WISHES stands for Web-based Information Service for Higher Education Students (WISHES). As a European Project run by nine European institutions WISHES centrally promotes European work and study offers for students worldwide by means of a user-driven web-based information portal. Based on the expressed needs of over 4.000 students, this WISHES web-portal centralizes information and creates profiles of European higher education institutions (HEIs) and employment bodies, tailored to Bologna and Lisbon parameters.
Backed up with a powerful and diverse supporting network consisting of more than 100 HEIs, European associations and networks, as well as with the support of various national agencies, Rector's Conferences and the European Commission, WISHES offers its services to three main target groups: Students worldwide, higher education institutions and enterprises.
WISHES offers its benefits to three main target groups:
Students – students of universities and colleges worldwide interested in studying or working abroad. Additionally, WISHES also targets pupils searching for higher abroad. Close cooperation with student associations are currently set up (such as with the Erasmus Student Network or the European Medical Students Association).
Higher education institutions – Universities, Colleges, Academic Associations, Educational Networks, European Network, and other higher education institutions based in the Bologna signatory countries are eligible to present themselves and their offers in WISHES. Concretely WISHES targets persons responsible for international affairs such as vice rectors for international relations and international officers.
Enterprisers – employment bodies, members of professional associations, and companies based in the Bologna signatory states looking for ways to reach international students and recent graduates worldwide.
Meeting the needs of today's international students, the WISHES Mobility Portal consists of three components:
Information Portal: The information portal presents European study offers. Here in addition to relevant information about the various courses of study available, information about country, city, housing, cost of living, and similar will be presented.
Work placement database: The second component of the platform, the international work placement database, presents employment bodies and their offers by means of individual web-based business cards to students worldwide.
Online Community: In the "online community", the third component of the WISHES Mobility Portal, students comment, discuss and evaluate the various studies and work offers and practical issues of how to organize a stay abroad. This virtual marketplace is structured according to the various countries respectively university towns in Europe and thus enables a virtual matching of former and future international students – between and within the various students' generations.
The WISHES consortium consists of 9 institutions:
University of Paderborn (DE)
Haute École de la Province de Liège (BE)
CATT Innovation-Management GmbH (AT)
European Office of Cyprus (CY)
Ondokuz Mayıs University (TR)
Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB) (BE)
University of Granada (ES)
Tomas Bata University in Zlín (CZ)
Saint Petersburg State University of Service and Economics (RUS)
In December 2006 during their Erasmus Semester at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic Michael Steinmann and Ricardo Dores came up with the idea of creating one web portal centrally presenting all relevant information about living and learning in the Erasmus Universities throughout Europe.
Due to their huge commitment and achieved early support by various universities, their idea grew rapidly : Presentations on diverse international conferences were followed by an invitation from Alan Smith to present the idea behind WISHES in the Directorate General of Education and Culture (DG EAC) of the European Commission in Brussels in April 2007.
Supported by the University of Paderborn, Michael Steinmann and Prof. Dr. Leena Suhl submitted in 2008 a project proposal within the Action 4 of the Erasmus Mundus Programme to enhance the attractiveness of higher in Europe. Subsequently in October 2008, WISHES has been approved by the European Commission (Agreement No. 2008-2457 / 001 – 001 MUN MUNATT), and was kicked of in December 2008.
In 2009 three major WISHES surveys have been carried out to lay solid grounds for the future WISHES mobility portal: Within these surveys 600 higher education institutions, 100 enterprises and 4 000 students stated their wishes concerning a central source of information concerning European study and work options. Additionally, to further promote the project's idea, WISHES has in 2009 been presented within various major European conferences on higher education mobility: The ERACON Conference 2009 (29 April – 3 May 2009, Nicosia, Cyprus) and the EAIE Conference 2009 (16th – 19 September, Madrid, Spain).
In May 2010 the WISHES mobility portal was launched for higher education institutions during the WISHES Networking days (NWD 2010) in Essen, Germany. Since June 2010 European higher education institutions have been enabled to prepare their presentations in WISHES for the launch of WISHES for students worldwide in September 2010.
In September 2010 WISHES will be launched for students worldwide. Starting from February 2011 employment bodies will be able to promote their offers by means of WISHES.
