John H. Wotiz
Southern Illinois University Carbondole, 62901
Higher Education in Chemistry in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia
Among American (and probably other Western) educators and scientists there is little information and knowledge available about the East European system, method, scope, and quality of education. An exception may be the education in the USSR which this author recently described (I). It is the purpose of this paper to present the higher education in chemistry in each of the visited countries,' make some comparisons and evaluations within each country, and vis-a-vis the USA and the USSR. It is hoped that East European pre- and post-doctoral students who come to the US will be placed into Universities and,Institutes where the education and research is not too hlgh or too low in relation to their previous experience in their home countries. Bulgaria
Education and research in chemistry in Bulgaria2 is relatively of recent origin. The University of Sofia was founded in 1888. In 1890 the Department of Chemistry was set u p within the framework of the Department of Physics and Mathematics which for more than 50 years was the only Institute of higher education and the largest chemical research center in Bulgaria. An independent Chemistry Department a t the University of Sofia was started in 1962. The Institute of Chemical Technology was started as an independent Institute in 1953, with specialization in Organic and Inorganic Technology. Food technology is taught in Plovdiv (1953), and technology related mostly to petroleum and silicates is taught in Burgas (f. 1963). The youngest Bulgarian university is in Plovdiv, which in 1972 evolved from an existing pedagogical institution. Admission to all Universities in Bulearia reouires an entrance examination. It is now given only in chemistry and is necessarv because mades from hieh schools (Gvmnasia) are not e&al througLout the c o u n h . City schdols seem t o be of better quality. A double standard of examination scores is necessary in order to admit 50% men and 50% women since women score higher on exams. This is not considered discrimination or a Numerous Claussus since 50% of all the population are women. The preponderance of women students in chemistry and. chemical technology causes some problems in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Education has to set entrance quotas in this and other fields. ~
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=In 1912, the author visited Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Yygoslavia, and Poland in an exchange program between the American (National) and the respective foreign Academies of Sciences. The information and evaluation described in this article was eolLected through numerous interviews and discussions in Universities, Palytechnical Universities, Research Institutes, Ministries of Education and Research, and with representatives of the Aeademies of Science. Although the present paper deals with chemistry, the informatirin herein can be extrapolated to most of the other scientific and technological disciplines. The term "East European" countries is used in this paper with the full knowledge that the location of some of the countries is in Central Europe or on the Balkan. 2Educatian and Research installations in Sofia, Plovdiv, and Burgas were visited. 520
1 Journal of Chemical Education
The University and Technological Institutes' curriculum resembles the curricula in the Russian Institutions (I). The technological institutions are relatively new; it is not surprising to find that many faculty members were educated as chemists at Sofia University, or as chemical engineers in foreign countries, mostly in the USSR. All higher education in chemistry in Bulgaria reflects the country's need to change from a piedominantly agricultural to,a more industrialized economy. The 10-semester curriculum prepared in the Ministry of Education was uniform for all Bulgarian schools of the same type. The fifth year contained diploma (research) work, culminating in a thesis. The Russian system of education ( 1 ) and even the Russian nomenclature is used in Bulgarian advanced naduate trainine (I). An entrance examination to maduate studies (Aspirantura) is given by individual institutions. The students take a comprehensive examination only in the field of their specialization, and defend their thesis to become a Candidate of Science, a demee below the US PhD level. Aspirants can also do their work in industrial laboratories and many times in an environment not well-suited to an expansion of fundamental knowledge. Consequently the Candidate of Science examinations are administered bv Scientific Councils. a moun of Professors and Scientists of appropriate professional and academic qualifications. Onlv the maior and established Universities and Institutes o i the ~ c a d e m yof Sciences have such Scientific Councils. The findings and decisions of Scientific Councils must also be ratified by the Attestation Commission in order to assure uniform country-wide standards. The Doctor of Science degree is awarded under the same conditions as in the USSR (I), and may be a sign of recognition of past activities and accomplishments. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgarska Akadimia no Naukite, BAN) became the highest scientific organization in 1949 (2). It is directly responsible to the Council of Ministers. With the a d o ~ t i o nof the Soviet svstem. Bulgaria inherited all its problems and weaknesses. Just like in the USSR (1) the drivine force of manv scientis,ts is to earn the highest professional degree and become an Academician. Besides the ~restiee. there are many material advantages. Salary bonuses are automatically awarded to individuals according.to academic degree andrank they hold. Interestingly all employes of an Academy Institute receive a salarv . nremium (20% of their base salarv) " . if thev are working on projects sponsored by industry and provided that the industrv eoals are met. Academv Institute employes who are n o t directly connected with industry projects get only a 10% premium. It is quite apparent that the Bulgarian system has many incentives. Since Bulgaria has only a population of about 8.5 million and little tradition and exnerience in research and development, it is not difficult to understand that there is not sufficient deoth of aualified Cniversitv educators and researchers. ~ h i i and , the lack of foreign (hard) currency with which to buy modern and sophisticated instruments, make the higher education and research in chemistry in Bulgaria a very difficult matter.
