QUALITY

The EURHEO-Masters is managed scientifically and pedagogically by the Scientific Committee which is constituted by the local coordinators at each HEI; the coordinator of UMinho is also the president of the Steering Committee. The Consortium, and particularly the Scientific Committee, is made up of scientists and lecturers with a high reputation for their scientific and pedagogical quality, all having a large experience in teaching, well recognized and highly successful international scientific careers and a history of scientific and academic cooperation; these factors further guarantee the pedagogical and scientific quality of the programme. Also, all of them have a well-established track record of cooperation with industry, which further enhances the future professional prospects of EURHEO graduates.

 

Internal Quality Assurance

Academically, there are both internal and external quality assurance and evaluation mechanisms foreseen in EURHEO. The internal quality assurance mechanisms are coordinated by the Scientific Committee. In this respect, there will be three main vectors:

 

a) Periodic meetings of the Scientific Committee, aimed at assessing the students’ performance and the quality of the teaching methods and support material, as well as the final selection of students.

 

b) The student selection procedure, which ensures that only the most qualified are accepted into the Masters. In fact, in order to be admitted, a student will have to go through three consecutive steps:

  • An initial screening of the applicants’ skills and qualifications.

  • If deemed necessary by the Scientific Committee, an interview to assess their scientific, cultural and language skills.

  • The definition of a tailored Study Plan, including the possible compulsory attendance of a Homogenization Module.

c) Definition of a holistic approach regarding quality assurance and assessment (students, teachers, courses, academic and organizational). Several internal confidential inquiries are organized in order to have the best measure of feedback. In addition, the participating universities have their own additional methods for quality assurance and assessment, such as questionnaires and hearings

 

External Quality Assurance

The main external quality assurance and evaluation mechanism is realized through the External Board of Advisors, EBA. The EBA convenes once per year and is responsible for the overview of the scientific and pedagogical quality of the Masters and help in its strategic development in terms of the future research trends and employment opportunities in Europe. They produce reports on issues such as cohesion of the programme, quality of the students, policy concerning the selection of scholars, etc.

 

The present day members of the EBA are:

  • Professor Manfred Wagner, Technical University of Berlin, Germany (present day president of the European Society of Rheology).

  • Professor Ken Walters, FRS, University of Wales Aberystwyth, UK.

  • Professor Jan Mewis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

  • Dr Howard Barnes, OBE, Unilever Research, UK.

  • Professors Wagner, Walters and Mewis are some of the most outstanding and internationally acclaimed rheologists, having won numerous international awards and recognitions. Dr. Barnes is one of the most highly respected industrial rheologists in Europe and was responsible for the R&D activities of Unilever for many years.