ORTELIUS is the Database on Higher Education in Europe and wasestablished in 1994, under the aegis of the Commission of theEuropean Union following an official call for tender for the creationof a database on higher education. The task was entrusted toan Italian Consortium based in Florence, which has created anintegrated and multifunctional system capable of meeting a varietyof information needs through its various components: its databanks, printed products and CD-ROM.
The aims of the ORTELIUS Database are:
In the same way that the Flemish cartographer Abrahamus Orteliuscompiled the geographical information of his day into a singlebody of work back in the XVIth century, today, for the firsttime, the ORTELIUS Database has collected dispersed informationand given it a truly European perspective. The task of collectingdata at national level has been entrusted to a National Agencyin each Member State of the European Union. This data is thenpassed on to Florence where it is entered into the database.
The Database covers the higher education systems of the MemberStates of the European Union and provides details on specificinstitutions by describing their structure and composition (faculties,university departments, laboratories, libraries, computer centresetc.). The database also offers information which might be ofparticular interest to students (accommodation services, financialaid, student associations etc.).
The Database also includes detailed descriptions of study programmes,the qualifications they lead to, and theirrecognition at national and European level. The database alsoincludes a general description of the various higher educationsystems in each member state so that users can interpret thedata in the light of the national system it pertains to.
The European dimension of the database is further boosted by informationon inter-university cooperation programmes (ICPs) and coursesincluded in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). In additionto this, the database offers information on European legislation,bibliography and programmes dealing with higher education.
Ortelius database is accessible via INTERNET on an experimental basis (Click HERE).
Ortelius
Consortium for a database on higher education in Europe
via dell'Agnolo 87
50122 Firenze
Italy
Tel. (39) - 55 / 2341514 - 2345347
Fax (39) - 55 / 2341516
E-mail Ortelius@vm.bdp.fi.it