Speakers' Corner - Day 1

Day 1, Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Globalisation and New Markets

Johan van Rens

Mr van Rens, who has a law degree from Utrecht University, has been Director of Cedefop since 1994. Before that, he held a variety of posts, including membership, for many years, of the main advisory body for the Dutch Government on socio-economic questions (SER). Mr. Van Rens has been decorated with the German "Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande" and is in the Netherlands "Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau". Distance Learning - Developments in Europe In recent years, Cedefop has monitored the take-up of technology-supported learning in Europe through a series of esurveys, designed to identify the obstacles to elearning provision. Although somewhat lacking in statistical methodology they do pick up trends and developments. From the most recent results, the presentation will identify current issues relating to technology-supported learning and its provision in Europe in 2004.

Dr. Erika Teoman-Brenner

Erika studied Law at Graz University and International Relations at the Bologna Center of Johns Hopkins University; joined the Foreign Trade Department of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Industry and Commerce; held positions in New York and Rome and has been the Austrian Trade Delegate in Istanbul since 2000. First Steps to Export How do you find out about foreign markets; how do you offer your products and services in them successfully?. This talk will cover promotional events; efficient distribution; financial risk management; how to find partners and give them marketing support; and how to take account of cultural differences.

Sükrü Meriç

Sükrü studied philology at Istanbul University. In 1953, while still a student, he founded FONO. Only languages were offered at first. Then technical courses were added, including electronics, electricity, accounting, computer science and cosmetics. Today, as well as correspondence courses, FONO publishes reference books on languages: dictionaries, books on grammar, guide books, teach yourself books, etc. And fifteen years ago FONO founded a private high school. In the 50 years since foundation, FONO has had about 400,000 enrolments. All FONO courses are recognised by the Ministry of Education, and FONO joined EHSC in 1968. FONO’s Activities in Germany and Azerbaijan From an office in Nürnberg, and later Koblenz, FONO started correspondence courses in Germany in 1974. Subsequently, FONO GmbH was set up in Köln, and Akademi-FONO has been in Stuttgart since 1989. All courses target Turkish people and all the teaching material comes from Turkey. Around one thousand enrol each year. Final examinations, supervised by Turkish Ministry of Education staff, are held in various German cities. FONO started a branch in Azerbaijan in 1998, offering both distance learning courses and face-to-face tuition. Students include both Azerbaijanis and Turkish students attending Azerbaijan Universities.

Rik van Duifhuizen

Rik is General Manager of ESCC, the European School for Correspondence Courses. He has a law degree and obtained an MBA in 2003. He joined ESCC in 1995, has set up several new branches in various countries, and became General Manager in 2001. China is Different When ESCC entered the Chinese market about eight years ago, every proposal was greeted by the local management with the reply: "But China is different." This presentation will go into both the differences and the similarities to other countries that ESCC experienced in China, in culture, management and legislation as it affects distance education.

Dr. Andras Szücs

After graduation as a bio-engineer (1980), Andras taught for 10 years at Budapest University of Technology. Since then he held various international directorial posts, including the EU TEMPUS Programme in Hungary, the EU Phare Central-Eastern European Distance Education Programme and the European Communication Strategy Programme of the Hungarian Government. Currently, he is Secretary General of EDEN, Director of the Distance Education Centre of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and President of the Supervisory Board of the Hungarian Association of Industrial Parks. Stormy waters and fair winds - Navigating distance and e-Learning markets in Hungary and the enlarged European Union For economies in transition, meeting EU accession requirements presents a formidable challenge. Andras will survey distance and e-learning in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in Hungary, describing where it is and how it might develop. He will show how financial support from the government and tax benefit schemes, together with strict accreditation rules, may stimulate market growth despite the population's modest purchasing power. He will also explore the potential of international collaboration.

Li Shuzhen

Distance Learning in China Doc. Dr. Li was graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Northwest Normal University in 1985. In 2003 she took a doctor's degree with a thesis comparing Chinese and Turkish grammar. From 1985 to 1996 she worked as a teacher at Northwest Normal University. She has been the head of the Chinese Language and Literature Department at Fatih University since 1996. The Current Situation of Open Education in China China is a country with a very big population. There is a big need for open education. This paper will discuss the current situation of open education in China. It will look at the approach taken to implement improvements in the open education system. Differences between open education systems in China and Europe will be discussed.