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In 1958 the Institute of Chemistry (BAN) was founded in Sofia. In 1960 i t was split into th& separate Institutes: Physical, General and Inorganic, and Organic Chemistry Institutes. The Institutes have relatively modem and recent instruments, frequently bought in the West. With the great shortages of properly qualified senior professors and researchers in Bulgaria, i t became necessary for many individuals to have a double appointment, one in a University and one in an Academy Institute. Since the latter has more prestige, and since the Academy has better equipment, professors give more attention to their Academy activities. The teaching of the bulk of students a t the University is frequently left to Professors who do not have an Academy appointment and who are not ta, well qualified to teach modem research-oriented courses. The quality of instruction thus suffers. Educational improvements were initiated by the Party and the Government as early as 1967. The educational situation actually deteriorated since that time since greater numbers of students were admitted to the Universities. The Universities were unable to cope with such problems without outside assistance. Bulgaria has been reorganizing education and research in many fields since 1967. Many changes in the education of chemists and chemical technologists will go into effect in the 1972-73 school vear. The education and trainine of specialists will be c ~ o s & linked. ~ In the new plan the h i versity education will last only four years and will include only a modest diploma (research) work. The graduates may leave after four years (first level) for industry as Diuloma Chemists. A smaller. but of hieher aualitv. u~ -. m o. bf students will continue thkir study f& an idditional one and one-half w a r s (second level). Such maduates will receive the degree of ~ a ~ i s t eAr .third level will be the existing Aspirantura of three years' duration. The students in the first level will have no access to the Academy laboratories. They will use relatively simple and perhaps outdated, handed-down equipment from Academy laboratories. There are plans to adequately finance the cast of instrumentation in the first level. It is now established that a central, strong Academy like the one in the USSR will influence the progress in all fields, and Sofia University will raise the level of all Bulgarian Universities. The cooperation and the pattern that presently exist between the Novosibirsk University and the Institutes of the Academy in Akademgorodog in the USSR (I) was now adouted for Bulgaria. Unified Centers are creitkd which will 6e under t h e d u a l supervision of a ioint committee from the Academv and Ministrv of Education. Hungary
The present educational system and research organization in Hungary3 is difficult to describe because several options exist which frequently overlap and duplicate. Before World War II, Hungary had a typical central European or German system of education. With the change of the political system, the education changed as well. The Huugarian Academy of Sciences, (founded in 1825) was completely reorganized in 1949 to resemble the activities of the Academy in the USSR (I). As such, it was charged with the organization, direction, and coordination of scientific research in fundamental and applied areas. The Academy thus took over the research that was previouslv carried out in the Universities and became involved in education on higher level. From 1949 most of the Academv specialized laboratories and Institutes were established first on the University premises. Later on many were moved into their own buildings. They work only in selected fields of chemistry because Hungary is a small country (population 10.5 million) and cannot support research in all fields. Chemistry in Hungary is studied a t Universities in Bu-
dapest (founded in 1635), Szeged (founded originally in 1872 in Cluj, Romania, but many of its faculty came to Szeged in 1921 when the country's boundaries were redrawn), Debrecen (founded in 1538 as a Calvinist seminary and as a University in 1912), and in Technical Universities in Budapest (f. 1871), and Veszprem (f. 1949). The Universities in Szeged and Debrecen have a campus, which Budamst does not have. The contact with other disciplines &ay be partly responsible for a good preparation of chemists in the two orovincial Universities. The admission to the university is limited and regulated by the Ministry of Education. This is t o avoid overcrowding of the schools and possible unemployment or underemployment after graduation. This is a problem especially in Budapest since most of the graduates prefer t o live in the large metropolitan city. Job assignment no longer exists and people are free to choose places and areas of work. However,students who studied on industrial scholarships must repay their sponsors if they choose to work for another employer. The education in Universities lasts five years and graduates become Diploma Chemists. About 30% of the subjects are not Chemistry or Chemical Engineering. Diploma