2015 Marca Wolfensberger Dezvoltareapromovarea Talentelor Olanda Belgia Danemarca Norvegia Luxembourg Germania Austria Elvetia

Dr. Marca V.C.
Wolfensberger
Talent Development
in European
Higher Education
Honors Programs in the Benelux,
Nordic and German-Speaking Countries
Talent Development in European Higher Education
Dr. Marca V.C. Wolfensberger
Talent Development in
European Higher Education
Honors Programs in the Benelux,
Nordic and German-Speaking Countries
Marca V.C. Wolfensberger
Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen
& Utrecht University
The Netherlands
The Sirius Program assigned Marca Wolfensberger to carry out this research.
Cartography: C&M-Carto - Geosciences - UU [8684].
ISBN 978-3-319-12918-1 ISBN 978-3-319-12919-8 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015931650
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Foreword
Education is a field that is prone to waves of popular initiatives and priorities, some
of them transformative and lasting, others the source of persistent debate and scru-
tiny, and some gone the way of dinosaurs in the shifting landscape of pedagogical
research and practice. One topic that has received continuous and considerable
attention over many years is how to encourage, support, and reward talent develop-
ment among highly motivated, high-achieving students. Interestingly, much of the
scholarship in the field has been directed at gifted programs for youths in grade
schools and high schools, where issues of differentiation have persisted over time.
In higher education, most of the work has come from the area of honors education
in the United States, with the leadership of the National Collegiate Honors Council
as a chief advocate. Broadened beyond the academic realm, the quest for excellence
has given rise to innumerable centers and consulting services that proport to foster
talent development in personal, social, government, corporate, and other domains.
For example, a simple web search will produce countless links to specialized offices
at dozens of colleges and universities which support talent development in schools
and communities; likewise, the list of organizations and consulting firms that focus
on nurturing creativity, innovation, and all sorts of talent is astonishingly vast.
Undoubtedly, talent development, a drive for excellence not just in academic
accomplishments but also in one’s contributions to society at large, is front and
center in today’s world. Dutch scholar, teacher, and researcher Marca
Wolfensberger—who holds dual appointments at Hanze University of Applied
Sciences Groningen Research Centre for Talent Development in Higher Education
and Society and at Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences—has made great
strides in putting the topic near the top of national concerns not only in the
Netherlands but also in other European countries, complementing the long history
of honors and gifted education research and programming in the United States.
Wolfensberger’s earlier dissertation monograph on Teaching for Excellence: Honors
Pedagogies Revealed (Waxmann, 2012) situated her as perhaps the leading interna-
tional voice on honors, one of the credentials which landed her among a select
group of prestigious National Collegiate Honors Council Fellows. This book, Talent
Development in European Higher Education: Honors Programs in the Benelux,
v
vi Foreword
Nordic, and German-Speaking Countries, adds an important chapter in the growing

studies dedicated to strategies for enhancing teaching and learning in programs
intentionally designed for high-performing students with strong academic records
as well as those who reveal the characteristics and promise of excellence if pre-
sented with the additional or different challenges that promote deeper, more sig-
nificant learning in honors. Springboarding off her close connections within the
National Collegiate Honors Council and her acquired knowledge of more than five
decades of innovations in honors teaching and learning, Wolfensberger’s report of
how honors and the talent development agenda have begun to sprout all over Europe
is an important contribution that reminds us of the obligation we have in higher
education to help all our students reach their highest potential, particularly if they
are among our most capable who deserve the specialized pedagogical approaches
that address their needs. The recent expansions of the National Collegiate Honors
Council in promoting the value of honors education internationally and in building
an increasing professional network of institutions nationwide and abroad are testi-
mony to the rising interests both in the United States and around the world in finding
sound, effective ways of aspiring to excellence in higher education. The book is a
wake-up call in some respects, an affirmation of what European nations are doing to
inspire academic excellence in diverse institutions and what we may look forward
to in the future as the movement spreads throughout Europe and other continents,
where already progress is evident in Asia, South America, Central America, the
Caribbean, and Oceania.
The book is an ambitious undertaking, comprising 5 parts and 17 chapters that
reveal the growing trend in Europe to establish new approaches to policies and pro-
grams for inspiring excellence among motivated, bright students. After inspecting
the special opportunities available to almost four million students at over 300 insti-
tutions in 11 countries, Wolfensberger’s research discloses that at least 72 colleges
and universities have some kind of honors program in Belgium, the Netherlands,
Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Austria. Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Iceland,
and Switzerland do not currently have honors programs, but they are not far behind
the swell of interest in their neighboring countries. Wolfensberger’s discoveries
compel all of us in the higher education honors community to seek more robust
methods of collaboration across our different programs and countries. The National
Collegiate Honors Council is the primary professional honors organization in the
United States, existing since the 1960s, and soon we hope to see more avenues for
student and faculty development opportunities as well as professional and organiza-
tional networking as honors continues to grow across the globe.
As two leaders in the National Collegiate Honors Council, we could not be more
pleased by Wolfensberger’s discoveries. The rich possibilities for study-travel con-
sortiums, faculty and student collaborations, shared research and scholarship, and
combined efforts to influence national policies governing educational strategic
plans and legislative priorities across diverse countries are exciting. Already, in
2012 and 2013, honors teachers, scholars, and students; government officials; and
industry leaders have met in the Netherlands for two major, international confe-
rences on honors, talent development, and excellence in academics and society in
Foreword vii
general. The Sirius Programme network, established in Holland in 2008 with

extraordinary federal funding to promote and nationally subsidize the spread of
honors programs across the country, has seen remarkable success, launching an
abundance of varied honors programs at 14 research universities and 25 universities
of applied sciences. In fact, Dutch institutions constitute about half of all the schools
with honors programs which are the focus of Wolfensberger’s study in 11 countries.
Even with the end of federal funding for the Sirius network, honors research,
curricula, teaching, and learning continue to flourish in the Netherlands, clearly the
front runner in the vanguard of honors education in Europe.
Our international colleagues have learned much from the National Collegiate
Honors Council and the amazing variety of honors programs and colleges in the
United States, but we have much to learn from the diverse cultural characteristics
and operational approaches and standards of honors in Europe. Clearly, in the
European context, research-driven approaches to honors pedagogy and scholarship
are emphasized more prevalently; in the United States, we more often stress qualita-
tive methods of exploring the nature and practice of honors education. One direction
more intentional networking may take is to learn from each other how and when to
apply various research strategies to strengthen the honors enterprise worldwide.
Another particularly fruitful result of our future work together is the clarification of
what we mean by “honors” in the first place. What are the characteristics of honors
teaching and learning? How and why are challenge, risk, interdisciplinarity,
collaboration, reflection, research, ethical conduct, community, integrity, and other
qualities ubiquitously associated with honors at the core of our programs across dif-
ferent nations? Can we develop a common language to define honors, communicate
about it, and assess its added value to higher education? The road ahead presents us
with an exciting threshold, indeed.
As we watch with pride and enthusiasm from the other side of the Atlantic at the
amazing growth of honors abroad, those of us involved in honors in the United
States imagine the opportunities that lie ahead. The potential benefits of interna-
tional collaborations are exhilarating for our students, our faculty, our institutions,
and our countries. What if we could cooperate to design challenging courses that
students from different nations could take in honors programs across national bor-
ders? What if honors faculty could take advantage of visiting professorships and
teaching fellowships elsewhere to develop their teaching and scholarship in honors?
What if we held regular international workshops and conferences to strengthen our
understanding and practice in honors? What if our shared vision of talent develop-
ment and excellence in academics and beyond could help our institutions provide
even better educational experiences for all of our students because of the ways in
which honors serves as a laboratory for pedagogical experimentation and an incuba-
tor for creative research? What if we could collectively organize for political and
economic influence and authority in our different nations’ legislative arenas? All
these “what ifs” and more are now more possible because of the knowledge we have
thanks to Wolfensberger’s research and findings. We, in the United States, have
enjoyed a solid tradition of honors education and studies devoted to giftedness, but
viii Foreword
the current attention to talent development in Europe and elsewhere, to preparing

exceptional college and university learners as well as grade school and high school
pupils, business moguls, and Disney “imagineers,” is an inspiring challenge for all
of us dedicated to academic excellence.
President, National Collegiate Honors Council Barry Falk

Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA, USA
Past President, National Collegiate Honors Council John Zubizarreta
Carnegie Foundation
Columbia College, SC, USA
Preface
In late 2013, the Sirius Programme issued the assignment to Dr. Marca Wolfensberger
for a first report about honors programs in higher education in several northern
European countries. Dr. Wolfensberger is a professor (lector) at the Hanze University
of Applied Sciences in Groningen, where she heads the Research Centre for Talent
Development in Higher Education and Society. She also works at Utrecht University
and is the first European fellow of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC,
the American association of undergraduate honors programs).
Dr. Wolfensberger was commissioned to prepare this report, under the working
title ‘Honors in northern Europe’. The goal was to do explorative research, to find
and describe as many examples of initiatives stimulating excellence in higher
education as possible.
Project leader was Dr. Maarten Hogenstijn, honors graduate at Utrecht University
and self-employed at De Hertaler, working for the Hanze University of Applied
Sciences Groningen on this project. He supervised the data gathering process and
prepared the manuscript.
A number of honors students and alumni from different institutions have helped
to gather data and write preliminary versions of chapters of this book. They are:
• Margit Ruis, Floris van Rees, Nico Brinkel and Florian Sloots (honors students
Faculty of Geosciences – Utrecht University) – chapters Germany and the
Netherlands
• Melina Ghasseminejad (honors alumnus University of Applied Sciences Leiden,
student in psychology – University of Antwerp) – chapter Belgium
• Annemarie van de Vijsel (honors alumnus – Utrecht University) – preliminary
data gathering and chapter Switzerland
• Vincent Warnaar (honors alumnus University of Applied Sciences Leiden) –
chapter Finland
The maps in this book were created by Ton Markus, cartographer at C&M –
Carto – Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University.
As the research process has been a team effort, this book is written in the
‘we’-form.
ix
x Preface
Preliminary versions of this book have been read by experts, in order to double
check the information, check for consistency and completeness. They are (in alpha-
betical order):
• Nynne Afzelius – Academy for Talented Youth, Denmark (chapter Denmark)
• Mag. Susanne Aigner – Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
(chapter Austria)
• Helen Bråten – Norwegian Accreditation Agency (chapter Norway)
• Dr. Ella Cosmovici Idsøe – Stavanger University, Norway (chapter Norway)
• Pierre van Eijl – Utrecht University (chapter the Netherlands)
• Dr. Antoine Fischbach – University of Luxembourg (chapter Luxembourg)
• Dr. Astrid Fritz – Austrian Research and Support Centre for the Gifted and
Talented (ÖZBF) (chapter Austria)
• Esmee Gramberg – Sirius Programme, Netherlands (whole book)
• Dr. Silvia Grossenbacher – coordinator Netzwerk Begabungsförderung,
Switzerland (chapter Switzerland)
• Stefan Hermann – Metropolitan University College Copenhagen, Denmark
(chapter Denmark)
• Renske Heemskerk – Sirius Programme, Netherlands (whole book)
• Nelleke de Jong – Utrecht University, Netherlands (whole book)
• Dr. Elina Kuusisto – Helsinki University, Finland (chapter Finland)
• Prof. Dr. Steven Lierman – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (chapter
Belgium)
• Dr. Linda Mattsson – Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden (chapter
Sweden)
• Elisabet Mellroth – Karlstad University/Nordic Talent Network, Sweden (chap-
ter Sweden)
• Dr. Jutta Möhringer – Technische Universität München, Germany (chapter
Germany)
• Prof. Dr. Roland Persson – Jönköping University, Sweden (chapter Sweden)
• Uffe Sveegaard – ScienceTalenter/Nordic Talent Network, Denmark (chapter
Nordic countries and Denmark)
• Dr. Meyvant Þórólfsson – University of Iceland (chapter Iceland)
In addition, four anonymous referees at Springer have provided valuable remarks
on an earlier version of the manuscript.
The language use and readability of the manuscript were checked by Professor
Kevin W. Dean and honors alumnus Michael B. Jendzurski from West Chester
University in the United States of America.
Yoka Janssen, Astrid Noordermeer and Sundarajan Chitra at Springer have
helped to guide the process towards publication in a very helpful, constructive and
effective way.
The Netherlands Marca V.C. Wolfensberger

Contents
Part I Introducing Talent Development and Honors

in European Higher Education
1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 3
1.1 Europe and USA ............................................................................ 4
1.2 Three Clusters of Countries ........................................................... 6
1.3 Five Parts........................................................................................ 7
Literature ................................................................................................... 9
2 Developing Honors Education in Specific National Contexts ............. 11
2.1 Defining Honors Programs ............................................................ 11
2.2 Types, Elements and Scales of Honors Programs .......................... 12
2.3 Talented and Motivated .................................................................. 14
2.4 Reasons to Develop Honors Programs........................................... 15
2.4.1 Culture Towards Excellence........................................... 16
2.4.2 Political Views Towards Excellence............................... 17
2.4.3 Educational Philosophy ................................................. 17
2.4.4 Structure and Selectiveness of Education System ......... 20
2.4.5 Competition Between Institutions.................................. 22
2.4.6 Labor Market Conditions ............................................... 24
2.4.7 National Results in Comparative Research .................... 25
2.4.8 Innovators and Pioneers ................................................. 27
2.5 Discussion ...................................................................................... 28
Literature ................................................................................................... 29
3 Methods and Limitations ....................................................................... 31
3.1 Methodology .................................................................................. 31
3.2 Education Systems ......................................................................... 32
3.3 Programs per Higher Education Institution ................................... 33
3.4 Including and Excluding Programs................................................ 36
3.5 Limitations ..................................................................................... 37
Literature ................................................................................................... 39
xi
xii Contents
Part II The Benelux Countries
4 The Netherlands: Focus on Excellence,

Honors Programs All Around ................................................................ 43
4.1 Education System........................................................................... 43
4.2 Culture and Policy Towards Excellence......................................... 49
4.3 New Developments ........................................................................ 53
4.3.1 Honors Programs per Higher Education Institution....... 53
4.4 Research Universities ..................................................................... 56
4.4.1 University of Amsterdam ............................................... 57
4.4.2 Utrecht University .......................................................... 58
4.4.3 University of Groningen ................................................ 59
4.4.4 VU University Amsterdam............................................. 59
4.4.5 Leiden University ........................................................... 60
4.4.6 Erasmus University Rotterdam ...................................... 60
4.4.7 Technical University Delft ............................................. 61
4.4.8 Radboud University Nijmegen....................................... 61
4.4.9 Maastricht University ..................................................... 62
4.4.10 Tilburg University .......................................................... 62
4.4.11 University of Twente ...................................................... 63
4.4.12 TU/Eindhoven ................................................................ 63
4.4.13 Wageningen UR ............................................................. 64
4.4.14 Private University: Theological University
of the Reformed Churches Kampen ............................... 64
4.5 Universities of Applied Sciences ................................................... 64
4.5.1 Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences .................. 65
4.5.2 Fontys University of Applied Sciences .......................... 67
4.5.3 HU University of Applied Sciences ............................... 68
4.5.4 Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences .................... 68
4.5.5 HAN University of Applied Sciences ............................ 68
4.5.6 Inholland University of Applied Sciences ..................... 69
4.5.7 Avans University of Applied Sciences ........................... 69
4.5.8 Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen ........ 69
4.5.9 Saxion University of Applied Sciences .......................... 69
4.5.10 The Hague University of Applied Sciences ................... 70
4.5.11 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences ................. 70
4.5.12 Zuyd University of Applied Sciences ............................ 70
4.5.13 NHL University of Applied Sciences............................. 70
4.5.14 Stenden University of Applied Sciences ........................ 71
4.5.15 University of Applied Sciences Leiden .......................... 71
4.5.16 Breda University of Applied Sciences ........................... 71
4.5.17 HZ University of Applied Sciences ............................... 71
4.5.18 ArtEZ Institute of the Arts ............................................. 72
4.5.19 Amsterdam School of the Arts ....................................... 72
4.5.20 HAS University of Applied Sciences ............................. 72
Contents xiii
4.5.21 Marnix Academie ........................................................... 72

4.5.22 Driestar Educatief .......................................................... 73
4.5.23 Gerrit Rietveld Academie .............................................. 73
4.5.24 Hogeschool De Kempel ................................................. 73
4.5.25 Iselinge ........................................................................... 73
Literature ................................................................................................... 74
5 Belgium: Complex System, Differentiated Development .................... 77
5.3 Honors Programs per University.................................................... 83
5.3.1 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven ..................................... 83
5.3.2 Ghent University ............................................................ 85
5.3.3 University of Antwerp .................................................... 87
5.3.4 Inter-university Program ................................................ 88
Literature ................................................................................................... 88
6 Luxembourg: Small, Multilingual and International .......................... 91
Literature ................................................................................................... 97
Part III The Nordic Countries
7 Denmark: Strong Focus on Talent Development ................................. 105

7.4 Honors Programs per Higher Education Institution....................... 114
7.4.1 Aarhus University .......................................................... 116
7.4.2 University of Southern Denmark ................................... 116
7.4.3 Roskilde University........................................................ 117
7.4.4 Copenhagen Business School ........................................ 118
7.4.5 Technical University of Denmark .................................. 119
7.4.6 University College Lillebaelt ......................................... 121
7.5 Programs Outside Formal Higher Education System .................... 122
Literature ................................................................................................... 123
8 Norway: Slow Shift Towards Differentiation ....................................... 125
Literature ................................................................................................... 136
xiv Contents
9 Sweden: Incentive to Move Towards More Differentiation................. 139

Literature ................................................................................................... 150
10 Finland: Excellent Basics, Selective Continuation ............................... 153
10.4.1 Aalto University ............................................................. 162
10.4.2 University of Turku ........................................................ 162
10.4.3 University of Oulu ......................................................... 163
Literature ................................................................................................... 163
11 Iceland: Getting Back on Track ............................................................. 165
Literature ................................................................................................... 172
Part IV The German-Speaking Countries
12 Germany: Foundations Supporting Talents ......................................... 179

