference is part of the 3-year project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council through its NORGLOBAL programme, “European Integration in Higher Education and Research in the Western Balkans,” of which the Knowledge Base is also a part.

The conference will gather researchers and policy makers from Croatia and other countries of the Western Balkans and will focus on the current state-of-the-art with respect to data and knowledge about systems of higher education and research, data and analysis needs on the side of policy makers as well as key research topics and related theoretical and methodological approaches. The conference will also be an opportunity for researchers from the region to present their work and explore possibilities for collaboration with colleagues from the region and Norway.

The conference theme and information about paper submission

The  conference  will  primarily  focus  on  changes  in  the  higher  education  systems  and  institutions  in  the
Western  Balkan  countries,  in  particular  changes  that  can  be  linked  to  European  initiatives  in  higher
education,  such  as  the  Bologna  Process  and  the  EU’s  Europe  2020  Strategy  (incl.  Lisbon  Strategy  and Modernization Agenda).
One  session  during  the  conference  will  be dedicated  to  researchers who  have  already  done  studies  on  higher education  and  research  in  the  region. The session will follow in its format the similar paper sessions in international scientific conferences, with 3-4  papers  presented  in  each  session,  followed  by  comments  and  suggestions  by  other  participants  in  the session.

The  proposals  for  papers  should  be  sent  in  the  form  of  an  extended  summary  (maximum  800  words).
Information of the research topic or research questions, main theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches and overview of results should be included in the proposal.
Proposals  that  focus  on  issues  of  governance,  policy,  European  integration  and  contribution  of  higher education and research to regional development will be given priority. It is possible to submit proposals for papers focusing on one country or one institution, but preference is given to comparative studies.
Proposals must be sent no later than March 15, 2012 to martina.vukasovic@ped.uio.no as a .doc or .pdf file. A selection panel consisting of representatives of project partners will make the selection and  inform the authors no later than 1 April 2012.
Full versions of papers should be sent  no later than 25 April 2012 to the same address. Papers and the presentation at the conference must be in English.
Travel  and  accommodation  will  be  covered  to  authors  of  selected  papers.  In  case  the  paper  has  several authors, travel and accommodation will be covered for one author.

Please include the following points in your proposal:
1.   Name, affiliation, qualification and contact details (e-mail) of author that would present the paper
2.   Name, affiliation and qualification of other authors of the paper (if applicable)
3.   Full title of the paper
4.   Keywords (5 maximum)
5.   Extended summary (maximum 800 words)
a.   Abstract
b.   Research topic and/or research questions
c.   Theoretical framework
d.   Empirical data and methodology used
e.   Main/provisional results

The call for papers and further information (draft programme) can be downloaded from the following link:

http://www.herdata.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Open-conference-1-Zagreb.pdf

Information about the project: http://www.herdata.org