research is included in the curriculum and may also be carried out in the laboratories of Academy Institutes. The Academy Institutes, compared to the Universities, have significantly more and better instrumentation because the Academy has more Western funds to disburse than the Ministry of Education. In the opinion of many Hungarian educators this became an especially serious problem when the Academy Institutes were erected away from the existing teaching facilities. The emergence of a strong Academy in 1949 signified that the University had to direct its attention to Diploma studies. In years 1949-56 the Universities lost even the right to award the University Doctor degree (PhD). In 1949 the Academy established its own advanced degrees, the Candidate of Science and the Doctor of Science (Candidates and Doctor Scientarum), just like in the Soviet Union (I), after which it was patterned. The reestablishment of the Hungarian University PhD in 1956 resulted in its downgrading in relation to the Candidate of Science. The Doctor of Science is awarded as a sign of accomplishment and can be considered to be honorary. People frequently refer to them as "Small Doctor" (Hung. PhD) and "BigDoctor" (Dr. of Sc.). The Candidates of Science, Doctors of Science, Corresponding Members, and Academicians, receive significant salary bonuses. The University PhD does not provide for an automatic salary bonus. The Candidate of Science degree can be reached only through scientific accomplishment and consequently the recipients are rather old, e.g., 35. After the adoption of this Russian-like higher education in 1949, the Aspirantura fellowships with entrance examinations were used to build u p the number of Candidates of Science. Many times researchers studied in foreign countries, mostly the USSR. Presently aspirants are few in number and are mostly researchers in industrial laboratories who have little access to a University and/or Academy Institute lahoratory. Established researchers, mostly University professors, were automatically given in 1949 the degree of Doctor of Science in order to retain their prestige. The Candidate of Science degree requires a public defense and examination which includes two opponents. The degree is eventually awarded by the Academy Committee on Scientific Qualifications (CSQ) which corresponds to the Supreme Attestation Committee in the USSR (I). One of the major functions of thc CSQ is to assure uniSEdueation and research institutes in Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged, and Veszprem were visited. Volume 50, Number8, August 1973
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form standards of accomplishment in all Hungary. Such standards in most instances are higher than set by individual Universities where the level of the PhD examination varies significantly from one University to another, and even from one field to another within a given University. In many cases the difference between the PhD and Candidate of Science degrees is only the fact that the PhD research did not culminate as yet in a publication. The reorganizations of Hungarian education in 1949, 1956, and 1969 were to improve existing situations, hut in most cases, they were not complete. Many old practices are continued. The present Hungarian system is a hybrid resulting from too many compromises. In the f i t period (1949-56), Academy Institutes were founded and had a spectacular growth. Arrangements were made in 1956 to provide space for Diploma students in the Institutes. However this was resented by University personnel hecause it deprived them of the hest students. Double appointments in Universities and Academy, sometime in two cities, e.g., Budapest and Dehrecen, were made to bridge this gap. By 1969 the gap was even more pronounced. In order to eliminate salary differences University employees received a 17% salary raise in 1970, hut people in the Institutes did not receive any. The growth and proliferation of research Institutes were frequently the result of the desire of individual Academicians to head Institutes in their specialties. However, Institutes were continued after the retirement or death of the foundine " Academicians. This dilemma is known to many prominent educators and Academicians but many emnire builders survived the reorganizations. The expensive duplication of research and educational efforts creates the opinion that the Academy may lose its Institutes working in basic research in a future reorganization. A visible benefit of the reorganizations in 1956 and 1969 is the more relaxed attitude in the Academy and Universities. The Ministry of Higher Education gave considerable autonomy to individual Universities to work out its own curriculum requirements and standards. Although changes came slowly and many times only in isolated cases, i t can he said that Hungary no longer has a unified curriculum requirement. With all the obvious difficulties, the Hungarian education is vital and of relatively good quality. It is no accident that this small country produced five Nobel prize winners. Poland