12.2.1 Primary and Secondary School Age .............................. 185
12.2.2 Individual Support from Foundations ............................ 186
12.2.3 Excellence Initiative ....................................................... 188
12.2.4 Excellence in Higher Education..................................... 189
12.4.1 Leuphana University Lüneburg...................................... 194
12.4.2 University of Oldenburg................................................. 195
12.4.3 Technical University Hamburg-Harburg ........................ 195
12.4.4 University of Freiburg .................................................... 197
12.4.5 University of Ulm .......................................................... 198
12.4.6 WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management ............ 198
12.4.7 Bonn University ............................................................. 199
12.4.8 University of Paderborn ................................................. 200
12.4.9 Saarland University ........................................................ 200
Contents xv
12.4.10 University of Regensburg............................................... 201

12.4.11 Technical University Munich (TUM) ............................ 201
12.4.12 Elite Network of Bavaria ............................................... 202
Literature ................................................................................................... 209
13 Austria: A Rapidly Expanding Higher Education Sector ................... 213
13.4.1 University of Graz and Technical
University of Graz .......................................................... 221
13.4.2 Vienna University of Economics and Business
(Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) ........................................ 223
13.4.3 Technical University of Vienna
(TU Wien) ...................................................................... 226
Literature ................................................................................................... 226
14 Switzerland: A Patchwork, Not (Yet) Including Honors ..................... 229
Literature ................................................................................................... 238
Part V Talent Development and Honors in European

Higher Education: A Comparative Perspective
15 A Comparative Perspective .................................................................... 241

15.1 Countries Compared ...................................................................... 241
15.1.1 The Benelux Countries .................................................. 242
15.1.2 The Nordic Countries..................................................... 244
15.1.3 The German-Speaking Countries ................................... 245
15.2 Talent Provisions Throughout Education Systems ........................ 246
15.3 Selectiveness of Higher Education Entry....................................... 247
Literature ................................................................................................... 249
16 Perspectives on Talent Development
in European Higher Education .............................................................. 251
16.1 Five Basic Conclusions .................................................................. 252
16.2 Scale and the Supranational Context ............................................. 254
16.2.1 Research ......................................................................... 254
16.2.2 Rankings ........................................................................ 255
16.2.3 Bologna Process and Horizon 2020 ............................... 255
16.3 Factors at the National Scale.......................................................... 256
xvi Contents
16.4 Ideological Factors ......................................................................... 257

16.4.1 The Nordic Countries..................................................... 257
16.4.2 The Benelux ................................................................... 258
16.4.3 The German-Speaking Countries ................................... 259
16.4.4 Countries Compared ...................................................... 260
16.5 Institutional Factors ....................................................................... 261
16.5.1 Progression in Education ............................................... 262
16.5.2 Recruitment .................................................................... 262
16.5.3 Economy, Business, and Financing ............................... 263
16.5.4 Politics............................................................................ 264
16.5.5 Selection and Flexibility ................................................ 265
16.6 Concluding Remarks...................................................................... 266
Literature ................................................................................................... 267
17 Breaking the Academic Lock Step......................................................... 269
17.1 The Value of Promotion of Excellence .......................................... 269
17.2 A Long-Term View ........................................................................ 271
17.3 Other Perspectives.......................................................................... 272
17.3.1 Students and Teachers .................................................... 273
17.3.2 A Broader Vision on Talent ............................................ 274
17.4 Future Developments and Research ............................................... 274
17.5 Concluding Remarks...................................................................... 276
Literature ................................................................................................... 278
Appendices ....................................................................................................... 279

Appendix 1: List of All Universities in Germany ..................................... 279
Literature ................................................................................................... 283
Appendix 2: Key Links ............................................................................. 284
Appendix 3: Contact Details Honors Programs ........................................ 294
Appendix 4: Interviews with Key Persons ................................................ 305
Roland S. Persson (Sweden): ‘Policy weighs
so much heavier than does fact’ ........................................................... 305
Elisabet Mellroth (Sweden): ‘We don’t talk about
gifted or talented’ ................................................................................. 306
Linda Mattsson (Sweden): ‘They just gave you another book’............ 307
Nynne Afzelius (Denmark): Challenges, Advice and Gathering ......... 309
Uffe Sveegaard (Denmark): ‘They really flourish’ .............................. 310
Stefan Hermann (Denmark): ‘Talent development
is unequally distributed’ ....................................................................... 311
Ella Cosmovici Idsøe (Norway):
‘The new generation is kind of laid-back’............................................ 312
Helen Bråten (Norway): ‘We don’t have that tradition in Norway’ ..... 313
Vigdis Vandvik (Norway): ‘SFU status gives us leverage’................... 314
Grethe Sofie Bratlie (Norway): ‘Ph.D. is the way
of taking care of them’ ......................................................................... 315
Contents xvii
Susanne Aigner (Austria): ‘Guiding the best of the best’ .................... 317
Victor Müller-Oppliger (Switzerland): ‘We are doing too little
at the university level’ .......................................................................... 317
Hans-Joachim Gehrke (Germany): ‘Small legal
restriction is irrelevant’......................................................................... 319
Stephan Bedke (Germany): ‘You have to have an elite’....................... 320
Appendix 5: Lists of Tables, Figures, Maps and Boxed Texts .................. 322
List of Tables .................................................................................. 322
List of Figures ................................................................................ 323
List of Maps ................................................................................... 324
List of Boxed Texts ........................................................................ 325
Appendix 6: Acknowledgements and Thanks ........................................... 327
Index ................................................................................................................. 329

List of Abbreviations and Terms
The list below includes terms that are used in the general chapters of the book and/
or come back in individual chapters. Abbreviations that are used only in a single
country chapter and explained there are not included here.
Benelux This refers to the countries of the Netherlands,
Belgium and Luxembourg. They cooperate in an
intergovernmental body called the Benelux.
Bologna Declaration/Process Series of agreements between European countries
to ensure comparability in the standards and
quality of higher education qualifications, starting
with a joint declaration in the Italian city of Bologna
in 1999.
CEMS-MIM One-year postgraduate, pre-experience degree
program in International Management offered at
29 universities in the international CEMS Alliance.
CV Curriculum vitae, résumé.
ECHA European Council for High Ability, European
organization which aims to advance the study and
development of potential excellence in people.
ECTS European Credit Transfer and Accumulation
System, system introduced in the Bologna process
to make students’ attainments comparable. For
successfully completed studies, ECTS credits are
awarded. One academic year corresponds to 60
ECTS credits.
EHEA European Higher Education Authority, organization
meant to ensure more comparable, compatible and
coherent systems of higher education in Europe,
founded in 2010 and overseeing the Bologna
process.
EU European Union.
xix
xx List of Abbreviations and Terms
Eurostat Statistical bureau of the European Union.

Eurypedia/Eurydice European Encyclopedia on National Education
Systems, common encyclopedia in which European
countries describe their whole education system,
kept up-to-date.
Friskolor Independent schools in the Swedish school system,
some of which are run by private companies.
GDP Gross domestic product.
GPA Grade point average, average of the grades a
student received in a certain period or at certain
examinations, often used as admission criterion for
higher education in general and honors programs in
particular.
HEIs Higher Education Institutions.
IBE International Bureau of Education, the UNESCO
institute specializing in educational contents, methods
and structures.
ISCED International Standard Classifications of Education,
international system used to classify types of
education, developed by UNESCO. It consists of
different levels, running from 0 to 5b.
KMK Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education
and Cultural Affairs of the Bundesländer in
Germany, where education matters are handled and
rules are set.
Länder/Bundesländer The individual states within the federal states of
Germany and Austria.
Law of Jante Concept suggesting that the culture within
Scandinavian countries discourages people from
promoting their own achievements over those of
others. It is taken from a 1933 novel by the Danish
author Aksel Sandemose.
NCHC National Collegiate Honors Council, professional
association of undergraduate honors programs in
the USA.
Nordic Talent Network Network set up in August 2013 to facilitate
cooperation between researchers focusing on talent
and giftedness in the Nordic countries.
NVAO Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatie Organisatie,
independent binational accreditation organization
tasked with providing an expert and objective
assessment of the quality of higher education in
Flanders and the Netherlands.
List of Abbreviations and Terms xxi
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development, international economic organization
of 34 mainly western countries.
ÖZBF Österreichische Zentrum für Begabtenförderung
und Begabungsforschung, Austrian Research and
Support Center for the Gifted and Talented.
PISA Programme for International Student Assessment.
Program run by OECD, which publishes a report
every 3 years on 15-year olds’ achievements on
standardized tests in maths, science and language
in a large number of countries.
Platform Bèta Techniek National Platform Science and Technology in the
Netherlands, organization commissioned by the
Dutch government, the education and the business
sectors to ensure sufficient availability of people
who have a background in scientific or technical
education. It also runs excellence programs, such
as the Sirius Program.
SAT Scholastic Assessment Test, standardized test used
for college admissions in the United States.
SFU Senter for Fremrågende Utdanning, Centres of
Excellence in Education. Program set up in Norway
to contribute to the development of excellent quality
in higher education and to highlight the fact that
education and research are equally important
activities for higher education institutions.
Shanghai list Annual list comparing achievements of universities,
officially known as the Academic Ranking of World
Universities Top-500.
Sirius Programme National program promoting honors in higher
education in the Netherlands.
Three-tier system System introduced in the Bologna process, in
which there are three cycles of higher education.
The first is a bachelor phase, the second a master
phase and the third a Ph.D. phase.
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization.
VET Vocational Education and Training.
Part I
Introducing Talent Development
and Honors in European
Higher Education
Chapter 1
Introduction
Why and under what conditions are honors programs in higher education developed
across Europe? And what is the current situation regarding talent development and
excellence? These questions came up at meetings of the Sirius Programme,1 a
national program promoting excellence in higher education in the Netherlands.
The attention for excellence is growing in the Dutch higher education system.
Most higher education institutions (HEIs) have now set up honors courses,
programs or colleges (Wolfensberger 2012, p. 15). But this is a relatively recent
development. The first programs started in 1993 (Wolfensberger et al. 2004, p. 120);
their establishment was quite a struggle, as they did not fit very well in the egalitarian
Dutch culture.
Since 2008, the Sirius Programme supports Dutch HEIs in fostering excellence
among their students. The program ‘aims to gain insights into how excellence can best
be supported and to examine what barriers to this currently exist’ (Auditcommission
Sirius Programme et al. 2012, p. 2). At the time of writing, 23 institutions participate
in the program and 19 of those have received grants to develop and support pro-
grams of excellence in the bachelor and/or master phase.2 The Sirius Programme is
financed by the Dutch ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Over the last few years, Sirius member institutions and program coordinators
increasingly started looking across the Dutch borders for inspiration and cooperation.3
Honors experts in the Netherlands knew from personal contacts that some programs
1
This program resides under the National Platform Science & Technology and is supported by the
ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
2
In total, 24 HEIs have taken part in the Sirius Programme, one of which has ended its participation
early. Four institutions took part, but did not receive subsidies. The programs are regularly evalu-
ated by the Audit Commission of the Sirius Programme. In addition, best practices are described
in a number of (Dutch-language) publications.
3
For instance, in 2012, a group of honors educators from HEIs participating in the Sirius
Programme undertook a 3-day study trip to Denmark, where they were introduced to different tal-
ent support programs in higher education (Sirius Programma 2012).
© The Author(s) 2015 3

M.V.C. Wolfensberger, Talent Development in European Higher Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_1
4 1 Introduction
do exist in different European countries. In a 2005 report, Dutch researchers found

‘incidental initiatives to offer something to talented students’ in other European
countries (Van Eijl et al. 2005, p. 143).4 A structural inventory of excellence initia-
tives in European higher education had never been made.
This book is a first step to create such an overview. A research team under the
leadership of Dr. Marca Wolfensberger from the Research Centre for Talent
Development in Higher Education and Society at the Hanze University of Applied
Sciences in Groningen (the Netherlands) has reviewed special talent provisions for
almost four million students at 303 higher education institutions in 11 countries.
Furthermore, the honors programs that were found are placed within their national
and international contexts, including the local culture towards excellence and the
structure of the national education system. This could only be achieved with
the help and contributions of local experts. Twenty experts from all 11 countries
have commented on the chapters about their respective country. All these people
made important contributions to the aim of this book: to share knowledge about
talent development and honors education and provide an overview of educational
offers to talented students in the countries involved.
1.1 Europe and USA
We refer to educational offers for talented students in higher education mostly as

‘honors programs’. This book originates in the Netherlands and here, this is a
well-known and accepted term for these offers. In other countries, terminology can
be more contested and the term ‘honors’ might be more politically charged.5 We are
aware of this, but for reasons of clarity we will stick to the term.
What is honors education and where does it come from? The concept of ‘honors’
we refer to in this book is focused on providing extra opportunities to talented
students. It is best known from the American context (see Aydelotte 1944;
Lamb 2012),6 although the concept of ‘honours’ seems to originate from Oxford
University (Lamb 2012, p. 20).7 It is still widely used in higher education throughout
4
The researchers mainly found information about the US, Canada and Australia. They concluded
that apart from the incidental initiatives ‘honors programs are not known in France, Germany, the
UK, Denmark, Switzerland and Belgium (Flemish community)’.
5
For example in Germany, the term ‘honors’ is specifically mentioned in educational law, stating
that it cannot be used on bachelor diplomas. More info on this issue can be found in the chapter
about Germany.
6
Honors education in the US was inspired by the work of Frank Aydelotte. In this book we use
American-English spelling and therefore we talk about honors programs instead of honours pro-
grammes. We make two exceptions. First, if programs have an official name in British spelling, we
use this name. Second, if we quote directly from sources using British spelling.
7
According to Lamb, ‘Oxford is the educational institution that inspired pioneering U.S. honors
educators early in the twentieth century’.
1.1 Europe and USA 5
the United Kingdom (UK) (Lamb 2012, p. 22–26). However, the concept was
awarded a different meaning in the UK over the years. British HEIs now use the
term honours in their undergraduate degree qualification system.8 This is not the
honors education we refer to in this book.
In the United States (US), about half of the 4,000 universities and colleges have
an official strategy of honors education (Wolfensberger 2012, p. 13). A strong
nationwide organization of honors programs exists: the National Collegiate Honors
Council (NCHC) is the professional association of undergraduate honors programs.9
In 2012, the NCHC devoted a special issue of its journal emphasizing honors
programs around the globe, for the first time in its history. Apart from the Netherlands,
European countries were not very prominently represented.10
While there is a lack of specific information about provisions for talented and
gifted students in European higher education, provisions for talented and gifted stu-
dents in the European education systems in general form a topical and hotly debated
subject. In the period from 2000 to 2005, three international overviews of provisions
and policies around this issue were made by scientific researchers (Persson et al. 2000;
Freeman 2002a, b; Mönks and Pflüger 2005).11 However, focus was on primary and
secondary education and little specific information about higher education was found.
In 2006, a European overview called ‘Specific Educational Measures to Promote all
Forms of Giftedness at School in Europe’ was presented in a Eurydice working docu-
ment (Eurydice 2006). Special attention was paid to definitions of giftedness and local
terminology, but the focus centered on primary and secondary education.
A few years of silence followed, but from 2011 international publications on talent
development in European countries started pouring in again. During 2011–2012,
Hungarian researchers, working in the Talent Centre Budapest, wrote a two-volume
8
Generally speaking, there are three classes of honours degrees. On average, a first class honours
degree is awarded to around 15 % of the degree candidates.
9
See nchchonors.org for more information. In addition, HERU (Honors Education at Research
Universities) organizes a bi-annual meeting for honors educators at reserach universities. See for
example heru2015.com.
10
Almost half of this issue was taken up by articles from or about the Netherlands. Other articles
in the journal included descriptions of programs or experiences in the UK, Australia, Brazil, Chile,
China, Mexico and Switzerland.
11
The first was a chapter called ‘Gifted education in Europe: Programs, practices and current research’
in the ‘International handbook of giftedness and talent’ (Persson et al. 2000). This was followed by
British professor Joan Freeman’s two-volume report called ‘Out-of-school provisions for the gifted
and talented around the world’, written for the British department of Education and Skills. Freeman
made a long list of recommendations, including ‘the establishment of a network of models and centres
of excellence around the world’ (Freeman 2002a, b). Two years later, the German education ministry
asked researchers Franz Mönks and Robin Pflüger to do a survey with a slightly different approach,
focusing on ‘gifted education’ for high-achieving children in all levels of education in 21 European
countries. They concluded that ‘there is a dynamic growth of gifted education in Europe’, but most
programs and developments found were aimed at children in primary and secondary education (Mönks
and Pflüger 2005, p. 156). Van Eijl et al. (2005), in a report ordered by the Dutch Council of Education
(Onderwijsraad), described some examples of honors programs at HEIs outside the Netherlands that
were known to them, but found little information about the countries included in this book.
6 1 Introduction
report about best practices in talent support in education in different countries

(Györi 2011, 2012).12 Although they mainly focused on programs in primary and
secondary education, they also provided interesting information about the relations
between policy development and talent programs. In 2013, the Journal for the
Education of the Gifted devoted two issues to the theme ‘International Perspectives
on Gifted Education and Talent Development’. This included articles about the cur-
rent state of affairs in Hungary, Poland, Finland, England, Ireland, the Netherlands,
Cyprus, Austria and more generally about German-speaking Europe.13 The articles
provided useful and relevant insights about gifted education at all educational levels
in some countries, but still no systematic overview of honors programs in European
higher education was available.
In the same year, questions about talent development came up at EU meetings,
more specifically in the European Economic and Social Committee. On its own
initiative, this committee wrote an opinion titled ‘Unleashing the Potential of
Children and Young People with High Intellectual Abilities in the European Union’
(EESC 2013). The committee recognized that providing a challenging education
to these young people is very important. All ten recommendations urgently stress
the need for more action by the EU member states. This is not only because it is
important for young talents themselves, but also ‘to prevent the brain drain whereby
more able people leave for other parts of the world in which to use their talents’
(ibid., section 3.3.8).
1.2 Three Clusters of Countries
The focus of this book is on three clusters of countries in northern and central
Europe (Map 1.1): the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg),
the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) and the
German-speaking countries (Germany, Switzerland, Austria). These countries are
all somewhat similar to the Netherlands, where this study originates. They are all
relatively rich countries with a well-developed education system and are all quite far
in the Bologna Process.14 Therefore they form relatively comparable contexts for the
development of honors education. Also, the understanding of the concept ‘honors’ (if
present) in these countries refers mostly to the American situation with special
12
The second volume included not only examples from Europe, but also from other countries such
as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Vietnam.
13
Kimberley L. Chandler was guest editor for these issues, which were published as issues 36(1)
and 36(3) of the journal. More information at jeg.sagepub.com.
14
The Bologna Process is a series of agreements between European countries to ensure compara-
bility in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications, starting with a joint declara-
tion in the Italian city of Bologna in 1999. The Lisbon Recognition Convention is one of its main
instruments, creating comparable academic degree standards. See the list of terms and abbrevia-
tions for explanation of terminology.
1.3 Five Parts 7
Table 1.1 Basic characteristics of researched countries (Eurostat 2014)

