The Bridge project was aimed at supporting UK-Russian university partnerships develop joint programmes leading to mutually recognised qualifications.
The project was sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) (England), was managed on a day to day basis by the British Council and supported by the National Training Foundation.
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To increase collaborative effort between Russian and UK universities using joint programmes leading to dual degrees or other mutually recognised academic qualifications. |
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To increase the awareness of the higher education systems in the two countries and to build the basis of future sustainable partnerships between collaborating institutions. |
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To agree on mutual agendas along the lines of the Bologna process. |
Sustainable full degree or continuous professional development partnerships.
The BRIDGE project funding started in June 2004 and continued till March 2009. The project is divided into 4 stages.
In BRIDGE 1 bids were invited from institutions that already had partnership experience with Russian/British HE institutions and were looking further to develop courses. 7 proposals are actively working towards the development of dual Masters programmes with Russian institutions mainly in Moscow and St Petersburg.
In BRIDGE 2 applications were encouraged from institutions with little or no experience of collaborative work in Russia/UK to develop new partnerships. Funding was available not only for full masters and undergraduate programmes but also for postgraduate level Continuous Professional Development programmes.
BRIDGE 2.5 additional round of applications announced in the autumn of 2005 encouraged CPD programmes only.
There are now a total of 14 active partnerships from BRIDGE 2 and 2.5, including 5 Masters programmes, 1 undergraduate award and 8 CPD programmes.
Again in BRIDGE 3 applications were encouraged from institutions with little or no experience of collaborative work in Russia/UK to develop new partnerships. Funding was again available for both full awards and CPD programmes. There are now 13 active partnerships from round 2: 3 Master level programmes, 1 undergraduate award and 9 CPD programmes.
BRIDGE 3.5 additional round of applications was announced late 2006 for both full degree and CPD programmes. Funding was available for taught programmes in Science & Technology subject fields. 2 partnerships received funding with 1 Master level programme and 1 CPD.
In BRIDGE 4 applications were encouraged for both full degree Masters programmes and CPD courses. There are now a total of 10 partnerships approved by BRIDGE Steering Committee including 3 Masters programmes and 7 CPDs from round 4.
Research collaboration programmes were invited for applying under Science and Technology strand of BRIDGE in 2006. 8 collaborative programmes were approved for funding in 2007.
Currently there are 53 active partnerships including 46 dual degree programmes and 7 research collaboration programmes
The project is currently at the final stage. External evaluation of the project will be condicted in April – June, 2009.
Additional information about the partnerships and case studies are available on BRIDGE project website: www.bridgeproject.ru
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