In Poland4 the recovery from the World War I1 destruction is slow and difficult to bring about. During the war, universities were closed and about 40% of their staff vanished (3). Many of the university and laboratory huildings, together with other parts of the cities, were destroyed. The present population of 33 million is about that of pre-war Poland, hut the outcome of the war changed some of its territory. In the East, Poland lost land to the Soviet Union and in the West it gained land a t the expense of Germany. Such changes resulted in a wholesale movement of population from the East to the West, university personnel included. The post-war general emphasis on higher education, especially in the sciences and technology, resulted in a large rebuilding and restaffing program of the destroyed universities and research centers, and in the founding of new ones. Obviously there was not sufficient qualified manpower to accomplish such a monumental task. Even in 1972 there still seems to he an insufficient numher of properly qualified professors, managers and/or directors. Tca many of the present leaders were educated before the war and are too old to take care properly of the problems of today. The new generation has an uphill battle to exert itself because the system and tradition in Poland is not in its favor. This situation is also characteristic of the 522
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Journal of Chemical Education
other East European countries. The problem is, however, more serious in Poland because of the missing war-generation. Just like in the other East European countries the postwar era brought the establishment in 1951 of a strong Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) with Research Institutes and higher degrees patterned after the USSR (I). However, in Poland the degree of Candidate of Science was abolished in 1956. Chemistry in Poland is studied in Universities in Cracow (Jagiellonian University, founded in 1364, one of the oldest in Central Europe), Warsaw (f. 1818), Poznan (f. 1919). Wroclaw (f. 1945 on the premises of the previous and bider ~ r e s l a ; University), ~ i b l i n Lodz, , TON;, Katovice. Gdansk. and Technical Universities in Warsaw, ~ o z n a n ,Wroclaw, Gdansk, and most recently in Czestochowa. Only the ones in Warsaw, Cracow, Gdansk, and Poznan existed before the war. The Czestochowa Technical University does not specialize in Chemistry. Primary and secondary education was recently expanded from 11 to 12 years. Graduates must pass entrance examinations prepared separately in each University which consequently are not uniform. It seems that the Universities in Warsaw and in other major cities have more applicants than the provincial schools. They can afford to he more selective in their admission practices. Since the quality of secondary education is quite low in many provincial high schools, because there are too many poorly prepared high school teachers, the provincial Universities receive a generally lower quality of students. Since 1970 the interest in chemistry decreased thronghout Poland and this decreased the numher of applicants. This is due partly to the decrease in the job opportunities, and due to the relative difficulty of the subject matter. Students now seem to favor the social sciences. The lack of job opportunities for chemists was also reflected in the government quotas for acceptances, and most Universities had to decrease the number of entering students by about 20%. For an East European country, Poland's dropout rate of University students is unusually high, especially in the first two years of study. In some schools only 60% of entering students graduate, and only about 40% of them finish the five-year-long curriculum leading to Magister (MSc) degree in the prescribed time. The curriculum throughout Poland is essentially uniform, and includes research in the fifth year of study (4). In Technical Universities study can terminate also in the third year and the title Engineer is awarded. Graduates are required to work for three years in a place provided by the University Department of Employment. In practice only 5-10% of chemistry graduates are assigned since students are able to find their own places of employment. Emigration requires the graduate to refund to the State 40,000 Zloty, the cost of five years of education. If a student drops out before receiving the MSc, refunding is not necessary. One of the main orohlems nresentlv under studv is the streamlining of course offering and the reduction of iustructional hours from the oresent 4G42 hrlwk (including paramilitary physical education), to 32 hr/wk. Most of the reduction will be done at the expense of analytical chemistry. In order to facilitate changes and to preserve the status of Professors, the Chairs were consolidated in 1969 into Institutes within a University, and not Faculties. In one University, 130 chairs were reorganized into 30 Institutes headed by a Director and a Scientific Council made *Educational and Research Institutes in Warsaw, Lodz, Wroclaw, Glivice, Zabrze, Katovice, Poznan, Crakow, Torun, and Gdansk were visited.