Country Inhabitants (millions)a GDP per capita in eurosa Unemployment ratea
Austria 8.5 32,200 4.8
Belgium 11.2 29,600 8.4
Denmark 5.6 37,200 7.0
Finland 5.4 30,900 8.3
Germany 82.0 30,200 5.2
Iceland 0.3 32,900 5.3
Luxembourg 0.5 62,600 6.0
Netherlands 16.8 32,700 7.0
Norway 5.0 52,800 3.3
Sweden 9.6 35,300 7.9
Switzerland 8.0 44,600 n/a
a
Population numbers for 2013, GDP per capita for 2012, unemployment for October 2013 (based
on International Labour Organization definition)
‘honors programs’, rather than the British situation, where ‘honours’ is mostly used
as a classification system for degrees.15
Some basic characteristics of the countries are shown in Table 1.1. Germany is
by far the largest country in this study, in terms of population. Luxembourg is the
richest country, measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, while
Norway has the lowest unemployment rate (Table 1.1).
More data relevant for the education system in the 11 countries will follow in
Chap. 2.
1.3 Five Parts
The main text of the book is divided into 5 parts, comprising 17 chapters. A sixth
part includes literature and appendixes.
1. Part I: Introducing honors in northern Europe. Here the concept of honors is
explained and a working definition is presented. Also, factors influencing the
development of honors programs are presented and methodological choices are
discussed;
2. Part II: The Benelux countries. This consists of a short introduction and chapters
for each country. This includes overviews of the national education systems,
focused on access to higher education and provisions for excellent students.
The local culture towards excellence is described, as well as government policy
on this issue. Finally, existing honors programs per institution are presented;
15
In this respect, the British Isles differ strongly from the continental European countries. They
were therefore not included in this study.
8 1 Introduction
Iceland
Finland
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Netherlands
Belgium Germany
Luxembourg
Austria
Switzerland
8684
Map 1.1 Countries in research project Talent Development in European Higher Education
3. Part III: The Nordic countries. This is similar to the country chapters as described
above;
4. Part IV: The German-speaking countries (idem);
5. Part V: Honors in northern Europe: a comparative perspective. In this final part,
the findings in the different countries will be compared and analyzed, learned
lessons are shared and suggestions for further research are made.
Finally, the literature is included, as well as appendixes including key links,
contact details of the different programs and one-page interviews with key persons
involved in honors education.
Literature 9
The creation of this book is a truly internationally collaborative effort. Hundreds

of contact persons at HEIs in 11 countries have responded to inquiries from the
research team by phone or e-mail. Fourteen key persons from 7 countries were
interviewed, and 20 local experts from all 11 countries have checked the chapters
about their respective country. Apart from the author, one project leader, seven
honors students and one cartographer have helped to prepare the manuscript.
In addition, three experts from the Netherlands have read and commented on the
whole book. Four anonymous reviewers at Springer have given valuable comments
on an earlier version of this manuscript. Professor Kevin Dean and honors alumnus
Michael Jendzurski from West Chester University (USA) performed a final check
on language and readability.
The research team found it a telling sign that most people that were approached
for information were very willing to help. This is an indication of the need to share
knowledge about this subject.
We see the primary audience for this book as scholars, researchers, policy makers,
teachers and students involved in the subject ‘excellence in education’ in general
and in higher education in particular. Hopefully this book inspires them to cooperate
and learn from experiences in other countries.
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
Literature16
Auditcommission Sirius Program, Leading Experts Sirius Program, & Platform Bèta Techniek.
(2012). Sirius program overall audit report 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.orionprogramma.nl/
docs/Sirius_monitor_en_audit/sirius-overall-audit-report-2011-eng.pdf. 20 Jan 2014.
Aydelotte, F. (1944). Breaking the academic lock step. The development of honors work in
American colleges & universities. New York: Harper & Brothers.
EESC (European Economic and Social Committee). (2013). Unleashing the potential of children
and young people with high intellectual abilities in the European Union. Document
SOC/445 – CES963-2012_00_00_TRA_AC. Retrieved from: http://www.eesc.europa.
eu/?i=portal.en.soc-opinions.21964. English version, 14 Jan 2014.
Eurostat. (2014). Statistics database. Available at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/
portal/statistics/search_database. Used January 2014.
Eurydice. (2006). Specific educational measures to promote all forms of giftedness at school in
Europe. Working document. Retrieved from: http://www.indire.it/lucabas/lkmw_file/eurydice/
Specific_measures_giftedness_EN.pdf. 21 May 2014.
Freeman, J. (2002a). Out-of-school provisions for the gifted and talented around the world. A
report for the Department of Education and Skills. Part one: The research. Retrieved from:
http://www.joanfreeman.com/pdf/Text_part_one.pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
16
Note: Literature used to prepare this book is included on this list. Some of the entries are in local
languages and have not been read completely by the researchers. Instead, they have been searched
with keywords to retrieve relevant information.
10 1 Introduction
Freeman, J. (2002b). Out-of-school provisions for the gifted and talented around the world. A
report for the Department of Education and Skills. Part two: The conclusions. Retrieved from:
http://www.joanfreeman.com/pdf/Text_part_two.pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
Györi, J. G. (Ed.). (2011). International horizons of talent support I. Best practices within and
without the European Union I. Budapest: Magyar Tehetségsegítő Szervezetek Szövetsége/
Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: https://www.pef.uni-lj.si/fileadmin/Datoteke/CRSN/branje/
International_Horizons_of_Talent_Support__I__2011_.pdf. 19 Dec 2013.
Györi, J. G. (Ed.). (2012). International horizons of talent support II. Best practices within and
without the European Union II. Budapest: Magyar Tehetségsegítő Szervezetek Szövetsége/
Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: http://www.talentcentrebudapest.eu/sites/default/files/
International-Horizons-of-Talent-Support-II.pdf. 9 Jan 2014.
Lamb, M. (2012, fall/winter). “Honours” in the United Kingdom: More than a difference of spelling
in honors education. JNCHC, 19–34.
Mönks, F. J., & Pflüger, R. (2005). Gifted education in 21 European countries: Inventory and
perspective. Nijmegen: Radboud University. Retrieved from: http://www.bmbf.de/pub/gifted_
education_21_eu_countries.pdf. 6 Jan 2014.
Persson, R. S., Balogh, L., & Joswig, H. (2000). Gifted education in Europe: Programs, practices,
and current research. In K. A. Heller, F. J. Mönks, R. A. Sternberg, & R. Subotnik (Eds.),
International handbook of giftedness and talent (pp. 703–734). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Sirius Programma. (2012). Are you M.A.D.? (Are you making a difference?) Sirius Studiereis
Denemarken: Aarhus en Kopenhagen Mei 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.siriusprogramma.
nl/publicaties/denemarken-are-you-making-a-difference#.VKEWYv8QLo. 9 Dec 2013.
Van Eijl, P. J., Wientjes, H., Wolfensberger, M. V. C., & Pilot, A. (2005). Het uitdagen van talent in
onderwijs. In Onderwijsraad (Ed.), Onderwijs in thema’s (pp. 117–156). Den Haag: Artos.
Wolfensberger, M. V. C. (2012). Teaching for excellence. Honors pedagogies revealed. Münster:
Waxmann.
Wolfensberger, M. V. C., Van Eijl, P. J., & Pilot, A. (2004). Honours programmes as laboratories of
innovation: A perspective from the Netherlands. Journal of the National Collegiate Honors
Council, 5(1), 115–142.
Chapter 2
Developing Honors Education in Specific
National Contexts
What exactly is an honors program and why are such programs developed? In this
chapter we provide a working definition of an honors program and answer the ques-
tion why honors programs are developed. We identify eight factors influencing the
development of honors programs in a specific national context. These factors will be
discussed and where possible, we will offer some basic statistics to facilitate char-
acterization and comparison.
2.1 Defining Honors Programs
Defining an honors program is central for an inventory of such programs.

Unfortunately, there is no simple definition. The American National Collegiate
Honors Council (NCHC) has developed a list of 17 best practices that are common
to successful honors programs and translated these into a set of ‘Basic Characteristics
of a Fully Developed Honors Program’ (NCHC 2010). Not all these elements from
the American context can be used for the (less-developed) European context,1 but
we have derived from the NCHC characteristics a number of basic requirements of
an honors program, including the following:
• A clearly articulated set of admission criteria (e.g. Grade Point Average, a writ-
ten essay, satisfactory progress, etc.) identifies the targeted student population
served by the honors program. The program clearly specifies the requirements
needed for retention and satisfactory completion;
• The program has a clear mandate from the institution’s administration in the
form of a mission statement or charter document that includes the objectives and
responsibilities of honors;
1
See Van Eijl et al. 2007, p. 71–72 for a list of main differences between American honors pro-
grams and Dutch honors programs.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_2
12 2 Developing Honors Education in Specific National Contexts
• The honors curriculum meets the needs of the students in the program and
features special courses, seminars, colloquia, experiential learning opportunities,
undergraduate research opportunities, or other independent-study options.
Based on these requirements, an honors program must be selective (compared to
the regular program), have clear admission criteria, a clear goal and feature special
educational opportunities.
In the Netherlands, a similar list of requirements was developed by a group of
researchers in 2007 (Van Eijl et al. 2007, p. 106). In a 2012 article for the NCHC
journal, the authors used the following definition for the Dutch context: ‘honors
programs are designed to offer educational opportunities that are more challenging
and demanding than regular programs, and they are designed for motivated and
gifted students who want more and have the capacity to do more than the regular’
(Wolfensberger et al. 2012, p. 149–150).
Combining the NCHC characteristics and this definition, we use the following
working definition in this book:
Honors programs are selective study programs linked to higher education institutions. They
are designed for motivated and gifted students who want to do more than the regular pro-
gram offers. These programs have clear admission criteria and clear goals and offer educa-
tional opportunities that are more challenging and demanding than regular programs.
2.2 Types, Elements and Scales of Honors Programs
Honors programs exist in many different forms. Following Wolfensberger et al.

(2012, p. 157), who made a typology based on their research in the Netherlands, we
distinguish three types of honors programs:
1. Disciplinary programs, in which deepening the understanding of subjects, meth-
odologies, and research within a discipline is the main goal;
2. Interdisciplinary programs, where the focus is on subjects and themes that
include and go beyond different disciplines, and on interdisciplinary methodolo-
gies; and
3. Multidisciplinary programs, mostly in the form of liberal arts and sciences col-
leges, offering a full substitute for regular programs and a full honors bachelor’s
degree.
These different types of honors education are also aimed at different kinds of
talented students. Some students excel in just one area, but others can (and will)
develop themselves in many areas (Györi 2012, p. 222–223). It is also important to
recognize that honors programs are by definition out-of-the-ordinary, and therefore
not every program will fit in the above typology.
The Dutch experience shows that most honors programs are first developed in
the bachelor or undergraduate phase of higher education. The Sirius Programme
subsidies first only focused on the bachelor phase and were later expanded to include
master programs as well. Currently in the Netherlands, various HEIs feature honors
2.2 Types, Elements and Scales of Honors Programs 13
programs during the master phase, while in the United States and most other
countries honors is mostly focused at the undergraduate student-body. Consequently,
little information is present about honors in the master phase of education (Van
Ginkel and Van Eijl 2010).2 In this study, we explored the development of programs
at both bachelor and master level.
Apart from the different types of honors programs, there is also wide variation in
the content and structure of the programs, as they are designed from the vision on
excellence of each independent institution. To be able to discuss and check the qual-
ity of the programs of institutions, the Sirius compass has been developed within the
Sirius Programme. The compass is based on the experiences of participating HEIs
and available literature, offering a framework for discussion, analysis and quality
assurance. The compass includes six areas of emphasis: vision on excellence, orga-
nization and governance, teachers, education chain and relations with the labor mar-
ket, creating communities and the added value of the initiatives.3 While research on
excellence is not included as a separate element, it is envisioned to be implied in all
six areas of the compass. Focus on all of these areas is needed in order to implement
effective education to stimulate excellence.
Moving to the practical side of honors program, Van Eijl et al. (2007, p. 38–40)
have developed a useful checklist containing 12 categories of different aspects of
honors programs. These aspects include:
1. Mission/goals of the honors program
2. Program structure
3. Program content
4. Admission to program and target group (admission procedure/selection)
5. Honors teachers and their interaction with honors students
6. Further interaction within the honors program (formation of communities)
7. Feedback and assessment process in the honors program
8. Program size, position with respect to regular education and context
9. Reward (study results and reward for completion of program)
10. Evaluation (of the program)
11. Alumni (what are their future study/work careers)
12. Reception in the field (how is honors received in the fields of science, policy
and business).
One aspect deserving extra attention concerns the position of an honors program
in relation to the regular academic program. By definition, honors education is not
an integral part of the regular academic program. But often, there is a close
relationship to the regular program. In some cases, honors education takes shape as
a direct extension of the regular program, for example by giving students extra
2
Van Ginkel and Van Eijl made an overview of honors programs in the master in the Netherlands
and also found some programs in other countries. They also recognized the lack of international
information on the issue.
3
See http://www.siriusprogramma.nl/publicaties/het-sirius-kompas#.VLGINnvGiK0 for more
information (Dutch only).
challenges directly related to regular courses. In other cases, the relationship is less
direct, but the goals of the honors program are still tied to the academic
curriculum.
While in Europe ‘extracurricular’ is an often-used term for any activity outside
the formal program, the American tradition distinguishes between co-curricular and
extracurricular activities. While co-curricular activities have some form of relation-
ship to academic learning, extracurricular activities are not tied to course content or
academic learning (see for example Darling et al. 20054). Examples of co-curricular
activities include study travel, debate competitions and academic project work.
Extracurricular activities are for example social events, community service or sports
events. In this book, we will use these terms according to American tradition.
Honors education in all its forms takes shape at different spatial scales. We struc-
ture the chapters in this book by country, as this spatial scale is especially relevant
to understand the context in which honors education does or does not take place.
Insight in the entry requirements for higher education will be provided in the vari-
ous country chapters.
We do recognize that not all honors education is organized at the national scale
and that programs have different scales of appeal. Most programs are organized by
HEIs, per faculty, department or subject. While some programs might be set up by
a HEI wishing to get a certain advantage in a regional competition for the best stu-
dents, other forms of honors education have an international appeal. Indeed, some
honors education is organized transnationally. We will mention this where relevant,
but for the main analysis we stick to the national scale.
2.3 Talented and Motivated
Eventually all honors programs are meant for students who are talented and moti-
vated to do something extra. How to define and find these students is a difficult
question. The target group depends on the goals of the specific program, but in
general programs are meant for the ‘best’ students. How ‘best’ is defined, is a choice
laden with moral, political and scientific arguments and also very dependent upon
the local context. In countries with strong egalitarian traditions, it may be difficult
to present a program as meant for ‘the best’ students. In other countries, it may be
well-accepted to select students on basis of grades, but the question arises whether
this is the best way to identify talented and motivated students. There is no agree-
ment among scientists about the best way to select students for an honors program.
There is also no international agreement on terminology use. The term ‘honors’ is
widely used in the Netherlands, but has not (yet) found its way to most other
countries in this book.
4
Explanation of the terms co-curricular and extracurricular can also be found on the website
edglossary.org/co-curricular.
2.4 Reasons to Develop Honors Programs 15
We will discuss the culture towards excellence in the different countries,

including local terminology; and we will mention admission criteria used for the
individual programs found. Often local terminology is linked to gifted education
programs in primary and secondary education and their identification criteria.5
Therefore we will mention the existence of such programs and their terminology
where applicable.
2.4 Reasons to Develop Honors Programs
Our definition of an honors program and our short discussion of the types, scales
and target groups brings us to the next central question in this research: why are
such programs developed?
Our starting point to answer this question is the Netherlands. According to
Wolfensberger et al. (2012, p. 1516), all Dutch research universities were carrying
out honors programs in their bachelor programs for four main reasons: first, the
general trend of broadening of undergraduate programs which creates new opportu-
nities for honors programs that allow for enrichment; second, an increased need for
distinction among students in order to be admitted to prestigious masters; third, a
new emphasis on talent in political discussions; and fourth, the momentum present
because of the implementation of the (new) bachelor/master structure (ibid).7 The
reasons to develop honors programs can be used to identify more general factors
influencing the question whether these programs are developed.
Other researchers have also identified such factors (see for example Györi and
Nagy 2011).8 Broadly speaking, these factors are either more ideological, or more
institutional in nature. Ideological factors are closely related to national cultures and
views on issues such as democracy and the organization of the civil society. These
ideological factors translate into a specific organizational structure of the education
system. This is the first of the institutional factors.
5
See Eurydice 2006 for a European overview on terminology use.
6
This article is an overview of Dutch honors programs for the Journal of the NCHC.
7
Wolfensberger et al. concluded about the last reason that ‘considering the forward position of the
Netherlands in the introduction of the bachelor/master system and in the implementation of hon-
ors, honors programs are likely to spread to other European countries as they adopt the system’.
8
Based on their review of talent support programs in nine countries, Györi and Nagy they con-
cluded that ‘many experts are of the opinion that the talent support options should be sensitive to
the errors/deficiencies of society/the educational system, i.e. the components which may withhold
non-average children from optimising their abilities. If mainstream education is not sensitive
enough to individual differences, talent support must emphasise that aspect; if it cannot pay suffi-
cient attention to personality or creativity development, then talent support programmes must
stress that point’.
We identify eight factors influencing the development of honors programs in a