Furthermore, Erasmus Mundus WISHES Project will be presented on the following conferences:
2010
July: ERACON Conference, Vienna, Austria
September: EAIE Conference, Nantes, France
November: QS APPLE, Singapore
2011
March: APAIE Conference, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
April: ERACON Conference, Athens, Greece
Juni: NAFSA, Vancouver, Canada
September: EAIE Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark
October: WISHES Networking days 2011, Saint Petersburg, Russia
WISHES is still offering further institutions to join its network. Until today the following higher education institutions have joined in on the WISHES idea:
Fundamental Scientific Library (AM)
Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts (AM)
Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance (AT)
Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences (AT)
Private University Seeburg Castle (AT)
National Aviation Academy of Azerbaijan (AZ)
Qafqaz University (AZ)
Dzemal Bijedic University in Mostar (BA)
Vrije Universiteit Brussel | Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
Hasselt University (BE)
Haute École de la Province de Liège (BE)
Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB) (BE)
IHECS International (BE)
University of Mons (BE)
University College West Flanders (BE)
Medical University of Pleven (BG)
New Bulgarian University (BG)
Veliko Tarnovo University (BG)
University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland (CH)
Webster University Geneva (CH)
University of Cyprus (CY)
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (CZ)
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ)
Masaryk University (CZ)
Mendel University Brno (CZ)
Newton College Brno (CZ)
Technical University of Ostrava (CZ)
University of Pardubice (CZ)
University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno (CZ)
University of West Bohemia (CZ)
Tomas Bata University in Zlín (CZ)
Viadrina European University (DE)
Aalen University (DE)
European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (DE)
Hochschule für Gesundheit und Sport (DE)
Ulm University (DE)
University of Applied Management (DE)
University of Paderborn (DE)
University of Goettingen (DE)
Copenhagen Business School (DK)
Tallinn University of Technology (EE)
Baltic Film and Media School (ES)
University of Oviedo (ES)
University of Córdoba (ES)
Autonomous University of Barcelona (ES)
National University of Distance Education (ES)
San Pablo CEU University(ES)
Technical University of Catalonia (ES)
University of Almeria (ES)
University of Cantabria (ES)
University of Coimbra (ES)
University of Córdoba (ES)
University of Granada (ES)
University of Girona (ES)
University of the Azores (ES)
University of the Basque Country (ES)
University of Vigo (ES)
University of Zaragoza (ES)
HAMK University of Applied Sciences (FI)
Lappeenranta University of Technology (FI)
Laurea University of Applied Sciences (FI)
Novia University of Applied Sciences (FI)
Tampere University of Technology (FI)
University of Eastern Finland (FI)
University of Lapland (FI)
University of Oulu (FI)
Ecole Superieure du Commerce exterieur (FR)
Lille Catholic University (FR)
Pierre Mendès-France University (FR)
Universite de Bretagne-Sud (FR)
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR)
Athens University of Economics and Business (GR)
Hellenic Open University (GR)
TEI of Epirus (GR)
TEI of Kavala (GR)
University of Crete (GR)
University of Zadar (HR)
Corvinus University of Budapest (HU)
Kodolányi János University of Applied Sciences (HU)
Szent István University (HU)
University of Debrecen (HU)
Reykjavik University (IS)
University of Iceland (IS)
Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta (IT)
University of Ferrara (IT)
University of Foggia (IT)
University of Parma (IT)
University of Pavia (IT)
Kyrgyz Technical University (KG)
Karaganda State University (KZ)
M. Auezov South Kazachstan State Univerzity (KZ)
Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (LT)
Kolping College(LT)
Klaipeda Business School (LT)
Kaunas College(LT)
Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LT)
Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (LT)
Mykolas Romeris University (LT)
Siauliai University (LT)
Utena College (LT)
Vilnius University (LT)
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (LT)
University of Management and Economics (LT)
Vytautas Magnus University (LT)
West Lithuania Business College (LT)
Latvian Academy of Culture (LV)
School of Business Administration Turiba (LV)
State University of Tetovo (MK)
Avans University of Applied Sciences (NL)
Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
Utrecht School of the Arts (NL)
VU University Amsterdam (NL)
Wageningen University (NL)
University of Agder (NO)
Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NO)
University of Information Technology and Management (PL)
Warsaw University of Technology (PL)
Academy of Businessv in Dabrowa Gornicza (PL)
Academy of Physical Education (PL)
Adam Mickiewicz University (PL)
Collegium Civitas (PL)
Cracow University of Economics (PL)
Cracow University of Technology (PL)
Karol Adamiecki University of Economics (PL)
Polish Academy of Sciences in Łódź (PL)
The Pedagogy Academy in Lodz (PL)
The West Pomeranian Business School (PL)
University of Łódź (PL)
Warsaw School of Economics (PL)
Wrocław Environmental and Life Sciences University (PL)
Catholic University of Portugal (PT)
Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Management (PT)
Higher Institute Bissaya Barreto (PT)
Instituto Politecnico de Castelo Branco (PT)
IPAM - Marketing School for Business (PT)
Lisbon University Institute (PT)
New University of Lisbon (PT)
Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (PT)
Polytechnic Institute of Porto (PT)
Polytechnic Institute of Tomar (PT)
School of communication and Media Studies (PT)
University Fernando Pessoa (PT)
University of Aveiro (PT)
University of Beira Interior (PT)
Politehnica University of Bucharest (RO)
Babeş-Bolyai University (RO)
University of Galati (RO)
Eftimie Murgu University Reşiţa (RO)
Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy (RO)
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (RO)
Titu Maiorescu University (RO)
University Babes Bolyai (RO)
University of Oradea (RO)
West University of Timişoara (RO)
Udmurt State University (RU)
Arkhangelsk State Technical University (RU)
Gorno-Altaisk State University (RU)
Kostroma State Nekrassow-University (RU)
Saint Petersburg State University of Service and Economics(RUS)
North-Caucasus State Technical University (RU)
Novosibirsk State Technical University (RU)
Moscow State Linguistic University (RU)
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RU)
Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University (RU)
Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (RU)
Matej Bel University(SK)
University of Žilina (SK)
GEA College of Entrepreneurship (SK)
University of Ljubljana (SL)
Istanbul Aydin University (SL)
Karlstad University (SW)
Mehmet Akif Ersoy University(TK)
Anadolu University (TR)
Bozok University (TR)
Cumhuriyet University (TR)
Dokuz Eylul University (TR)
Hacettepe University (TR)
Istanbul Aydin University (TR)
Izmir University of Economics (TR)
Karabuk University (TR)
Okan University (TR)
Ozyegin University (TR)
Pamukkale University (TR)
University of Gaziantep (TR)
Yasar University (TR)
Glasgow Caledonian University (TR)
University College London (UK)
University of Essex (UK)