u p of all Professors and Habilitated Doctors (Independent Scientists, previously also called Docent). A Scientific Council of 12 members has the right to conduct doctor examinations (PhD), but it is not large enough for habilitation examinations. For such a purpose Scientific Councils of various, but related, institutes may be combined and examinations held. In Poland there are two routes to become a Doctor of Chemical Sciences (PhD). The older and traditional method requires a Magister to become an assistant who teaches about 18 hrfwk. Students work on a research problem which has to be completed and defended within the eight years. Most students spend about six years in this program during which time they earn a University salary and have all the fringe benefits of an employee (e.g., memhership in a trade union). The traditional route has many shortcomings. Since it takes u p to-eight years for completion, the research problem may lose its purpose and novelty. I t requires specialization and examination in only one field. Thus, students are not well-versed in other fields of chemistry. Frequently the degree was awarded only upon the strong recommendation of the Proponent (Research Advisor) who felt compassion for a student who worked with him for eight years. A second route to the PhD degree was officially accepted by the ministry in 1969. I t established PhD School programs (Studium Doktoranckie) in Universities and in the Institutes of the Academy of Sciences. It gave each individual . nromam considerable flexibilitv to work out the specific requirements. Each PhD School receives money from the Ministry for a specified number of stipends. usually 5 to 15 new~students are accepted yearly in each program. Students must have a MSc but it does not have to be in chemistry. There is an entrance examination where each PhD school sets its own and specific requirements. The program requires the student to pass eight examinations in different subjects but in the general area of specialization. Students also work on a research problem which is eventually summarized in a thesis and defended before the Scientific Council all within three years. In spite of the fact that students have no other responsihilities (e.g., teaching duties) it is difficult to complete the requirements in the three-year limit, and extentions are grantedfor afourth year. The PhD School program and requirements resemble the graduate studies in the USA, especially in places where the examinations are preceded by lecture courses. I t also shortens the time for getting the PhD degree. However, the obvious improvements and benefits do not always make this program popular and universally adopted. Some Professors a t Universities think that students spend too much time preparing for examinations and not enough time in research. Research in Poland still requires significantly more time than in the USA because of the general inefficiency and lack of modern instrumentation. Students also have mixed feelings as to the desirability of the PhD Schools. The best and most confident students like the short time for getting the PhD degree. However, the majority of Polish students prefer the longer route because it gives them job security. The fact is that the Polish Universities and Academy Institutes cannot absorb all the new PhD holders. Industrv is freouentlv reluctant to hire them because the students' education is on a broader basis and not always related to the industw's immediate ~roblem.Furthermore. in many industrial places the supervisory personnel lacks the advanced degree and fears the eventual competition from the better educated younger new employee. The requirements for the PhD degree are identical in the Universities and in the Academy Institutes. Since 1972, both are under the Ministry of University Educa-
tion, Science and Technique: which also allocates their funds. The quality of the PhD degree seems higher in the Academy. In 1971, 92% of all Polish PhD degrees were awarded in the Universities, 7% in the Academy and only 1% in Industrial Institutes. It is expected that the number of degrees awarded by the Academy will increase to 12% by 1975. Besides the PhD degree, Poland also has the Habilitated Doctor (Doctor Habilitatus) level. It is awarded to individuals who have published extensively. Docent (Assoc. Prof.) is no longer a professional rank, only a functional degree. In general, Polish doctoral education is flexible and provides an opportunity to individuals to prove their worth. Romania
Higher education in chemistry in Romania6 is offered in the Universities in Iasi, Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara, and Craiova (founded in 1860, 1864, 1870, 1962, and 1966, respectively), and in the Polytechnical Universities in Bucharest, Iasi, and Timisoara (founded in 1819, 1912, 1920, respectively). For an Eastern Socialist country with a population of 20 million this does not seem to present a proliferation of educational efforts. The education in general, and chemistry in particular, is oriented to the increase of the efficiency and quantity of industrial production. In 1948 the Romanian Academy of Sciences was reorganized along the USSR lines, started to erect Research Institutes, and became involved in higher education just like in Russia (I). By 1964 i t became apparent that the Soviet model of higher education does not fit well the smaller countries, and changes were intitiated. The Russian degree of Candidate of Science (I) meant