specific national context. Moving from more ideological to more institutional
factors, they are:
1. Culture towards excellence
2. Political views towards excellence
3. Educational philosophy
4. Structure and selectiveness of education system
5. Competition between institutions
6. Labor market conditions
7. National results in comparative research.
Finally, there is one factor that cannot be categorized as ideological or
institutional:
8. Innovators and pioneers
In the remaining part of this chapter, we describe and explain these factors in
more detail. While doing so, we also give some examples and/or relevant data
regarding the specifics of these factors in the countries in this study.
2.4.1 Culture Towards Excellence
The culture towards talent, giftedness, excellence and other comparable concepts
affects who is seen as talented or excellent (Freeman 2005), it shapes public discus-
sion (see Laine 2010) and it reflects in the education system the values and talents
that are considered important (Tirri 2007, p. 3). Therefore, it is very central to put a
finger on the local culture in the countries studied. At the same time, this is very
difficult because culture does usually not show in official documents and is hard to
measure. Hofstede has tried to do this in his cultural dimensions theory, where sys-
tematic differences between national cultures were identified and partly expressed
in numbers on four dimensions (Hofstede 1980), which was later expanded to six
dimensions (Hofstede et al. 2010). One useful element for this research is the power
distance index, which can be defined as the extent to which the less powerful mem-
bers of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed
unequally. Less power distance roughly translates into a more democratic and pos-
sibly egalitarian division of power.
Generally speaking, all countries in this book have some tradition of egalitarian-
ism, especially compared to the USA. There are significant differences between the
countries, however. The Nordic countries traditionally have the strongest egalitarian
tradition (Persson et al. 2000; Persson 2009). In this culture, it is more difficult to
talk about excellence than in countries where the education system focuses on the
individual student. A supportive culture towards excellence enables teachers and
students to stand out. The culture towards excellence within an HEI is often related
to the national culture towards talent development and excellence. We will elaborate
on this factor in each individual country chapter and will summarize results in the
concluding part.
2.4.2 Political Views Towards Excellence
The countries in this book have different state forms and political systems. There are
also vast differences in the political organization of the education system, including
legal provisions for differentiation in education and governmental (financial)
support for talent development programs. Political views towards excellence can
change over time and are most likely to change around elections. Talent develop-
ment can be part of an economic agenda, for example to prioritize top sectors in
order to keep up in a competitive international environment. Some countries clearly
focus on a knowledge economy and therefore focus on an excellent education sys-
tem. Talent development can also be part of a government’s social agenda: giving
maximum opportunities to all students, regardless of gender, socio-economic back-
ground or place of birth (migrant status) (Györi and Nagy 2011, p. 233).
There are regional differences in the extent of the influence of politics on educa-
tion. This is closely related to the issue of scale. Education legislation in the Benelux
and German-speaking countries tends to be inclusive. This means it contains general
formulations on the rights of all children to adequate education, implying special
provisions for the most able. The German-speaking countries are all federal or
confederational and a lot of power is in the hands of the states and the cantons
respectively. Regional differences in education policies exist and local politicians
favoring excellence can make an impact. The Nordic countries have a more central-
ized form of government. Here, room for local initiatives is limited. There is a strict
notion of ‘equality and social collectivism at all levels of society’, effectively hin-
dering the development of honors programs (Persson 2009, p. 3–4).
2.4.3 Educational Philosophy
The traditions and culture of a country are reflected in its educational philosophy.
This starts with the importance attached to education in general. One indicator for
this importance is the public expenditure on education as a percentage of the coun-
try’s GDP. Results are presented in Table 2.1.
In the Nordic countries and Denmark and Norway in particular, government is
prepared to spend a large amount of money on education in general and tertiary
education in particular. This willingness is connected to the specific culture regard-
ing the goals of education.
Table 2.1 Public expenditure on education as % of GDP, 2010 (OECD 2013a, p. 218)
Country All levels of education Tertiary education
OECD average 5.8 1.4
Austria 5.9 1.6
Belgium 6.6 1.5
Denmark 8.8 2.4
Finland 6.8 2.2
Germany n/a n/a
Iceland 7.6 1.6
Luxembourg n/a n/a
Netherlands 6.0 1.7
Norway 8.8 2.6
Sweden 7.0 2.0
Switzerland 5.2 1.3
These goals are also closely related to the room offered to talent development
programs. In equal opportunity cultures there is usually more room for talent devel-
opment than in egalitarian cultures (Moon and Rosselli 2000; Mattsson 2013). As
Swedish researcher Mattsson states: ‘In an equal opportunity philosophy the empha-
sis is on meeting the individual needs of different students. Regardless of back-
ground the students should have equal access to opportunities to develop their
abilities and interests. Within an egalitarian philosophy on the other hand, education
aims at creating similar outcomes for all students by providing all students the same
educational experience’ (Mattsson 2013, p. 7).
One way to measure the outcome of this philosophical choice is by using indica-
tors for ‘equity in education’. This is measured in the OECD program PISA
(Programme for International Student Assessment).9 In the PISA reports, scores of
15-year olds on standardized tests in a large number of countries are presented every
3 years since 2000. All 11 countries in this study take part in PISA and the results
are taken very seriously (more about PISA in general in Sect. 2.4.7 below).
In the PISA report, equity in education is defined as providing all students, regard-
less of gender, family background or socio-economic status, with opportunities to
benefit from education. This does not imply that everyone should have the same
results. It does mean, however, that students’ socio-economic status or the fact that
they have an immigrant background has little or no impact on their performance, and
that all students, regardless of their background, are offered access to quality educa-
tional resources and opportunities to learn.10 In the PISA report, equity scores for
countries are calculated, mostly based on the pupils’ mathematics scores. A low
percentage of variance in mathematics performance explained by socio-economic
status (see Table 2.2) points to more equity in education (OECD 2013b, p. 16).
9
Publication of the PISA report is organized by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD).
10
Full explanation and all data can be found in OECD 2013b.
Table 2.2 Equity in education in PISA 2012 (OECD 2013b, p. 15)

Mathematics Percentage of variance in mathematics performance
Country mean score explained by socio-economic status
OECD average 494 14.6
Austria 506 15.8
Belgium 515 15.0
Denmark 500 16.5
Finland 519 9.4
Germany 514 16.9
Iceland 493 7.7
Luxembourg 490 18.3
Netherlands 523 11.5
Norway 489 7.4
Sweden 478 10.6
Switzerland 531 12.8
Overall, Finland is considered by the OECD to score best among the countries in
this study, with both a high mean score and a low percentage of variance explained
by socio-economic background. Norway and Iceland score best when looking just
at the socio-economic variable, followed by Sweden, the Netherlands and
Switzerland.
A ‘good’ score on the equity variable is probably welcome in a country with an
egalitarian philosophy. But the equity score says little about the relationship between
the educational philosophy and talent development. There is also another score,
called ‘resilience’ by OECD. This is defined as the ‘percentage of disadvantaged
students who perform among the top 25 % of students across all participating coun-
tries and economies, after accounting for socio-economic status’. Basically, a high
score means that many students ‘beat the odds’ and score better than could be
expected of them because of their background. Resilience scores in PISA 2012 are
shown in Table 2.3 and compared to the scores in PISA 2003. A negative trend
means the percentage of resilient students has dropped between 2003 and 2012.
Interestingly, scores are well below the OECD average for all the Nordic coun-
tries (except Finland), while the egalitarian educational philosophy in these countries
is supposed to promote resilience. The scores are therefore subject to public and
political debate in these countries. Finland is also worried. It still scores above aver-
age, but has seen the largest drop in the percentage of resilient students among the
countries included in this research (−3.3 %). Switzerland scores highest on resilient
students and has an upward trend since 2003. Germany has the strongest upward
trend, with the score rising 1.3 % to an above-average 7.5 %. The Netherlands
scores well above average, but has a downward trend.
All in all, an educational philosophy is difficult to define and hard to measure.
However, in the country chapters we will try to indicate the basic ideas and traditions
regarding education, before discussing the specific form of the resulting education
system.
Table 2.3 Resilience in education in PISA 2012 and change since PISA 2003 (OECD 2013b,
figure II.2.2)
Percentage of resilient Trends in the percentage
Country students, 2012 of resilient students, 2003–2012
OECD average 6.5 −0.3
Austria 6.2 −0.6
Belgium 8.1 −0.2
Denmark 5.0 −1.8
Finland 8.2 −3.3
Germany 7.5 1.3
Iceland 5.3 −1.7
Luxembourg 6.1 −0.1
Netherlands 8.7 −1.8
Norway 5.4 1.1
Sweden 4.4 −2.9
Switzerland 10.0 0.7
2.4.4 Structure and Selectiveness of Education System
We now move to more institutional factors. This includes the level of differentiation
in primary and secondary education, the selectiveness of higher education in gen-
eral and admission requirements and tuition fees in particular.
Over the past few decades, the dominant norm governing access to European
HEIs was that of providing equal opportunities. A good education should be acces-
sible to everyone. However, starting points are not the same for all students, as some
come from less privileged backgrounds. The ‘equal opportunity’ view therefore
usually acknowledges the idea that ‘merit-based admission needs to be augmented
by some form of affirmative action’ (Clancy and Goastellec 2007, p. 139), in order
to ensure that the national elite in terms of education is drawn from all social classes.
In other words, special measures are taken to promote equity in education. How this
works out in admission procedures, depends on national traditions. The view
towards the desired level of selectiveness of higher education can also change over
time. Over the last few decades, access to higher education has become available to
many more Europeans and in some countries, this has led to an explosive growth of
the higher education sector (see also Sect. 2.4.5). This might necessitate a change in
the organizational structure of the system. Especially in such times of change, the
development of honors programs might be facilitated. Honors programs can also
serve another purpose in the wider higher education system. Evidence from the
Netherlands shows that honors programs ‘have functioned as laboratories of educa-
tional innovation within university-wide curricula and had positive spin-off effects
on the regular curriculum and also on the transfer of talented students from second-
ary into higher education’ (Wolfensberger et al. 2012, p. 149).
Another process influencing the structure of education systems is the Bologna
Process. Throughout Europe, the Bologna Declaration (1999) has led to great
changes in the structure of higher education. In different countries, governments
have seen the Bologna Process ‘as a tool to challenge extremely strong national or,
as in Germany, regional structures in the university system’ (Culver and Warfvinge
2013, p. 11). This is also relevant to the development of honors programs. As the
structure had to be changed anyway, the opportunity was sometimes seized to
develop honors education, especially in the Netherlands.
An important goal of the Bologna Process has been to increase the transparency
of the credit system, now measured in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation
System (ECTS). The credits that can be earned are generally referred to as ECTS
credits. Usually students can earn 60 ECTS per academic year.
Another very important part of the Bologna Process is the harmonization of the
qualification system in the so-called three-tier system. In this system, there are three
cycles of higher education. The first is a bachelor phase, the second a master phase
and the third a Ph.D. phase. The three-tier system has now been introduced in all
countries in this book, but it is not spread in a uniform manner. The traditional
national views about starting qualifications on the labor market are still strong. In
some countries students are considered ready with a bachelor diploma, while in oth-
ers it is highly unusual to leave higher education without a master diploma. This is
shown in Table 2.4.
In countries such as Austria and Denmark, it is traditionally highly unusual to
enter the labor market with a bachelor’s degree. Most students continue into a mas-
ter program. In other countries, such as Norway, a bachelor degree is seen as a good
starting qualification on the labor market. Here, continuing in a master program is
seen as selective. From a Norwegian point of view, this might lessen the ‘need’ to
develop (selective) honors programs at this level. In the country chapters, the
structure of the national education system will be described and the impact of this
structure on the room for excellence in general and honors programs in particular
will be discussed.
Table 2.4 Progression of students in higher education (European Higher Education Authority
country reports 2012)
% of bachelor graduates % of master graduates
Country continuing in mastera continuing in Ph.D.
Austria 83 %b 34 %
Belgium (Flemish community) 25–50 % 8–10 %
Belgium (French community) 25–50 % n/a
Denmark 84.5 % 11 %
Finland 50–75 % n/a
Germany 50–75 % n/a
Iceland 10–25 % <10 %
Luxembourg 75–100 % n/a
Netherlands 10–25 % 12 %
Norway 23 % 14 %
Sweden 25–50 % 6%
Switzerland 50–75 % 20 %
a
Within 2 years of graduation from bachelor program
b
Percentage for public universities
2.4.5 Competition Between Institutions
In many countries, funding education institutions is based on student numbers,

which means there is an incentive to attract more students. From this point of view,
the promotion of excellence can be framed as a central strategy that will help HEIs
to prosper in an increasingly open and competitive environment (Frølich and
Stensaker 2010, p. 359).
Among the countries in this book, there are huge differences in the (development
of) participation of the population in higher education (see Fig. 2.1 and Map 2.1),
although they have all experienced growth between 2002 and 2011.
The selectiveness of entry is a relevant factor. This may be due to high admission
standards, restricted numbers of student seats and/or tuition fees. We will see how
recruitment and admission is organized in the country chapters and come back to
this issue in the concluding chapters.
In some countries participation in tertiary education has increased enormously
over the last decade. Data are shown in Table 2.5.
In all countries, participation rates have gone up, but significant differences exist.
Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Iceland and Switzerland have seen increases
of 40 % or more, while in Finland and Norway the proportion of students hardly
changed (see UNESCO 2011).11 The exact reasons for the increase in participation
rates fall beyond the scope of this book. However, in general, countries strive to get
a highly-educated population and changes can be the result of political decisions.
7%
2002 2011
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
EU 27
Austria
Belgium
Germany
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Iceland
Switzerland
Denmark
Fig. 2.1 Population in tertiary education (ISCED 5–6) as % of total population, 2002–2011
(Eurostat 2014, own calculation)
11
Please note that tertiary education is defined as ISCED level 5–6, which includes bachelor/mas-
ter/Ph. D. education, but also short-cycle tertiary education that is more practical in nature.
Iceland
Finland
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Netherlands
Belgium Germany
Luxembourg
EU average
well above
slightly above
Austria
Switzerland slightly below
well below
8684
Map 2.1 Participation in tertiary education as % of total population, 2011, compared to EU aver-
age (Eurostat 2014)
Opposing views of higher education as elite education or mass education can be the
subject of intense debate. Mass participation in higher education may increase the
need for differentiation within higher education and thus foster the start of honors
programs.
Another relevant set of data with respect to the competition between HEIs is its
performance on international rankings, such as the Academic Ranking of World
Universities Top 500, better known as the Shanghai list and the Times Higher
Education World University Rankings. While mostly based on research perfor-
mance, these rankings are also used by HEIs in marketing efforts to attract new
Table 2.5 Growth in participation in tertiary education (ISCED 5–6), 2002–2011 (Eurostat 2014,
own calculation)
Growth in participation in tertiary education, 2002–2011
Country (corrected for population growth) (%)
EU average (27 countries) 13.4
Austria 55.2
Belgium 18.1
Denmark 28.0
Finland 5.0
Germany 29.0
Iceland 45.8
Luxembourg 56.2
Netherlands 45.9
Norway 7.2
Sweden 14.5
Switzerland 39.7
students. A university with excellent results on such a ranking, can adopt a strategy
to attract excellent students more easily. International comparative research also
makes an impact at the national level. This will be discussed below under factor 7.
There, we also provide more details about university rankings.
2.4.6 Labor Market Conditions
The economic crisis of the last few years has made an impact on all the countries in
this book, but the picture is varied. Norway – with large oil reserves – has been able
to keep a low unemployment rate, while in countries such as Belgium and the
Netherlands unemployment has risen significantly.12
Skills that are valued on the labor market differ per country and over time. Of
course institutions operate in an economic reality, which means they will take
account of their students’ chances on the labor market after they finish their studies.
Governments have labor market strategies to ensure the best match between the
education system and labor market demands is made. In unfavorable labor market
conditions, students themselves can also experience an increased need to stand out
from the crowd. Economic conditions and strategies to deal with these conditions
are relevant for honors programs. For example, HEIs can seek close cooperation
with the private sector to prepare students for ‘the real world’. Companies can also
take the initiative to cooperate with successful institutions and seek direct contact
with talented students. This is especially the case in sectors and economic condi-
tions where talent is scarce and a ‘war for talent’ is raging, as it was called in a 2001
12
Data on GDP per capita and unemployment rates were presented in table 3.1.
American book.13 Labor market conditions can differ between regions and countries
and honors education can also be developed as a measure to prevent regional or
national ‘brain drain’. In problematic labor markets both institutions and students
might feel more urgency to be exceptional and have talents recognized. Situations
where the educational system and the labor market situation do not match can pro-
vide an incentive to develop and participate in honors programs.
Also, some programs heavily rely on the private sector. Funding from this sector
can be important for the development of talent programs, but this can get endan-
gered in times of crisis. There can even be a direct relationship between honors
education and sectoral development on the labor market: if a certain sector performs
poorly, sectoral support for an honors program can be withdrawn as a budget cut-
back measure.
2.4.7 National Results in Comparative Research
Evaluation of educational achievements in international rankings is important for

