I. A Fact Finding Mission to an All Together Different Country
“I really need to see your passport,”
the woman at Air Canada’s check-in counter at Washington’s Dulles
Airport insists. I don’t understand and suspect that having to show a
passport instead of an ordinary ID is a new harassment in a seemingly
endless line of innovative attempts at increasing security at American
airports. But then it occurs to me: flying to Ottawa means leaving the
U.S., because Canada is an all together different country, of course.
Living in the U.S., one tends to forget that. One also tends to
overlook the fact that despite the apparent similarities and the close
economic linkages between the two countries there are numerous and
substantial differences: Canada’s innovation system, in many regards
more similar to those of European countries, is one of them.
Based on the Austrian University Act of 2002,
three new and independent Medical Universities with full legal capacity
have been established as of January 2004. Though these universities are
young, they are part of a rich history, as they succeed the
long-standing universities in Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck.
Traditional virtues combined with a fresh start will guarantee the
implementation of further developed excellence in research, education
and medical care.
As of January 1, 2004, the University Act of 2002
had fully entered into effect. This law granted Austrian universities full
autonomy, which means that cooperation between the universities and the Austrian
Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture has changed fundamentally.
Many of the tasks and decisions that heretofore had been the Ministry’s responsibility
are now incumbent primarily upon the universities. One such task is the advancement
of women and the creation of equal opportunity for women and men in the sciences.
In the past few years, there has been an ongoing debate in Germany about a perceived “brain drain” from Germany to the United States and the general lamentation of the loss of German talent across the Atlantic.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) responded to this challenge by
creating the German Academic International Network (GAIN), a forum and information
platform for German scholars and scientists, aimed at encouraging them to
take advantage of the opportunities in Europe. In this context, a panel discussion on the “Perspectives of Young Academics at German Universities” took place on May 15, 2004, in New York City.