nothing in Romania and was abolished in 1965 along with the Aspbantura fellowships (I). The big reorganization took place in 1970 a t the urging of the Party and the Assembly which studied the problem for some years. The Academy lost the supervision of its numerous Institutes and Research Centers. The supervision was transferred to the Ministrv of Education or to appropriate Ministries of Industry. The Academy lost also most of its government an~ronriated funds. Since 1967 .. . f i y - t h r e e ~cademiciansor corresponding members died. The deterioration of the Academy is also evident from the fact that there were no elections to replace them as yet. These drastic cutbacks became necessary because the Academv was oroliferating government funds by creating too many new institutes, sometimes only to satisfy the de: mands of its Academicians who wanted to head their own Institutes. Primary and secondary education in Romania takes 12 years and culminates into a "bacalurate" (maturum). The number of graduates who entered Universities rose from 20 to 25% in the last five years. The actual number of admissions is set by Ministry determined quota. A change of fields of specialization is not-possible without a new entrance examination which makes the systems very inflexible. About 70% of entering students are women. There seems to be no effort to equalize the ratio between men and women studying chemistry or chemical engineering. However, Romania is a country where women are more successful in reaching higher posts and positions (I). There are many women Professors and presently two women chemists are Academicians. Ninety per cent of the entering students complete the *The Mmratry uf Eduratron now deals only wnh lower edura tron and ~ h d ddevelopment 6 Edurat~onaland Research lnstltutes m Hucharest. Cluj. and Timiaoara were visited. Volume 50, Number 8, August 1973
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five-year-long studies. Universities have some autonomy in course offering. Specialization courses and projects are required in the last year and students have some choices in making selections. Graduates become Diploma Chemists or Diploma Chemical Engineers. In Polytechnical Universities study can also terminate after three years and the title Subengineer is awarded. According to the 1972 legislation, students no longer receive financial support from the government but from individual industries. They must select a curriculum and courses which have a direct bearing on the activity and problems of the industry that supports them. Graduates must work for a t least three years for their sponsors in order to repay them for the cost of their education. In this manner, Romanians are trying to make certain that education is also fulfilling the national goal of increasing production. Changing of jobs after the three-year period is possible, provided they stay within the general area of chemistry. The assurance or guarantee of a job is considered by Romanians to be one of the best features of their educational system. The research jobs in Bucharest, which are considered to be the best available positions in Romania, go to students who had the highest University grades. However, the competition for the best jobs is limited to the very few good students. The great majority of students know that they are out of the competition and do not exert themselves. They do the minimum of work, just enough to get through their studies, and consequently the general level of education suffers. Post Diploma work leading to Doctor Chemist (PhD) or Doctor Engineer degrees can be carried out in Universities or in the laboratories of Research Institutes and Centers which are now under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. Special fellowships, which take the place of the three-year industry work requirement, are awarded to individuals who passed entrance examinations for doctoral studies in Research Centers (Institutes). The highest professional level is Doctor Docent, equivalent. and in some laces called Doctor of Science. It is awkded to individkals who have demonstrated through numerous publications their accomplishments ih research. Professor is used in Romania as a-title and not as a degree. Attempts are also underway with better funding to eliminate the uneven aualitv between Chairs in the University. The ones headed h i Academicians or University administrators are still suverior. "Inbreeding" is considered normal and even desirable. Yugoslavia
In Yugoslavia7 Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (Technology) is studied in the same Universities which are located in Belgrade (founded 1863) Novi Sad (f. 1960), Zagreb (f. 1669), Ljuhjana (f. 1595), Skopje (f. 1949), and Sarajevo (f. 1946). However, chemistry and chemical engineering have different and separate teaching faculties sometimes located in different parts of the town. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, chemistry is taught a t the Sarajevo, and chemical engineering a t the Tuzla locations, two cities about 100 miles apart. Politically, Yugoslavia was only a few years after World War Il in the block of Eastern Socialist countries. There are few visible sims of the Soviet educational svstem (1) which was practiced during that period. As a"~ocialist Federated Renuhlic. it consists of six auite autonomous states. ~ u t o n o m yi$ also practiced in kducation in the Universities which set their own standards and require-