individual HEIs, as seen in our discussion of competition between HEIs (factor 5)
above. But results in comparative research are also very relevant at the national
level. Negative developments in high-regarded comparative education reports can
be an incentive for change. The performance of national education systems is
assessed in different ways. A number of international comparative rankings are
well-known in both academic and public debates. For secondary education, the
best-known report is OECD’s PISA (Programme for International Student
Assessment).14 All the countries in this book take part in PISA, which examines
15-year-old’s performance in three subjects: mathematics, reading and science. The
2012 results, which were released early December 2013, are presented on Map 2.2.
Details of scores in the 2012 report and a comparison with results from the 2003
report are shown in Table 2.6.
From the PISA results, it immediately becomes clear that Sweden is not doing
well. It now has the lowest scores in all subjects and has dropped from fifth to last
place among the 11 countries in this study. Iceland and Luxembourg are also below
the OECD average in all subjects, and Norway in mathematics and science.
Especially in Sweden this has led to intense discussion in media and among politi-
cians about ways to improve results. One way would be to make the education
system more ‘open’ to excellence initiatives. Finland, the Netherlands and
Switzerland have good overall scores in all subjects. Still, the Finnish scores raise
concern in the country: although it maintains its top position among the 11 countries
in this research, scores have dropped significantly since 2003. In the Netherlands,
deeper analysis of the scores shows that relatively few students reach the highest
13
The book ‘The war for talent’ by Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones and Beth Axelrod was
released in 2001 by Harvard University Press and was heavily debated in the following years.
14
Publication of this report is organized by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). For more explanation, see factor 2 above.
Map 2.2 PISA scores 2012, compared to OECD average (Country score is calculated by adding
PISA scores in maths, science and reading and comparing them to the OECD average of 1,491)
(OECD 2013b)
scores. This was cause of concern for the government and one of the reasons to
develop new policies to stimulate talented children in primary and secondary educa-
tion (see Rijksoverheid 2014). Finally, Germany has shown the greatest improve-
ment in scores between 2003 and 2012.
Moving to higher education, research university performance is calculated in
different international rankings. We use two of the best-known rankings to give an
indication of the performance of the countries’ university system: first, the Academic
Ranking of World Universities Top 500, better known as the Shanghai list (ARWU
2013); and second, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2014).
Table 2.6 Educational performance in PISA, 2003–2012 (calculations based on OECD 2004,
2013a, b, Education GPS)
PISA scores, PISA rank, PISA scores, PISA rank, Change in scores,
Country 2012a 2012b 2003 2003 2003–2012c
OECD average 494 + 496 + 501 – 499 + 494 + 496 – +2
Austria 506 + 490 + 506 6 506 + 491 + 491 8 +14
Belgium 515 + 509 + 505 5 529 + 507 + 509 3 −16
Denmark 500 + 496 + 498 7 514 + 492 + 475 9 +13
Finland 519 + 524 + 545 1 544 + 543 + 548 1 −47
Germany 514 + 508 + 524 4 503 + 491 + 502 7 +50
Iceland 493 + 483 + 478 10 515 + 492 + 495 6 −48
Luxembourg 490 + 488 + 491 9 493 + 479 + 483 11 −14
Netherlands 523 + 511 + 522 2 538 + 513 + 524 2 −19
Norway 489 + 504 + 495 8 495 + 500 + 484 10 +9
Sweden 478 + 483 + 485 11 509 + 514 + 506 5 −83
Switzerland 531 + 509 + 515 3 527 + 499 + 513 4 +16
a
PISA score = maths score + reading score + science score in PISA 2012
b
PISA rank = Rank among 11 countries in this study based on added total of scores. This is only an
indication of a country’s relative score
c
Change in scores is calculated by taking the added total of 2012 scores and subtracting the added
total of 2003 scores. This is only an indication of a country’s relative performance
Main difference is that the Shanghai ranking is mostly based on quantitative research
data (such as publication statistics), while the Times ranking makes use of a broader
set of data. While focus in the Times list is still on the universities’ research per-
formance, 30 % of a university’s score is based on teaching performance.15 Results
are shown in Table 2.7.
From the scores, it is clear that most research universities in the Netherlands,
Sweden and Belgium are included in the Top 500. The percentage of universities
reaching the Top 400 or 500 is less ‘overall good’ for other countries. The rankings
give little information about the quality of teaching at the universities and do not
include universities of applied sciences, but still these rankings are usually taken
very seriously by policy makers in both HEIs and governments.
2.4.8 Innovators and Pioneers
The effect of individual efforts is a highly relevant factor for the development of
honors programs, in fact pioneers and innovators play a key role in the initiation of
programs. Early adapters in higher education staff are needed to start the develop-
ment of a program. These pioneering talent support actors are often idealistically
15
See ARWU 2013 and Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014 for more details
about the methodology behind these rankings.
Table 2.7 Performance of research universities in university rankings per country (ARWU 2013;
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014; Eurydice 2014)
No. of Entries in top Entries in
research 500, 2013 Highest rank on top 400, Highest rank on
Country universities Shanghai list Shanghai list Times list Times list
Austria 22 7 151–200 (Vienna) 6 170 (Vienna)
Belgium 11 7 85 (Ghent) 7 61 (KU Leuven)
Denmark 8 4 42 (Copenhagen) 5 117 (DTU)
Finland 14 5 76 (Helsinki) 5 100 (Helsinki)
Germany 106 38 50 (TU Munich) 26 55 (LMU Munich)
Iceland 7a – – 1 251–275 (Iceland)
Luxembourg 1 – – – –
Netherlands 14 12 52 (Utrecht) 13 67 (Leiden)
Norway 8 4 69 (Oslo) 4 185 (Oslo)
Sweden 14 11 44 (Karolinska) 10 36 (Karolinska)
Switzerland 12 7 20 (ETH Zurich) 8 14 (ETH Zurich)
a
In Iceland no differentiation is made between different types of higher education
motivated and ‘seem to be fully aware of their social responsibility concerning the
fate of talented individuals’ (Györi and Nagy 2011, p. 232). While efforts of dedi-
cated individuals are necessary to develop honors programs, this is impossible to
find in statistics. This factor will therefore be discussed in the country chapters
where relevant.
2.5 Discussion
The eight factors discussed above not only influence the development of honors
programs. Partly, they also shape the forms these programs might take. But partici-
pating students and staff also play an important role in the specific form a program
takes. Also, programs usually develop and change over time. The reasons for stu-
dents to join honors education may be related to the factors above, but students can
also have many other motives, such as the desire to undertake a personal challenge
or simply a personal interest in the subject matter. These motives are an interesting
research topic, but as we focus on finding and describing programs, this falls outside
the scope of this study.
We will now start to discuss the situation in the individual countries. However,
first we need to make one more general remark. The reasons to develop a program
not always become clear in official documents issued by the organizing HEI. Mission
statements are often written after the start of a program, and strongly reflect the
desired outcomes of the program rather than the (practical) reasons to start the pro-
gram. In a review of mission statements of honors programs in the USA, Bartelds
et al. also found that ‘a connection between mission statement, performance indica-
tors, and program assessment is not clearly visible’ (Bartelds et al. 2012, p. 141).
Literature 29
Their lesson for other countries is that they ‘might do well to build such an alignment
into the design of their programs’ (ibid). We will see in the coming chapters if this
is the case in Europe and come back to this issue in the concluding part.
However, before moving to the specific national contexts, we will first explain
the methods used in this study and the limitations in the next chapter.
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cators, and assessment in U. S. honors: A view from the Netherlands. JNCHC, 129–145.
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tal/statistics/search_database. Used January 2014.
Eurydice. (2014). Eurypedia – European encyclopedia on national education systems. Retrieved
from: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/eurydice/index.php. Data for different coun-
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Freeman, J. (2005). Permission to be gifted: How conceptions of giftedness can change lives. In
R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (2nd ed., pp. 80–97).
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Frølich, N., & Stensaker, B. (2010). Student recruitment strategies in higher education: Promoting
excellence and diversity? International Journal of Educational Management, 24(4), 359–370.
Györi, J. G. (2012). Best practices in international talent nurturing and support – Reflections, les-
sons and questions. In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support II. Best prac-
tices within and without the European Union II (pp. 215–227). Budapest: Magyar Tehetségsegítő
Szervezetek Szövetsége/Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: www.talentcentrebudapest.eu/sites/
default/files/International-Horizons-of-Talent-Support-II.pdf. 9 Jan 2014.
Györi, J. G., & Nagy, T. (2011). New trends in talent support: Lessons in good practice from nine
countries. In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support I. Best practices within
and without the European Union I (pp. 229–241). Budapest: Magyar Tehetségsegítő
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Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values.
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Tirri, K. (Ed.). (2007). Values and foundations in gifted education. Bern: Peter Lang.
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Van Eijl, P., Wolfensberger, M., Schreve-Brinkman, L., & Pilot, A. (2007). Honours, tool for pro-
moting excellence – Eindrapport van het project ‘Talentontwikkeling in Honoursprogramma’s
en de meerwaarde die dat oplevert’. Mededeling nr. 82, Interfacultair Instituut voor
Lerarenopleiding, Onderwijsontwikkeling en Studievaardigheden Universiteit Utrecht i.s.m. het
Landelijke Plusnetwerk voor Academische Honoursprogramma’s. Retrieved from: www.uu.nl/
SiteCollectionDocuments/IVLOS/Mededelingenreeks/Mededelingnr82.pdf. 28 Apr 2014.
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en buitenlandse honoursprogramma’s in de masterfase. Utrecht: Universiteit Utrecht,
Mededeling nr. 94 van het IVLOS. Retrieved from: www.talentvoormorgen.noordhoff.nl/
sites/7598/_assets/7598d13.pdf. April 2014.
Wolfensberger, M. V. C., Van Eijl, P., & Pilot, A. (2012, fall/winter) Laboratories for educational
innovation: Honors programs in the Netherlands. In JNCHC, 149–170.
Chapter 3
Methods and Limitations
3.1 Methodology
The main aim of this book is to present an overview of the available information
about educational offers for talented students in higher education in 11 European
countries and place it in the relevant local educational and societal context with
regard to excellence.
The research team, apart from the author, consisted of a project leader and seven
honors students and alumni, who worked on the gathering of data from different
countries. They were all instructed about the background of the research and the
definitions used.
At the start of this project, the team had little idea what info could be found.
Especially in the starting stages, cues and clues to information were found in differ-
ent ways. The gathering of data was structured, as described below, but readers
should keep in mind that this book is based on explorative research.
Scientifically, its main aim is to open up new information and make informed
suggestions for further research, delving deeper into different aspects of honors
education in order to spread knowledge about the subject among honors educators,
students, policy makers and others involved in higher education.
Apart from general and theoretical information already discussed, the informa-
tion in this book is divided into two types:
1. Information about the (clusters of) countries in this book, their education system
and culture and policy towards stimulating excellence; and
2. Information about individual honors programs within higher education
institutions.
For each type, we gathered data in various ways. Initial insights were gained
through personal contacts and experience, scientific literature searches and targeted
web searches. Subsequently, we contacted hundreds of people at higher education
institutions or otherwise involved in higher education, to get background information

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_3
32 3 Methods and Limitations
on certain aspects of the education system, to check if programs were present and/
or to get practical details about specific programs. These professionals were first
contacted through e-mail and if necessary later by phone.
In addition, we have undertaken 14 interviews with key informants, who were
found through official information sources and/or personal networks. Phone or
Skype conversations ranging in length from 30 to 90 min were recorded and tran-
scribed. This forms the basis of the interview texts that are being used throughout
the book. Sometimes information first gathered in an interview was supplemented
by information from reports or e-mails. The data gathered through such interviews
are referred to as ‘personal communication’ in the notes. If a longer interview is
available, it is referred to in the notes. A list of interviewees and interview summa-
ries can be found in Appendix 4.1
Seven honors students and alumni from different HEIs have helped to gather
information, and have written preliminary versions of chapters of this book. Twenty
local experts from all 11 countries have helped to check for correctness and com-
pleteness of information. All contributors are mentioned in the acknowledgements
section.
3.2 Education Systems
To facilitate comparison across education systems, we mostly used openly available

and well-known information sources, offering a comparative perspective. To study
the education systems in the countries in this book, the Eurypedia encyclopedia
from the Eurydice Network of the European Commission was an important first
source (Eurydice 2014). Also, the Country Reports of the UNESCO International
Bureau of Education (IBE) were used, as well as the OECD’s PISA reports about
15-year-olds’ educational achievements and the country reports supplied to the
European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Information about government policies
was found on government websites and in scientific literature and has also been
topic of discussion in interviews with key informants.
Our description of the national education systems in the country chapters is
based on different sources. European countries have set up a common encyclopedia
in which they describe their whole education system: Eurypedia.2 The structure of
the national education system is shown in a standardized diagram. We use these
diagrams in the individual country chapters to provide a general picture of the
complicatedness of the national education system.
1
In addition, information that could not be found in available sources and that was received by
e-mail from specific contact persons at HEIs, is also referred to as ‘personal communication’.
2
The Eurypedia encyclopedia is updated constantly. For this book, data were gathered in the period
November 2013–April 2014, and references to Eurypedia were checked once more in May 2014.
Later changes have not been included.
3.3 Programs per Higher Education Institution 33
Attached to these diagrams is an extensive standardized legend and explanation.

Below, the diagram for Norway is shown as an example (Fig. 3.1a). At the top of the
diagram, ages of pupils are shown and the red bar shows the extent of compulsory
education. The colors refer to different ISCED levels. ISCED is an international
system used to classify types of education, developed by UNESCO.3 The blocks
show the types of schools available and their local names. In the Norwegian exam-
ple, there is a single-structure education up to the age of 16, after which there are
two types. The tertiary education structure (in green) is shown to the right and is not
attached to age.
Fig. 3.1b shows the standardized legend for all Eurypedia diagrams. In the indi-
vidual country chapters, the standardized legend will not be shown again, as it can
be looked up here.
3.3 Programs per Higher Education Institution
In order to learn more about individual programs per HEI, we have used the web-
sites of research universities and universities of applied sciences using local terms
for honors education. Our first focus was on research universities, as our experience
from the Netherlands is that honors programs are first developed at these HEIs.
We have studied the research universities in all countries. Depending on the local
relationship between different kinds of institutions in the higher education system
and our findings at the research universities, we extended our search to universities
of applied sciences or university colleges in a number of countries.4
Generally speaking, we extended our search to specialized university colleges or
universities of applied sciences that do not have an exclusive regional focus.
However, specific local situations sometimes necessitated other choices. In practice,
this means that:
– in the Netherlands we included all research universities and all government-
funded universities of applied sciences (hogescholen);
– in Belgium we included all research universities, but excluded the university
colleges (hogescholen) and colleges (Hautes Ecoles) and art colleges;
– in Luxembourg we included the only university;
– in Denmark we approached the universities and university colleges
(professionshøjskole), but excluded vocational short-cycle higher education
(erhvervsakademi);
3
More information can be found at www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/international-standard-
classification-of-education.aspx
4
In some countries, the difference between a research university and other more vocationally ori-
ented institutes of higher education is very small (for example Iceland), while in others differences
are huge (for example the German-speaking countries). This difference can be expressed in legal
definitions, but it is also part of local academic tradition.
34
a
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Barnetrinnet Ungdomstrinnet
VANLIG BARNEHAGE / FAMILEBARNEHAGE / GRUNNSKOLE UNIVERSITET / HØGSKOLE

ÅPEN BARNEHAGE / VIDEREGÅENDE SKOLE ≥2
UNIVERSITET / HØGSKOLE
LÆRLINGORDNING
FAGSKOLE
Fig. 3.1 (a) The Norwegian education system (Eurydice 2014)
b
Early childhood education and care (for which the Ministry of Education is not responsible) Secondary vocational education
Early childhood education and care (for which the Ministry of Education is responsible) Post-secondary non-tertiary education
Primary education Single structure Secondary general education Tertiary education (full-time)
3
Allocation to the ISCED levels: ISCED 0 ISCED 1 ISCED 2 ISCED 3 ISCED 4 ISCED 5A ISCED 5B
Compulsory full-time education Additional year Combined school and workplace courses
Compulsory part-time education >> Study abroad -/n/- Compulsory work experience + its duration
Fig. 3.1 (b) Standardized Eurypedia legend (Eurydice 2014)

Methods and Limitations
3.3 Programs per Higher Education Institution 35
– in Norway we included the research universities and specialized university

colleges, but excluded the ‘regular’ regional university colleges;
– in Sweden we approached the universities and the state university colleges
(högskolor);
– in Finland we approached the universities, but excluded the polytechnics
(ammattikorkeakoulu or AMK);
– in Iceland we approached all HEIs (Icelandic law does not differentiate between
universities and other HEIs);
– in Germany we approached all universities, but excluded the universities of
applied sciences and/or arts (Fachhochschulen);
– in Austria we included all universities, but excluded the universities of applied
sciences (Fachhochschulen);
– in Switzerland, we included all tier-one universities and recognized universities
of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen), but excluded the (unrecognized) private
universities.
The specific choices are explained in the respective country chapters.
In total, information was sought about special provisions for talented students
at 303 higher education institutions, 251 of which are outside of the Netherlands.
We asked the HEIs if they had any special provisions for talented students and gave
them our working definition of an honors program, adding that in the Netherlands
these programs are usually called honors programs, but different terms are in use in
other countries.
We first approached the HEIs by e-mail, using published e-mail addresses of
either international offices or communication/press offices where available, or
general e-mail addresses if no appropriate other address could be found. If necessary,
reminder e-mails were sent and HEIs were contacted by phone.
The response rate was very high. All institutions from the Nordic countries
(Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland), and the Benelux countries of
Belgium and Luxembourg responded. In Germany, all but three of the 110 universities
provided information. For Austria and Switzerland different existing information
sources were used, explained in the respective country chapters. In the Netherlands,
out of the 52 HEIs studied, only one university of applied sciences did not provide
an answer.
In addition, all key informants in 14 longer interviews were asked about their
knowledge of existing programs. In e-mail or phone conversations with other con-
tact persons at HEIs, we also asked about their knowledge of programs. Furthermore,
names of key researchers in gifted education with a focus on higher education were
entered in Google Scholar, in order to find scientific publications about such
programs.
Once a program was found, we gathered as much information as possible, keep-
ing in mind the checklist by Van Eijl et al. (2007), which was discussed in Chap. 2.
However, in the timeframe of this research project it was not possible to gather
information about all categories on the checklist. We decided to focus on structure,
size, content, admission, target group and reward of the program; as well as
practical data such as websites, names of coordinators and contact details. We also
tried to establish a starting date.
We did not find information on all of these aspects for all programs, especially
for the ones that were established relatively recently. However, the checklist proved
useful to structure the information collection process.
We also encountered some difficulties in establishing the number of participants
in honors programs. Sometimes this information was not available at all, sometimes
there were only numbers about participants entering in a certain year and sometimes
we had a total number of participants. In other cases, programs are just starting up,
or the number of participants varies widely per year. We have indicated this in the
tables with program descriptions throughout the country chapters.
We hope more in-depth research on all aspects of various honors programs in
Europe will be conducted, in order to define success and fail factors of honors
education.
We decided to make descriptions of programs outside the Netherlands
comparable by putting the main characteristics in a standardized table. For the
Dutch programs this was not possible, as there are too many to include individually.
Therefore we decided to make a limited description of the Dutch honors education
on offer per HEI. In addition, we give one example of a specific program per
HEI. For all 11 European countries included in this research project we made lists
of links to program websites and contact persons per honors program, which can be
found in Appendix 3.
3.4 Including and Excluding Programs
Throughout the period of data gathering, choices had to be made what to include
and exclude in the book. This proved especially difficult with regard to individual
programs. Although we had a working definition of an honors program, it was not
always clear whether certain programs that were found could actually be called
honors education. This is a challenge also encountered by other researchers trying
to identify talent support programs (Györi and Nagy 2011, p. 234–235; see also
Van Eijl et al. 2005; Wolfensberger et al. 2012b). Some examples leading to
discussion between researchers involved in this project were:
• A private education institution that runs a highly selective program and is well
respected in its field, but does not issue officially recognized diplomas as HEIs in
the public system do. We excluded this program on the basis that it is not
officially part of the higher education system;
• Twin bachelor programs. By taking some extra subjects, students can obtain two
diplomas in fields of studies that are somewhat similar, for example mathematics
and physics. While special educational provisions might have been made to
facilitate this, we still excluded this because it is not a program with its own
goals, and students are awarded two diplomas for their efforts;
3.5 Limitations 37
• International double degree programs. A number of universities, especially in

international business and economics, offer double degree programs where students
can take courses at two universities and receive two diplomas. Most of these
are organized within networks of specialized business schools or universities.5
These programs are not discussed in the individual country chapters, as they
issue double regular diplomas and not a special honors diploma.
• We also found the international CEMS-MIM program,6 which offers an extra
international master diploma to students in business-oriented study programs.
This program is excluded from the main text because it is not organized by an
individual higher education institution. However, it does offer extra opportunities
for talented students and we will therefore briefly discuss it in boxed text 3.1.
Box 3.1: The CEMS-MIM Program

