The Baltic Forestry, Veterinary and Agricultural University Network or BOVA UN is a connecting network of member universities aimed to strengthen higher education in agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine in the Baltic states and European Union. The network was inspired by the Nordic Forestry, Veterinary and Agricultural University Network (NOVA UN). NOVA UN is the major partner in all activities and projects of BOVA.
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History
BOVA was established in 1996 to build and strengthen academic collaboration as well as mobility and exchange of experience among BOVA member universities. Initially, the network started as the NOVABA programme for co-operation between the Nordic (NOVA) and the Baltic agricultural universities (BOVA) which was formally established in December 1995 in Kaunas, Lithuania. The NOVABA co-operation scheme was approved and in 1996 a Letter of Intent for further collaboration was signed in Tartu, Estonia. The primary activity of NOVABA programme was organisation of short MSc courses at the BOVA universities in 1996–2000. BOVA has also promoted establishment of professional contacts between academic staff of its universities.
In October 1999, the Rectors of BOVA and NOVA met again to review the progress of the cooperation project and sign yet another agreement. NOVABA received positive evaluations from participating students and teachers as well as an external expert. They identified establishment of personal professional networks as one of the major benefits of the programme. However, the major deficiency in NOVABA activity was complete dependence on the external financing, namely by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Little effort was made to find other sources of financing and NOVABA faced a sharp decline in its activities in 2001 when the support by the Nordic Council of Ministers ceased.
Responsible representatives of NOVA-BOVA recognised the need for new agreement with strengthened institutional capacities on the BOVA side. For this purpose, the NOVA side succeeded in obtaining a grant from the K&A Wallenberg Foundation for the project "Development of Nordic-Baltic academic collaboration in Forestry, Veterinary and Agriculture (NOVA-BOVA)". The grant of SEK 2.5 million was used until the end of 2004. The BOVA secretariat with one full-time position was established in June 2002. Also, three quarter-time coordinator positions and one contact person were established at BOVA member institutions. The main objective of the project was to build up the capacities during 2002–2004. Further, the success of the project should have been proved by expanding number of cooperation activities.
Starting in 2005, BOVA is a permanent network having well developed and functioning administrative structures and clearly defined objectives, tasks and activities and supported by its own internal funding. The first BOVA Strategy was developed during 2005 and approved in the beginning of 2006 by the BOVA Rectors’ Board for the period 2006–2009.
Member institutions
Rectors' Board
BOVA RB is the supreme decision making institution of the BOVA UN. It includes rectors of each BOVA UN member institution. The RB takes political key decisions for the network activities, development and funding. The agreed actions are implemented through the BOVA Rector and Secretariat.
BOVA Rector is the Chairman of the BOVA RB and elected by the BOVA RB for a three-year period and takes a voluntary position aimed to supervise the BOVA Secretariat's daily activities and manage internal BOVA funds according to the budget approved by the RB.
BOVA Coordination Committee
BOVA Coordination Committee (BOVA CC) is responsible for coordination of cooperation between BOVA member institutions, it formulates strategic objectives and supervises academic activities and acts as an advisory body to the BOVA Rectors' Board. Taking responsibility for overall coordination of BOVA activities between all member universities, BOVA CC members make a special emphasis on development of joint study courses and programs.
CC is established by the Rectors' Board and could include two representatives from each BOVA member institution. One student representative could participate in the CC meetings. The chairperson is appointed by the RB for a period of two years. Subsequently the position rotates between the CC members.
BOVA Secretariat
BOVA Secretariat was established in June 2002 and it serves as an executive body to the BOVA UN primarily aimed to coordinate cooperation activities and generate new initiatives, maintain and develop cooperation with NOVA UN and other relevant organizations. The Secretariat's staff is appointed and governed by the BOVA Rector.