7Educational and Research Institutes in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Sabac, (Serbia): Sarajevo, Tuzla (Bosnia-Herzegavnia); Zagreb (Croatia); Ljubjana (Slovenia); and Skopje (Macedonia) were visited. 524
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Journal of Chemical Education
ments. The curriculum is internally decided, and not by any Ministry of Education. Undergraduate schooling is free and graduate stipends depend on grades, personal needs, and possible need of industry. However, the State, or Repuhlic, do not guarantee employment. Graduates have to compete, and the profit and self-preservation motives are quite apparent. With the present overproduction of chemists, unemployment (or underemployment) is hecoming a problem. This may be partly due to the fact that the expansion (or creation) of chemical industry did not keep step with the output of professionally educated chemists. The aualitv of education is m i t e eood in the older Universities' loc&d in Belgrade, ~ a g r e L ,and Ljuhjana. The newer Universities have a difficult time in imnrovine the quality of their staff since people are not willing to locate in the provincial towns, even at higher salaries. The instmmentation in the post-war Universities is also not up to acceptable standards. If available, there is some doubt that thb staff in the provincial Vniversities would know hnw to use them to the maximum efficiency and henefit. Education in the Universities ir divided into three levels. The first level is of four-year duration and leads to the Bachelor's degree (also called Diploma). Typically students attend 10 hr of classes and 20 hr/wk in laboratories. Specialization begins in the third year, and the fourth year includes thesis research and seminars in the field of specialization. A defense of thesis is held before a university committee, internally appointed. About 40 to 50% of entering students finish the first four vears of studv. Onlv 5% of the maduates are accented by hdividual ~ n i v e r i i t department ~ admission ;ommittees. for graduate studies leading to the Master demee. to complete. ~ t u which takes'about two to three dents take lecture and laboratory courses in the general field of their specialization. The program and course selection are flexible. The defense of thesis-examination also serves as a screening examination for students who like to continue to work for a doctor degree (PhD, third level). Only additional research and defense of thesis is then required. Graduate research can be done in the University lahoratones, the lahoratories of some Institutes of Industry, or in the major Research Institutes found throughout Yugoslavia. Four such major Institutes (the Institute for Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade, the Institute of Nuclear Sciences "Boris Kidric" near Belmade. Institute Jozef Stefan in Ljubjana, and Institute ~ u d j e r Boskovic in Zameb) are narticularlv notwworthv because they have an excellent staff and facilities. he) cover a wide range of activities in all phases of chemistry and related disciplines. Presently they derive their funds from the Government, and from industry contracts. About 5% of their activities uses American counterpart-dollars supported research. Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia and BosniaHerzegovina have their own Academy of Sciences and Arts which, however, do not engage in research in chemistry nor in education of chemists as practiced in the Swiet Union ( I ) . The Council of Academies coordinates the work between the Republic Academies and is also in charge of foreign relations. Its seat rotates among the home location of the Repuhlic Academies. Generalizations and Conclusions
Generalizations and comparisons with the USA reveal that American higher education in chemistrv, with its many shortcomings and faults, is more efficient and superior to most everything encountered in the studied countries, including the USSR (1). Such a superiority is the result of many factors. American Universities will not hesitate to appoint to their full-time teaching staff recent PhD graduates, sometimes
only 26 years old. In the visited countries the Doctor degree (PhD or Candidate of Science) is awarded to individuals in the mid-thirties. They have to publish for another 10 years to become Doctor of Science (Docent, Habilitated Doctor) and before they are considered for a Professorship. A dynamic, inspired young faculty is thus missing in the Eastern countries. Modem lecture aids and textbooks are generally nonexistent. Too many professors rely on their antiquated notes and handouts. Recent American hooks may be found in the libraries but didoma students (or eauivalent) do not make adequate use-of libraries. ~ i h r a r i e dare usually well stocked with current international journals. However, the absence of copying machines wastes peoples' time. Students prepare for examinations by memorizing facts, and there is too little effort in correlating and applying facts with ideas. Course selections and course contents are frequently obsolete. Revisions and updating by the existingfaculty is slow because too many cherish tradition and because the country-wide educational directions and guidelines set by the Ministry are difficult to alter. The University Divisions and Chairs often try to promote their own interest, sometimes without the regard to the eeneral education of chemists. The dudication and triplication unnecessarily increases the time required