Many extra motivated and talented students spend part of their studies abroad.
For example, they might apply for highly competitive scholarships to presti-
gious universities in the USA or in the UK. However, their home university
might also organize or take part in an international program targeting talented
students. This is the case at a number of HEIs throughout the countries in this
book, mostly in the field of economics or international business.
The best-known of these programs is CEMS-MIM. This is a 1-year post-
graduate, pre-experience degree program in International Management. It is
open to a select group of students enrolled in a master’s programme at one of
the 29 universities in the CEMS Alliance. The program includes at least one
semester abroad at one of the other CEMS institutes. Students who complete
the program successfully will receive a special CEMS-MIM diploma, apart
from the regular master’s degree at their home institution.
3.5 Limitations
The methods described above imply a wide search for information. However, they
also have their limitations. Two important limitations we encountered were lan-
guage barriers and terminology trouble. Apart from that, the Dutch background of
the research team and the fact that we did not perform fieldwork are also relevant
factors in the data gathering process.
5
For example, NHH (Norwegian School of Economics) cooperates with six partner universities in
countries varying from Belgium to Mexico. Participating students are selected on the basis of
grades, English proficiency and motivation, which is assessed in an interview. Successful appli-
cants follow a 2-year program at NHH and the partner institute, which leads to two degrees: one at
NHH and one at the partner institute.
6
More information at www.cems.org/mim
First of all, a lot of information was available only in local languages.7 This
applied to both policy information from government websites and information
about individual programs. While most HEIs have an extensive website in English,
information about honors programs was often only available on the local-language
homepage.8
Second, the terminology used in the various countries differs. The variety was
even greater than expected and the political and social impact of terminology use
was underestimated. There is also no terminology agreement among scientists.
The most commonly used terms refer to the concepts ‘gifted’ and ‘talent’, but they
are defined in various ways (Mattsson 2013, see also Eurydice 2006). Excellence is
also used, although some label this as a non-academic term (Persson 2014).
Similar terminology trouble is associated with the terms ‘college’, ‘university
college’ and ‘honors college’. In the American honors tradition, an honors college
is usually a residential college with its own dean. Here, a full undergraduate study
program is offered, often amounting to a work load of 4 years of full-time study.
In the Netherlands, there are a number of residential honors colleges similar to
this American model (although they usually offer 3-year programs), but also a
number of other extracurricular or co-curricular programs that use the term
‘honors college’. To complicate matters more, the term ‘university college’ has very
different meanings in different countries. For example, University College Utrecht
is a residential honors college in the Netherlands. But in for example Norway and
Denmark, university colleges are not honors colleges at all, but a generally used
name for institutions that would be called universities of applied sciences in most
other countries.9
Finally, most of the information has been gathered by desktop research from the
Netherlands and not by travelling to the countries; this had advantages and disad-
vantages (see Fuszek 2011, p. 1410). While a short period of immersion in the local
culture will certainly generate a lot of valuable data, retaining an outside view is
also useful, as making comparisons might be easier.
7
The knowledge of the local languages among the researchers involved in this study limited
searches: this knowledge differed from good (Dutch), average (German, French) to limited
(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) to non-existent (Finnish, Icelandic, Italian in Switzerland).
8
This can be explained by the fact that the main target group of the English-language website is
formed by international students. They often do not fall in the target group of the honors program,
if this is conducted in the local language.
9
If we use the terms honors college or university college, it always refers to the meaning in the
local context. In the country chapters we will explain the local use of terminology.
10
The 2011 Hungarian report on talent support in different countries was compiled by making
country visits and the researchers found this valuable: ‘Every member of our team spent on aver-
age one week in the target country to visit and study in detail the sites implementing the presented
good practice, and to meet also the individuals elaborating, developing, and implementing them.
Our researchers were received by politicians responsible for talent support and by prominent theo-
retical and practical experts in each country’.
Literature 39
Of course, efforts have been made to make sure the information is as accurate and
complete as possible, for example by asking key persons in the countries described
to read preliminary versions of the chapters about their respective countries.
However, it is possible that information has been missed. This can also be the case
because we contacted only one e-mail address per HEI. While we tried to use
relevant addresses, it is possible that the person answering our e-mail did not know
about a program at his/her HEI.
Also, developments in this field can be rather quick and sudden. Therefore this
book should be seen as a snapshot of the situation at the time of writing. Of course,
we hope our results inspire other researchers to find out even more about honors
education.
We do some suggestions for further research in part V of this book. This concluding
part is written in three chapters: the first offering a comparative perspective across
the countries, the second offering an analysis of the relevance of the factors described
in Chap. 2; and the final chapter providing different perspectives, a look into the
future and suggestions for further research.
We start our description of country results with the Benelux countries.
Literature11
Eurydice. (2014). Eurypedia – European Encyclopedia on national education systems. Retrieved
Fuszek, C. (2011). Foreword. In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support I. Best
practices within and without the European Union I (pp. 13–15). Budapest: Magyar
Tehetségsegítő Szervezetek Szövetsége/Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: https://www.pef.
uni-lj.si/fileadmin/Datoteke/CRSN/branje/International_Horizons_of_Talent_Support__
I__2011_.pdf. 19 Dec 2013.
Györi, J. G., & Nagy, T. (2011). New trends in talent support: Lessons in good practice from nine
countries. In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support I. Best Practices Within
and Without the European Union I (pp. 229–241). Budapest: Magyar Tehetségsegítő
Datoteke/CRSN/branje/International_Horizons_of_Talent_Support__I__2011_.pdf. 19 Dec 2013.
11
Mattsson, L. (2013). Tracking mathematical giftedness in an egalitarian context. Göteborg:

Division of Mathematics/Department of Mathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of
Technology and University of Gothenburg. Retrieved from: https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/
2077/34120/1/gupea_2077_34120_1.pdf. 20 Jan 2014.
Persson, R. S. (2014). The needs of the highly able and the needs of society: A multidisciplinary
analysis of talent differentiation and its significance to gifted education and issues of societal
inequality. Roeper Review, 36, 43–59.
Van Eijl, P., Wolfensberger, M., Schreve-Brinkman, L., & Pilot, A. (2007). Honours, tool for pro-
moting excellence – Eindrapport van het project ‘Talentontwikkeling in Honoursprogramma’s
en de meerwaarde die dat oplevert’. Mededeling nr. 82, Interfacultair Instituut voor
Lerarenopleiding, Onderwijsontwikkeling en Studievaardigheden Universiteit Utrecht i.s.m.
het Landelijke Plusnetwerk voor Academische Honoursprogramma’s. Retrieved from: www.
uu.nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/IVLOS/Mededelingenreeks/Mededelingnr82.pdf. 28 Apr 2014.
Wolfensberger, M., De Jong, N., & Drayer, L. (2012b). Leren excelleren. Excellentieprogramma’s
in het HBO: een overzicht. Resultaten van de landelijke inventarisatie 2009–2010. Retrieved
from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/279130. 28 Feb 2014.
Part II
The Benelux Countries
Netherlands
Belgium
Luxembourg
8684
Map II.1 The Benelux countries

42 II The Benelux Countries
BElgium, the NEtherlands and LUXembourg share a large part of their history1 and
have been working together intensively for many years.
In 1944, when their governments were exiled in London during World War II, the
three countries started the Benelux, a platform for intergovernmental cooperation.2
Apart from the ‘formal’ Benelux, there is also collaboration in the field of education.
Since 1988, the Foundation BeNeLux University promotes scientific and cultural
cooperation between the three countries.3 The Netherlands and Flanders work
together intensively in higher education. In 2003, they established the NVAO, ‘an
independent accreditation organisation tasked with providing an expert and
objective assessment of the quality of higher education in Flanders and the
Netherlands’ (NVAO 2014).
All Benelux countries share a system of relatively unrestricted access to higher
education. With some exceptions, every student holding the relevant secondary
school diploma can enter higher education.
In the Netherlands, focus on excellence in education is a national policy goal and
nearly all higher education institutions have developed one or more honors programs.
The Flemish (Dutch-speaking) part of Belgium has started to follow this develop-
ment in recent years, while the Walloon (French-speaking) part lags behind. In
Luxembourg there is just one university and here no honors programs are offered.
The three Benelux countries will now be discussed separately, starting with the
largest one: the Netherlands.
Literature
Benelux. (2014). Benelux in één oogopslag. Retrieved from: www.benelux.int/nl/bnl/bnl_intro.

asp. 12 Mar 2014.
NVAO (Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatieorganisatie). (2014). About NVAO. Retrieved from:
http://nvao.com/about_nvao. 13 Mar 2014.
1
When current countries did not yet exist, the whole area was referred to as ‘The Low Countries’.
From the late sixteenth century, they were mostly united in the Netherlands (northern and southern
part), until Belgium became independent in 1830. Luxembourg was partly governed by Dutch
kings until it became independent in 1890.
2
First this was just a customs union, but soon it included more economic cooperation. All Benelux
countries were among the six nations starting the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951,
the first predecessor of the European Union. In 2010, the Benelux cooperation changed under a
new treaty that established the Benelux Union. Cooperation now focuses on internal market and
economic union, sustainability, justice and internal affairs. See Benelux 2014 for more details.
3
It also educates professionals, especially in the field of justice and police matters. See www.
benelux-universitair-centrum.org for more details.
Chapter 4
The Netherlands: Focus on Excellence,
Honors Programs All Around
4.1 Education System
The Netherlands (…) has perhaps the most unified, consistent, and self-conscious array of
honors programs and research projects about honors based on the U.S. model. (Long 2012, p. 9)
The attitude towards excellence changed quickly in Dutch society over the last
20 years. ‘Until recently in the Netherlands, special programs to support weaker
students were generally accepted, whereas “high potential programs” (honors) were
considered inappropriate in a democracy where all students should be treated
equally – a stance that still prevails in many European countries’ (Wolfensberger
2012, p. 16; see also Wolfensberger et al. 2012a, p. 149). But now, excellence in
education is named a priority by the ministry of Education and money is set aside
for it. The development of honors programs at higher education institutions started
in 1993, but accelerated in the early 2000s. As inspiration for the development of
programs was sought in the United States, the term ‘honors program’ was imported
and has since been widely used for the extra educational offers made to excellent
students in higher education in the Netherlands. In 2004, the ministry of Education
established a temporary commission called Ruim baan voor talent (make room for
talent), which provided small subsidies to experimental differentiation projects at
HEIs, including honors programs, until 2007.1 A major incentive to the develop-
ment of these programs came in 2008, when more government subsidies through
the national Sirius Programme became available. By now, most HEIs in the
Netherlands have honors programs.
The attention for excellence in higher education is embedded in an education
system where focus on excellence has significantly increased over the last few years
(Boxes 4.1 and 4.2). Many provisions for excellent students are already in place in
primary and secondary education and the government strongly supports further
development.
1
See Commissie Ruim baan voor Talent 2007 for the commission’s final report.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_4
44 4 The Netherlands: Focus on Excellence, Honors Programs All Around
Box 4.1: The Netherlands – The Basics

• 16.8 million inhabitants
• Capital: Amsterdam
• Constitutional monarchy
• 12 provinces
• Social-democratic/liberal coalition in power
Box 4.2: Education in the Netherlands

• Free until age 18
• Compulsory from age 5–18 or until basic qualification is obtained
• System of public schools, religious schools and schools based on an
educational philosophy
• Eight-grade primary school
• Differentiation after primary school (age 12) in three main types of
secondary schools
• Higher education admission with secondary education diploma
• Ministry of Education, Culture and Science responsible for all levels of
education
An extensive array of approaches to education, seen through a wide diversity of

schools, defines the Dutch education system. This system rests on the principle of
free school choice for parents.2 Public schools, on the one hand, and special schools
based on religion or educational philosophy, on the other hand, are all financed by
the government. In theory, special schools can reject pupils whose parents do not
agree with the basic principles of the school, but this rarely happens. In fact, around
70 % of all pupils attend special schools (CBS Statline 2014)3 and differences
between special schools and public schools may be very limited.
While compulsory education starts at the age of five, almost all children enter the
eight-grade primary school (basisschool) at age four. Differentiation occurs early.
At the end of primary school, around age 12, pupils choose one of three options:
pre-vocational secondary education (vmbo, 4 years4), senior general secondary
2
This has been subject of much debate in the early twentieth century and subsequently the right of
free school choice was included in article 23 of the Dutch constitution.
3
Of all primary school children, over 69 % attend special schools. In secondary education the
number is even higher at 74 %.
4
There are different types of vmbo education and exams can be taken at different levels. A vmbo
diploma is not considered a ‘starting qualification’ to enter the labor market. Vmbo graduates
under the age of 18 are required to continue their studies in vocational education courses, or at the
havo.
4.1 Education System 45
education (havo, 5 years) or pre university education (vwo, 6 years). Selection

occurs with the advice of the teacher as main determinant, although a national test
(CITO-toets) taken by most children5 also plays a large role.
While in secondary school, pupils can move between the three school types.
Often this can be easily facilitated, as many schools offer all three levels of educa-
tion in the same building. It is also possible to for example move to havo after pass-
ing a vmbo final exam, although extra requirements for admittance to the havo may
be set by the individual school. National exams are taken at every level of secondary
education in the last year. The structure of the Dutch education system is summa-
rized in Fig. 4.1.
There have been a lot of excellence initiatives at the primary and secondary
school levels from the 1980s (See Persson et al. 2000, p. 716–717 for some early
initiatives).6 It is impossible to name them all in the short space available here.
Generally speaking, many initiatives at these levels have moved from experimental
status to a more permanent, institutionalized status, especially since the government
made excellent education one of its official priorities in 2012 (Rijksoverheid 2012).
Then, the government asked the Platform Bèta Techniek (also home of the Sirius
Programme7) to write reports about the current situation and make recommenda-
tions for policy change. Think tanks were established, which published reports for
primary education (Platform Bèta Techniek 2014) and secondary education
(Platform Bèta Techniek 2013). In early 2014, this led to an action plan from the
ministry, focusing on primary and secondary education (see Sect. 4.3).
Beyond national support, initiatives to make provisions for excellent students
occur on the local level where schools themselves create distinctive initiatives.
Some examples include:
– primary and secondary schools which focus especially on gifted and talented
children8;
– a primary school called ‘Het Talent’ works with age independent groups, where
children receive education tailored to their level in content and in pace9; and
– a secondary school is experimenting with a ‘sprint class’, where pupils can finish
their secondary school in a year less than usual.10
Sometimes local initiatives can lead to nationwide programs, for example in the
case of the association of gymnasia. Local gymnasia developed programs for their
best pupils, which have now evolved into an honors program offered to all member
5
From the school year 2014/2015, taking the national test will be obligatory for all schools.
6
Gifted education in its early years was mainly promoted by the Center for the Study of Giftedness
at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, then headed by professor Franz Mönks.
7
See Sect. 4.2 for more details.
8
For example Leonardo schools, see www.leonardo-onderwijs.nl.
9
See www.het-talent.nl.
10
See www.pallasathenecollege.nl/nieuwe-leerling/bijzondere-programmas
46
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4
KINDERCENTRA
BASISONDERWIJS VWO VWO WO
PEUTERSPEELZALEN
HAVO HAVO
HBO
VMBO
VMBO
SPECIALISTENOPLEIDING
MBO VAKOPLEIDING
MBO MIDDENKADEROPLEIDING
MBO BASISBEROEPSOPLEIDING
MBO ASSISTENTOPLEIDING
PRAKTIJKONDERWIJS
Fig. 4.1 Structure of the Dutch education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
The Netherlands: Focus on Excellence, Honors Programs All Around
gymnasia through the association.11 Other initiatives for excellent pupils include
national Olympiads in different subjects, which often include creative elements.
Nationwide, the government initiated a program in 2012, in which primary and
secondary schools can officially be designated an ‘excellente school’ (excellent
school), as inspired by a German example. For this purpose, excellence is viewed
in various ways, including education results on different terrains and a school’s
own ‘excellence policy’, but also the way the school manages the educational pro-
cess and the way the school handles specific circumstances in its environment.
Schools register themselves and a jury advises the minister if the school deserves
the designation. If awarded, schools receive a plaque to hang at their door. In early
2014, 76 schools were awarded excellent status.12 In its annual report to parliament,
the jury of the excellent schools concluded that these schools serve as examples for
other schools; enthusiasm for the program grows annually (Ministerie van
Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap 2014).
Primary and secondary schools can officially be designated ‘excellent school’
A majority of universities in the Netherlands offer enrichment programs for