for eraduations. The "tradition" of the svstem wastes manpower, student and faculty. In some respects one gets the feeling that manpower-cost is not counted. As a rule, the graduate of the European high school (maturum) has an education equivalent to the American Junior College. This means that in the first 12 years of education they accomplish what in America takes 14 years. In Eurone i t usuallv takes five vears in a University to hecome a b i p l o m a chemist (or sjmilar title) which may be eauivalent to the American Master degree. In America, i t takes about six years (4 undergraduate and 2 graduate years) to get the Master degree, and the student makes up one year of the original deficiency. The inefficiency of the Eastern education is especially noticeable on the Doctoral level. In America it usually takes two years past the master level to get a PhD. In East Europe i t takes five to eight years to become a Doctor (or Candidate of Science). It is generally accepted by the Eastern faculty, and students alike, that their degree in chemistry is not on as high a level as the American PhD. Thus in America in eight years (four graduate and four undergraduate years) students make up the deficiency of the poor high school education, and end on a level which in East E u r o ~ etakes about 10 vears to reach, a net gain of four years. The remarkable accomolishment of American higher ~ eeven more specta&lar education vis-a-vis East ~ u r o is if one considers that American students attend only about 20 clock-hours per week of lectures and laboratory, whereas in East Europe students attend 32 to 40 hr/wk. Furthermore American chemistm- maiors . mend only 25-30% of the undergraduate time in chemistry or chemical engineerine classes.as comuared to 70-80% in East Europe. ~ n o i h e rserious sho&oming of the Eastern doctoral education is the overspecialization. On the doctoral level students usually do not take courses and examination outside their chosen field. This makes interdisciplinary education difficult, and research accomplishments are slow.
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Education frequently is too closely linked to their present national economic problems. The curricula of the East European Universities show the presence of instrumental analysis courses. However, a closer examination reveals significant differences from such courses taught in the States. The lack of major instrumentation (e.g., nmr, mass spectrometer, epr, etc.) for teaching purposes in the Eastern schools seriously limits the scope and quality of such courses and education in general. In the few instances that a University has major instrumentation, it is usually reserved for research. Not even doctoral students are permitted to handle it. There is a general desire to acquire American-built instruments, hut Universities have a difficult time securing Western currency for the purpose of buying teaching instruments. However, there were examples of Universities and Research Institutes which succeeded in getting some $60,000 for an American nmr, hut who were unable to secure $1,000 (or equivalent in local currency) to acquire the necessary air conditioning. In too many places the operators of the sophisticated instruments voiced the alibi, or actually were of the opinion, that constant room temperature is not needed. This left some doubt whether they actually fully understood the scope of such analyses, and how well students were educated. The education of chemical engineers (technologists) also suffered from the general absence of pilot plants and lifesize experimental reactors. This deficiency was universally recognized and in most of the visited engineering schools new buildings with pilot plans facilities are in planning, or under construction. Presently chemical engineering students learn most of their engineering during the time spent in the plants where their work is also supervised by some faculty members. Courses dealing with pricing and cost analysis are seldom taught. The preponderance of women even in chemical engineering is characteristic of all the visited countries. The extent and involvement of the Academy of Sciences in the education on the doctoral level was described in the sections dealing with individual countries. In the opinion of this author, this provides the biggest drain on the limited resources devoted to education and research in chemistry in most of the visited countries. The biggest price oaid for such arrangements is division of educators and iesearchers into theU''~aves" in the Academy, and into the "Have-nots" in the Universitv. Conseauentlv, the existing had morale among the educators isalso decreasing the efficiency and quality of their education. Acknowledgment The Author wishes to acknowledge the financial aid from the National Academy of Sciences which made this study possible. The personal assistance and cooperation of the many chemists and educators in each of the visited countries is hereby gratefully acknowledged and thanked. Literature Cited EDUC.,
H.,J. CHEM. 48. M (1971); See also "Swiot US Chemistry Education Differ" in Chsm. and En6 Nem,31. (Apr 13,19701. (21 "Directory of Selected Research In~fitutesin Eaatem Europ~,"Prepared by A. D. Little. Inc. for tho National Seienee Foundation. Columbia Univenify Pma. 1967. NawYork. p. 11. (31 Reference (2). p. 293. (41 Jcwuske-TrzebieWrka, 8..iRu.&Appl. Chem.. 22.82 (1970). (11 Wotiz. John
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