talented secondary school students (see Sirius expertcommissie 201413). Junior
College Utrecht (2014) provides a well-known example. Established in 2004, Junior
College is a collaboration between Utrecht University and 27 secondary schools. It
offers enrichment programs in science & mathematics for talented and motivated
12- to 18- year old high school students (grades 7–12) in an academic environment.
High school students who successfully finish the program in grade 11 and 12 receive
a certificate that allows them to enter honours courses in the first year of the science
bachelor programs. The Junior College applies a school-campus model: enrichment
activities at the university campus are embedded in differentiated and challenging
excellence programs run by the schools themselves. In this way, Junior College aims
to contribute to the development of a culture of excellence at its partner schools.14
Dutch 15-year-olds generally score quite well in the 2012 PISA report. However,
the number of students scoring excellent overall is below OECD average (Kordes
et al. 2013, p. 84). This result provides an extra incentive to invest in excellence
programs.
11
See www.gymnasia.nl/uploads/files/conferenties-overige/HPG_de_basis.pdf
12
See www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/predicaat-excellente-scholen/excellente-scholen and
www.excellentescholen.nl
13
At least five universities do this: Utrecht University, Leiden University, Radboud University
Nijmegen, Maastricht University and University of Groningen. Hanze University of Applied
Sciences Groningen also runs a similar program.
14
The Junior College has attracted a lot of attention from different countries and is often referred
to in international literature, such as Hermann et al. 2011, p. 65.
Two main types of HEIs exist in the Netherlands (see Box 4.3), research
universities and universities of applied sciences (hogescholen or hbo). Access to
higher education is relatively open. A senior general secondary education (havo)
diploma serves as a general entrance ticket to the universities of applied sciences,
while the pre university education (vwo) diploma grants university access. HEIs
can demand that students pass secondary school exams in certain subjects to be
admitted to certain majors. Also, some majors which are very popular and/or
expensive for the government, use a restrictive admissions process (numerus fixus).
This is for example the case for medicine, veterinary sciences and physiotherapy.
Admission is currently handled in a complicated lottery system, in which good
exam marks improve a student’s chances of acceptance.15 The government intends
to change this system by the study year 2017–2018. In the new system, HEIs can
select students for the numerus fixus study programs themselves, based on different
criteria, such as secondary school exam grades, personality and motivation
(Rijksoverheid 2014b). In addition, a new system requiring a form of ‘matching’
between the student and the HEI is being implemented at various HEIs. This is used
to couple students to the study path matching their talent best, with the additional
goal of lowering retention rates in the first year. Some HEIs, such as Utrecht
University, use this matching process to identify possible participants in honors
programs.
Box 4.3: Dutch Higher Education Landscape

• 14 universities – 10 general, 3 technical, 1 Open University
• 37 universities of applied sciences
• Over 70 accredited ‘legal entities providing higher education’
There are 14 government-supported research universities in the Netherlands, all

of which are member of the national network VSNU. Three are specialized techni-
cal universities and one, the Open University, provides distance learning. University
education in the Netherlands has a long tradition, with four institutions dating back
to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.16 The Dutch universities also have a good
reputation internationally and score well in rankings. Almost all universities make it
into the top-500 on the Shanghai list (ARWU 2013).17
15
There are both national and institution-based studies with restricted student numbers, known as
numerus fixus. Students with very high exam marks are guaranteed a place. This system applies to
studies such as medicine. See Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2 for more details.
16
These are the universities of Amsterdam (1632), Leiden (1575), Utrecht (1636) and Groningen
(1614).
17
Twelve Dutch universities are on both the Shanghai List (ARWU 2013) and the Times List
(Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2014). Utrecht, Leiden and Groningen score
4.2 Culture and Policy Towards Excellence 49
Apart from the research universities, a large number of universities of applied

sciences (hogescholen) exists. Some of these are very large institutions, offering a
multitude of educational options at different locations, while others are small and
focused on one or a few disciplines. Small private schools can also call themselves
“university of applied science”, and the exact number of institutions can change
quickly. However, all government-funded institutions are members of the national
network Vereniging Hogescholen, which in September 2014 claimed 37 member
institutions.
We have restricted our search for honors education to the research universities
and universities of applied sciences.
Additionally, quite a large number of small private universities, business schools,
specialized universities of applied sciences and art institutions offer higher educa-
tion. In many cases, special admission criteria apply to these institutions, which are
officially referred to as ‘legal entities providing higher education’. The Netherlands
provides free primary and secondary education up to the age of 18. A mandatory
annual fee needs to be paid to study at a university or university of applied sciences.
The tuition fee is € 1906 for 2014/2015.18 For the moment, most students are entitled
to a small monthly government grant to finance part of their studies, but this is
subject to change. The government has introduced new legislation implying that
from the study year 2015–2016, new students can only apply for a government loan
to finance their studies and no longer for a grant.
4.2 Culture and Policy Towards Excellence
Wanting to excel in your studies is no longer an individual hobby, but an institutionalized

possibility. (Wolfensberger and Pilot 2014, own translation)
Traditionally, the Netherlands has a culture of egalitarianism in education.

Selectivity, competition, and differentiation in tuition are still new and unusual
elements in the Dutch educational system, which has an emphasis on broad educa-
tional participation without entrance selection (Wolfensberger et al. 2012a, p. 150).
Historically, the common belief held that gifted students ‘will learn anyway and do
not need any additional aid or guidance’ (De Boer et al. 2013, p. 134).19
A culture of inclusion prevailed: while attempts were made to help less talented
students keep pace with the basic curriculum, the facilities to encourage high-potential
students to achieve excellence were insufficient.
in the top 100 on both lists. On the Times List, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, Wageningen and
Maastricht are also in the top 100.
18
Lower amounts apply for tertiary vocational education. Much higher fees can apply to students
following extra studies and/or students from abroad. In addition, residential university colleges can
charge higher tuition fees and additional campus fees.
19
The article by De Boer et al. also provides a more detailed overview of the policy development
regarding gifted education in the Netherlands in general.
Various inspections and accreditation authorities guarantee that all educational

institutions offer a good basic level curriculum, accessible to all students.
Nonetheless, a relatively large number of students do not feel sufficiently inspired
or challenged. In a 2014 report, a quarter of all secondary school pupils indicated
that they are often or even always bored because their curriculum is too easy. Among
the pupils who count themselves among the top 20 % performers of their class, this
percentage is 56 % (Rijksoverheid 2014a, p. 4).20
In recent years, a shift in Dutch policy occurred. Due to the emphasis on the
knowledge economy, the importance of fostering and promoting talent has gained
recognition. Special provisions for talented and gifted children in primary and sec-
ondary schools are now widespread and different national networks and programs
exist to support such efforts (Box 4.4).21
Box 4.4: Local Terminology

The word ‘honors/honours’ is widely used in higher education in the
Netherlands. Other terms to refer to (programs for) gifted and talented chil-
dren and students include:
• hoogbegaafd (highly gifted)
• talentvolle studenten (talented students)
• leervoorsprong (‘ahead in learning’)
• excellente studenten (excellent students)
By law, HEIs are allowed to select students for honors tracks according to their
own procedures.22 The first honors programs in higher education started in 1993
(Wolfensberger et al. 2012a, p. 149) and large-scale development has been influ-
enced by the Bologna Process. The Netherlands were relatively quick to adopt the
bachelor/master system, and the new structure was in place for almost all new stu-
dents by 2002. From then on, all universities have started to invest in excellence
programs for ambitious and talented students, for various reasons (VSNU 2013).23
A more recent phenomenon is the development of honors programs at the universi-
ties of applied sciences. They followed the development at the universities and saw
the number of programs increase ‘from almost zero in 2004 to about 40 in 2010’
(Wolfensberger et al. 2012a, p. 154).
In 2008, efforts were given an enormous impulse, when the Ministry of Education,
Culture and Science established the Sirius Programme as an official initiative to
20
Source is a report from research company Intomart, which was ordered by the ministry of
Education, Culture and Science.
21
The main part of this paragraph is taken from Sirius Programma 2014b.
22
See Article 7.9b of the ‘Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek’ (Law on
higher education and scientific research).
23
The reasons to develop programs have been discussed in part I of this study.
promote excellence in higher education. The ministry invited all HEIs to submit a
plan for the promotion of excellence, either independently or in collaboration with
other institutions. The largest portion of the Sirius budget has been earmarked for
the bachelor’s program that was launched in 2008 (€48.8 million). The master pro-
gram, with a budget of €12.2 million, started in the spring of 2010. These funds
provide the first incentive aiming at inspiring the top 5 % of the students to achieve
excellence. The Sirius Programme has a double focus: first, each institutions’ goals,
vision for the whole institution and the performances they wish to achieve (includ-
ing the feasibility of those performance targets), and second, the learning function
of the program as a whole (the sharing of knowledge so that Sirius institutes can
learn from each other’s experiences). With these points as the framework, Sirius
aims to build up a community of participating and interested institutions oriented
towards the gathering and sharing of knowledge. In this way, post-secondary insti-
tutions can learn both from themselves and from others. Five institutions com-
menced implementation in their bachelor programmes in the fall of 2008. In 2009,
14 others followed, and in 2010 six universities started to implement honors pro-
grams in the master tracks (Box 4.5).24
Box 4.5: Key Players in Excellence

The following institutions are among the most important players in the field
of talent and excellence in higher education:
• The ministry of Education, Culture and Science
• The Platform Bèta Techniek, a government-supported independent body
running many programs, including the Sirius Programme for higher
education
• The Association of Universities (VSNU)
• The Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (Vereniging
Hogescholen)
• Research universities, especially Utrecht, Leiden and Amsterdam
• Research Centre for Talent Development in Higher Education and Society
at Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen
The honors programs and the more general theme of ‘excellence in education’
have also been the subject of a lot of research in the Netherlands. Founded by prof.
Franz Mönks in 1988, the Center for the Study of Giftedness (CBO) at Radboud
University Nijmegen has initiated important research on excellence and still leads
this field, especially with regard to pupils in primary and secondary education. CBO
also offers a 2-year post-academic teacher education program leading to a
qualification as ‘ECHA-Specialist in Gifted Education’.
24
The main part of this paragraph is a slight adaptation of a paragraph from Sirius Programma 2014b.
At many other universities and universities of applied sciences, specialists

conduct research about talent development and excellence in education. For exam-
ple, Van Eijl and Pilot are working from Utrecht University and have initiated a lot
of (early) research on honors programs in the Netherlands (see for example Van Eijl
et al. 2005; Van Ginkel et al. 2012).25 Twice a special issue of Tijdschrift voor Hoger
Onderwijs (Dutch Journal for Higher Education) was devoted to studies about
honors and talent development. In 2010, Van Eijl, Pilot and Wolfensberger edited a
Dutch-language handbook on talent development in higher education, mostly taking
a practical approach (Van Eijl et al. 2010). A study was also conducted about similar
and different approaches and dispositions in American and Dutch honors teaching
(Wolfensberger 2012). The functioning of excellence education programs is a cen-
tral theme in Dutch research on honors (see Wolfensberger and Pilot 201426). One
more example is a dissertation focusing on instructional strategies for high-ability
students (Scager 2013).
There are also different national networks. SLO (National Expertise Centre
Curriculum Development) gathers information about education and talent
development.27 The Platform Excellence unites different programs focused on
stimulating excellence.28
One example of research on excellence is the excellence model (YoungWorks
2012). In this model, also published in English, young people’s attitudes towards
excellence are characterized. The model was developed in a joint cooperation
between the Sirius Programme and YoungWorks.
In 2012, National Research Council NWO organized a one-off funding round
intended for scientific research focusing on excellence in education (see Segers and
Hoogeveen 2012; De Boer et al. 201329). More structurally and specifically focusing
on excellence in higher education, research occurs at the Research Centre for Talent
Development in Higher Education and Society at the Hanze University of Applied
Sciences Groningen.30 Marca Wolfensberger and colleagues have made – among
other contributions – a typology of honors programs in the Netherlands, identified
the reasons why programs were set up and investigated pedagogic ideas which sup-
ported them. Goals and effects of these honors programs have been described in
25
See for example the various Dutch researchers contributing to the JNCHC special issue on
honors around the globe.
26
This article provides an overview of Dutch research on talent development in higher education.
It is published in a special issue of the journal, specifically focusing on excellence in higher
education.
27
On the website talentstimuleren.nl all initiatives are gathered and professionals can search good
practices, working groups in their area, etcetera. This is only available in Dutch.
28
Platform Excellentie in Dutch, see www.platformexcellentie.nl
29
More on this topic can be found at http://www.nwo.nl/financiering/onze-financieringsinstrumenten/
magw/programma-voor-onderwijsonderzoek/programma-voor-onderwijsonderzoek---excellentie-
in-het-primair-voortgezet-en-hoger-onderwijs/programma-voor-onderwijsonderzoek---excellentie-
in-het-primair-voortgezet-en-hoger-onderwijs.html (Dutch only).
30
See www.hanze.nl/excellentie (mostly in Dutch).
4.3 New Developments 53
international literature.31 Wolfensberger termed the programs ‘laboratories for edu-

cational innovation’ and concluded that spin-off produced ‘a strong influence on
educational policy in the Netherlands at the primary and secondary as well as uni-
versity levels’ (Wolfensberger et al. 2012a).
4.3 New Developments
The education chapter in the coalition agreement of the current government is called
‘from good to excellent education’ (Rijksoverheid 2012). Since the government took
power in late 2012, multiple new plans have been introduced. In March 2014 an exten-
sive plan to make provisions for talented pupils in primary and secondary education was
presented. The plan mentions over 20 measures, including the removal of legal barriers
for pupils to follow certain subjects at higher levels and the possibility of businesses
giving grants to talented pupils. The measures are aimed at all levels of education and
top talents are defined as ‘the 20 % of pupils that can perform best. At all levels. (…)
It is not just about pupils who are very smart and know a lot. It is also about creativity,
craftsmanship and competences’ (Rijksoverheid 2014a, own translation).
In the field of higher education, the Sirius subsidies ran until the end of 2014 and
have not been continued, as the participating institutions have now established their
programs. Universities voiced worries about the funding of their programs to the
minister (VSNU 2013). However, the majority of the participating universities and
universities of applied sciences have committed themselves to continuing the
programs for their best students. They have made agreements with the ministry of
Education on this matter. In 2013, three research institutes were asked by the ministry
to investigate the added value of the Sirius Programme. Results are expected in 2015.
In October 2014, a national summit addressed the future of honors education,
under the motto ‘The best way to predict the future is to design it’.32 The summit
marked the end of the subsidy era and of Sirius as a main policy instrument. At the
same time, the participating Sirius member institutions decided to continue their
network permanently.
4.3.1 Honors Programs per Higher Education Institution
Many honors programs are present in Dutch higher education institutions. For this
book, we have looked at the 14 public research universities and the 37 government-
funded universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. We have added one small
private university which is a member of the Sirius Programme (Theological
31
For example in the Journal of the NCHC’s special issue on ‘honors around the globe’ in 2012.
32
See website Sirius Programme for more details.
University of the Reformed Churches Kampen), but we have not looked at other
private universities. This leads to an added total of 52 HEIs.
Starting at the public research universities in the Netherlands, we have found that
all universities with the exception of the Open University33 now have at least one honors
program. Most programs are focused at the bachelor level, and they can be divided
into mono-disciplinary programs, interdisciplinary programs and multidisciplinary
programs, following the distinction made by Wolfensberger et al. (2012a). Mono-
disciplinary programs are organized per major or department, while interdisciplinary
programs bring different departments together or are offered institute-wide. The
multidisciplinary programs usually take the form of honors colleges, often offering
Liberal Arts and Sciences courses and taking the place of a regular bachelor program.
There are eight of these colleges at research universities at the time of writing.34
Next to the bachelor programs, there are also a few programs at the master level.
This is quite unique, even in an international context. Specifically for these programs,
three types of approaches can be distinguished: research-specific, professional, and
interdisciplinary (See Van Ginkel et al. 2012).
With regard to the universities of applied sciences, we found that 25 out of the 37
government-funded universities of applied sciences also have honors programs,
mostly developed over the last few years. All institutions without honors programs
have less than 5,000 students: the 17 largest universities of applied sciences all have
honors programs. In all cases, programs have different forms: they can be organized
as separate study paths, within the curriculum, co-curricular or extracurricular.
A form of education deserving special mention is the Academische pabo (‘aca-
demic teacher education’). In the Netherlands, education for primary school teach-
ers is handled in schools called pabo, at the level of universities of applied sciences.
In recent years, academic variants of this education program have developed. Such
programs often combine bachelor programs in for example pedagogy at research
university level with the pabo program at the university of applied sciences level. In
many cases, participating students are enrolled at both HEIs and if successful, they
receive two diplomas.35 These programs are not included in our list, as they are
regular education. In some cases, the Academische pabo is presented as a special
selective pabo program and it then leads to one diploma, on which the extra work is
usually mentioned. We did include these programs in the overview below.36
33
The Open University is a special university, focusing on lifelong learning. It is excluded from the
table below.
34
The University Colleges are Utrecht University College, Roosevelt Academy (in Middelburg,
connected to Utrecht University), Maastricht University College, Leiden University College,
Amsterdam University College, Atlas University College (at Twente University), Erasmus
University College (Rotterdam) and University College Groningen (start in September 2014).
35
In most cases the pabo diploma (bachelor at university of applied sciences) is combined with a
bachelor in pedagogic or educational sciences at research university level, both of which can be
obtained in a 4-year program. In a program offered by Erasmus University Rotterdam and the
Rotterdam University of applied sciences, students can get a pabo diploma and a research univer-
sity master diploma in pedagogy and education in 5 years.
36
A full list of Academische pabo programs is offered on the website Paboweb: www.paboweb.nl/
themas/14
Participation in all honors programs is growing. In 2012, 3.3 % of all bachelor

students participated in an excellence program, and 2.6 % of all master students
(Sirius expertcommissie 2014, p. 6). In 2013, the Sirius audit commission visited a
selection of 16 programs and found out that student numbers in these programs are
growing fast (ibid, p. 737). Over the last few years many programs which started as
experiments, have now established themselves more permanently within their insti-
tute. In some programs, universities have started to work explicitly with businesses
on solving real-world problems.38
Participants in honors programs have also started to organize themselves in hon-
ors students’ associations.39 Most of these are organized per institution, but students
are also organizing themselves at the national level through the Honors Community,
a platform for honors students in the Netherlands.40 A first national conference for
and by honors students was organized by the Honours Community in 2013, a sec-
ond one focused on globalization and was held in June 2014.41
In addition, a number of honors alumni have started an international network of
honors students, called Socrates International Honour Society. Organized in the
form of a non-profit foundation, Socrates aims to form a network of honors pupils
and students. There are already ‘chapters’ in eight Dutch student cities and the orga-
nization hopes to extend their network to Belgium (Flanders) (Socrates International
Honour Society 201442). Recently, Socrates also started to involve secondary
schools in their network. Part of their activities are organized in collaboration with
(local) businesses or non-profit organizations.
There are also some initiatives for excellent students that are organized outside
the higher education system. One example, the Nationale Denktank (National think-
tank), provides an annual project in which a group of 20 talented young people
cooperate to solve a real-world societal problem.43
All of the universities and universities of applied sciences with honors programs
are shown on Map 4.1. First, we discuss honors programs at government-supported
research universities, before moving on to the honors programs at universities of
applied sciences. Because there are so many and different programs, descriptions
per HEI will be limited to a general overview and one specific example. Appendix 3
provides a list of links to the institute’s general website and if available, the website
of the honors program(s).
37
The number of participants in these programs grew over 10 % in universities of applied sciences,
over 20 % in university bachelor programs and 18 % in university master programs.
38
For example Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences in its Innovation Lab and Windesheim in
its institute-wide program.
39
Links to a number of these associations can be found at the Sirius Programme webpage (see key
links in Appendix 2).
40
See www.honourscommunity.nl for more details.
41
See www.honoursconference.nl
42
See http://socrateshonours.org/ for more information.
43
See www.nationale-denktank.nl for more details (Dutch only).
Stenden Hanze
RUG
NHL
InH
TU Kampen
ArtEZ
Windesheim
InH GRA HvA
AHK UvA
VU InH Saxion Saxion
ArtEZ
UT
HL Saxion Saxion
LU Marnix UU
InH
HH Fontys HU
InH WUR HAN
TUD Driestar Iselinge
EUR ArtEZ
HR InH
HAN
InH RU
HAS Fontys
Avans
NHTV Fontys Fontys
TilU
Avans Avans
HZ TUE De Kempel
Fontys Fontys
Zuyd
Fontys
Zuyd
MU
Zuyd
8684
Map 4.1 Dutch higher education institutions with honors programs, 2014
4.4 Research Universities
The 14 Dutch government-supported research universities are shown in Table 4.1,

ordered by size, measured in student numbers. The programs described below do
not have generally applicable features. They can differ in intensity, educational
forms, number of ECTS, student numbers and positioning towards the regular
program.
4.4 Research Universities 57
Table 4.1 Honors programs at government-supported research universities in the Netherlands

Honors in Disciplinarity No. of
Total no. bachelor/master (disciplinary, honors
University of studentsa program inter, multi) studentsb
University of Amsterdam 31,123 B D/I/M 400
(UvA)
Utrecht University (UU) 30,152 B/M D/I/M 1,500
University of Groningen 27,169 B/M D/I/M 790
(RUG)
VU University 23,662 B D/I/M 400
Amsterdam (VU)
Leiden University (LU) 23,007 B/M D/I/M 555
Erasmus University 22,064 B D/I/M 198
Rotterdam (EUR)
Technical University 19,135 B/M D/I 390
Delft (TUD)
Radboud University 18,459 B/M D/I 750
Nijmegen (RU)
Maastricht University 14,894 B/M D/I/M 1,400
(MU)
Tilburg University (TilU) 12,589 B D/I 336
University of Twente 9,314 B/M D/I/M 200
(UT)
TU/Eindhoven (TUE) 8,380 B D/I 57
Wageningen UR (WUR) 8,299 B D/I 25
Total 248,247 7,001
a
Source: VSNU (2014) (preliminary numbers for 1 October 2013)
b
Sources: website Sirius Program or university website (Wageningen)
4.4.1 University of Amsterdam
4.4.1.1 General
The University of Amsterdam offers disciplinary and interdisciplinary honors

programs. The interdisciplinary programs offered are part of a collaboration between
the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the Amsterdam University College (AUC, a
residential American-style honors college44) and VU University Amsterdam (VU).
At each university, new modules (courses) start each semester and all honors stu-
dents can then enroll in one of more than 35 modules offered. Additional courses
with a workload of at least half a year will be followed during the bachelor’s degree.
44
The Amsterdam University College is a Liberal Arts & Sciences College, founded by UvA and
VU in 2008.
At the end of the bachelor program, honors students who have obtained a minimum
grade of 7.5 (on a scale of 1–10) for all regular and extra courses receive an extra
certificate with their diploma.
4.4.1.2 Specific Example
Big History illustrates a module in the interdisciplinary program. Students reflect on

their own position in space and time, as seen from an unusually broad perspective
that covers the history of everything, from the big bang until today. To take part,
students are selected for an honors program in their own major study program first.
Then students can register, but there are only twenty-five seats per semester and
admission is on ‘first come, first served’ basis.
4.4.2 Utrecht University
4.4.2.1 General
Utrecht University has one of the longest traditions in honors education in The
Netherlands. It distinguishes honors colleges and honors education. There are four
honors colleges, offering full 180 ECTS bachelor programs at honors level.
University College Utrecht and University College Roosevelt are both residential
colleges, while the College of Pharmaceutical Science and the Utrecht Law College
are non-residential. Specific honors education is offered at most faculties of
Utrecht University. The students follow at least 25 % of their bachelor courses at
honors level, often on top of their regular program. Utrecht University also offers
a university-wide interdisciplinary honors program, called Descartes College.
In addition, different honors programs in the master phase are also offered.
One example is the interdisciplinary Utrecht University Business Course. In this
program, thirty students work with entrepreneurs from Utrecht on a pressing busi-
ness problem. Finally, the Junior College Utrecht runs the U-Talent program for
excellent secondary school students.
The Descartes College fosters an interdisciplinary honors community for academics

from different disciplines. Existing since 2005, talented and motivated students
from all over the university can follow interdisciplinary courses, in which they get
the opportunity to meet the university’s best scientists. In total four courses can be
followed. Selection is based on CV, grades and a cover letter, in which students
elaborate about their motivation. A selection committee then invites the best appli-
cants for an interview.
4.4.3 University of Groningen
4.4.3.1 General
The University of Groningen offers honors programs for both bachelor and master
students, united in the Honours College (in this case not a residential college, but a
general term for the program). The bachelor honors program is offered at all nine
major departments (which are referred to in the Dutch context as faculties) and is
co-curricular. The program has a disciplinary component at a student’s ‘home
faculty’ where he follows his major. In this part of the program the students gain
in-depth knowledge on their studies. In addition, students also follow part of the
program at the ‘college’, where they gain knowledge in another discipline. The
master honors program is also co-curricular and focuses on leadership.
The master honors program, founded in 2011, consists of a 1-year program where
students get in touch with different aspects of leadership theories and develop
leadership skills. The program is in English and consists of four master classes, the
leadership lab, a personal development workshop and finally a personal ‘masterwork’.
Admission is based on interviews. Approximately 90 students are in the program.
Upon successful completion, students receive an honors certificate with a letter of
recommendation of the university’s rector magnificus.
4.4.4 VU University Amsterdam
4.4.4.1 General
The VU University Amsterdam offers various honors programs. Students complete

honors courses within their own department as well as interdepartmental courses for
a total of 30 extra credits. The specifics differ per department. The courses in the
interdepartmental program are interdisciplinary and are part of a collaboration
between VU, UvA and AUC.45
The honors program of medicine exists as a 4-year research program that can be
followed in addition to the regular medicine program. Founded in 2000, students
conduct medical scientific research in one of the ten scientific focus-areas of
VU. The registration process for this program is lengthy: in the first bachelor year
45
See description University of Amsterdam above for more details on the interdisciplinary program.
students can apply, and 25 students will be conditionally admitted based on academic
performance and motivation. These students complete two interdisciplinary honors
courses and a short internship at four of the ten focus-areas. After finishing all of
that successfully, they may begin their research proposal. The honors students
continue their research in the master program. When they finish after nearly 4 years,
they offer the results to an international journal. After presenting the results at a final
symposium students receive an honors certificate.
4.4.5 Leiden University
4.4.5.1 General
At Leiden University, which has one of the longest traditions in honors education in
The Netherlands, curious and ambitious students can participate in the Honours
College at the bachelor level or the Leiden Leadership Programme at master level.
The bachelor Honours College consists of various tracks. Students can choose
disciplinary depth or interdisciplinary broadening. They have to choose at least one
interdisciplinary project. Students are also a part of the Honours Community. Here,
a committee can be joined and participation in various activities is possible. Leiden
also has a pre-university college.
Founded in 2011, the 1-year Leiden Leadership Programme is offered to master

students. Students are challenged to develop themselves into future leaders. This
happens in a small learning environment, where direct interaction between teacher,
student and fellow students plays a central role. Focus is on developing knowledge
and skills in the field of leadership. Skill training courses, seminars and coaching
are part of the program. Furthermore, all students work with fellow students on a
practical assignment with a partner organization of the university in the private or
public sector. Selection is based on a cover letter describing the student’s aspira-
tions, CV, a recommendation letter and grades. Each year 55 students take part.
When successfully completed, the student receives a certificate.
4.4.6 Erasmus University Rotterdam

4.4.6.1 General
Erasmus University Rotterdam offers both disciplinary and interdisciplinary honors

programs. The university-wide program is called ‘Erasmus Honours Programme’.
Here, lecture series in different themes are central. Additionally, students can follow
disciplinary honors programs in some departments. The selection requirements of
these programs are similar to those of the Erasmus Honours Programme (see below).
Since 2004 the Erasmus University of Rotterdam offers the Erasmus Honours
Programme. Participating students are challenged to transcend the borders of their
own discipline and look at other disciplines. Students can apply after their first
bachelor year. They must have finished all first-year courses with a high average
mark and send a letter of motivation and CV. A selection commission chooses 25
participants per year. The program takes three periods of 8 weeks, with a different
topic discussed each period. Students submit several assignments per unit. After
finishing the program, students receive a special remark on their bachelor diploma,
along with a letter of recommendation from the head of the university.
4.4.7 Technical University Delft
4.4.7.1 General
Both bachelor and master students can apply for the Honors Program Delft.
Successful candidates become members of the Honors community, which consists
of online groups and an honors location. Students meet each other and in this way
broaden their interests and knowledge. Both the bachelor and master honors program
give students the opportunity to design their personal program and take initiative,
based on the student’s personal interests and opportunities. The students can for
example perform a study guided by a professor, write a business plan, perform a
task for companies or organize seminars for other students. Application is based on
grades and motivation. Upon completion, students receive an honors certificate.
4.4.8 Radboud University Nijmegen
4.4.8.1 General
Radboud University has an Honours Academy offering nine disciplinary honors

programs in the bachelor phase, which are ‘intense, challenging and personally
tailored’ and three honors programs in the master phase. 150 Master students can
participate in the three master honors programs Reflections on Science, Reflections
on Professions and Beyond the Frontiers. In addition, there is one interdisciplinary
program.
One of the bachelor-level disciplinary honors programs is in Social Science, avail-

able to 15 students. After a selection process, students participate in a 2-year
program which takes about 10 h of extra study time per week. In the first year
students follow theoretical and methodological courses. In the second year they
undertake individual research and report the results. To apply, students send a cover
letter describing their motivation, and their CV to a selection committee.
4.4.9 Maastricht University

4.4.9.1 General
All teaching at Maastricht University is guided by the principle of problem-based

learning. In various departments, the best students may follow excellence programs
as an extension of their regular courses. These programs focus on academic research
competences. Furthermore, there are two university-wide programs: the MarBLE
program focused on research-based learning and the PREMIUM program in which
interdisciplinary groups of master students work on assignments from the business
and government sectors. Finally, University College Maastricht and the Maastricht
Science Program are multidisciplinary programs, following the concept of ‘Liberal
Arts and Sciences’.
University College Maastricht is the university’s honors Liberal Arts College,

founded in 2002. The concept of choice is central. Students are offered a broad
range of courses, giving them the opportunity to develop their own talents. The
program is very demanding. All teaching is in English and approximately 50 % of
students come from abroad. Admission is highly selective and based on grades and
an interview. Around 600 students are enrolled.
4.4.10 Tilburg University
4.4.10.1 General
Tilburg University offers bachelor students three honors programs. There are disci-
plinary programs in European studies (European Discourses) and economics
(CentER Honors Program). The university-wide Outreaching Honours Program
prepares students to ‘take responsibility and lead in the society’.
In the Outreaching Honors Program, students apply scientific knowledge to social

issues and themes, acquire international experience and prepare for social engagement.
The program, started in 2010, consists of many components, ranging from
‘Outreaching Labs’ to boardroom internships and from an international study trip to

support by top coaches. Selection is based on grades, CV, a cover letter describing
a student’s aspirations, essay and an English proficiency test. The program has a
maximum of 50 participating students. Upon successful completion, a certificate is
appended to the bachelor degree.
4.4.11 University of Twente
4.4.11.1 General
The University of Twente offers both a bachelor and master honors program.
The bachelor honors program is interdisciplinary. Students choose between the dis-
ciplines Science, Design and Mathematics. Within these disciplines students follow
six modules in one and a half years. A main goal of the bachelor program is com-
munity building, while the primary goal of the master program focuses on leader-
ship development. In 2013, the university also started the Atlas University College
(Academy of Technology and Liberal Arts & Sciences), a full honors bachelor
program.
In the Science bachelor honors program students learn about great scientists, every-
day scientific situations, write their own research proposal and make a joint final
work. The program was founded in 2007 and consists of six modules, including an
individual project. Selection is based on study results and motivation. Only 25
students can take part. Upon successful completion, ‘Graduated with Honours’
becomes inscribed on the diploma.
4.4.12 TU/Eindhoven
4.4.12.1 General
The TU/Eindhoven offers an Honors Academy with six excellence tracks for bach-
elor students, and in the future for master students as well. The Honors Academy
started in 2013 and replaces a previous honors program. The overall goal involves
preparing students for scientific, societal and personal leadership. Students can dive
into their own discipline or explore other disciplines. Admission is based on grades
and motivation, assessed in an interview.
An example of a track is ‘Empowerment for Health and Wellbeing’. It places

students directly within the social context, working with citizens in their everyday
life. It is divided in two parts of 15 ECTS credits each. After the first part, the prog-
ress and the quality of work of the students is assessed. Students among the top
20 % get a personal invitation, however others can also apply. In the current early
stage of development, only six students follow the program; room exists for growth.
4.4.13 Wageningen UR
4.4.13.1 General
Wageningen University offers the university-wide interdisciplinary ‘Honours

Programme’. It starts with an introduction course, after which selection is based on
grades and motivation. Per year, 25 students gain admission. They go on an excursion
to meet each other, follow different workshops and finally form interdisciplinary
research groups. In the following 2 years students conduct research in this group. In
addition, the students have the option to use so-called ‘honors cards’ in their courses.
They then follow a more difficult version of this subject. The student can also
choose to use the ‘honors card’ on activities or self-designed projects. During the
program students can use a total of four ‘honors cards’. Furthermore, the bachelor
thesis of the students is enlarged. After finishing the program, students receive a
special mention on their bachelor diploma.
4.4.14 Private University: Theological University

of the Reformed Churches Kampen
The small private Theological University of the Reformed Churches Kampen (TU
Kampen) offers a program in theology, which also includes an ‘excellence trajec-
tory’. Motivated students who score well can apply for the program. This includes
six extra courses of five ECTS each, which can be selected from an offer of 21
courses. Students can start in the last period of their first year or first period of their
second year. Upon successful completion, they receive an extra certificate. In early
2014, 65 students were enrolled at the university in total. Two bachelor students and
two master students followed an excellence trajectory.
4.5 Universities of Applied Sciences
A majority of 25 out of 37 government-funded universities of applied sciences,

including all the large institutions, now offers some form of honors education.
The number has increased in recent years. In 2012, an overview of honors programs at
4.5 Universities of Applied Sciences 65
universities of applied sciences was made for the national association of universities
of applied sciences (Wolfensberger et al. 2012b46). Findings indicated 19 institutions
offered a total of 40 excellence programs during 2009/2010.
According to the researchers, ‘the forty programs could be broadly divided into
three categories:
1. Honors programs offered as a complete bachelor program of 240 ECTS. Students
enrolled in this category perform all study activities at a higher level. Strikingly,
four of five programs in this category are found at teacher training colleges.47
2. Excellence programs organized university-wide and offered to students from all
majors. Most programs in this category (eight in total) start after the first year of
study, are around 30 ECTS and are an addition to the regular study program.
Students enrolled in programs in this category follow the regular study program
with their peers and have separate classes for the honors course.
3. Excellence programs organized by one faculty [department] for students of a
specific major. Programs in this category (27 programs in total) are taken in
addition to the regular study program and are generally between 20 and 40
ECTS. Students who successfully completed an honors program, receive an honors
supplement or certificate at time of graduation. A number of universities offer a
combination of categories discussed above; e.g. an honors program centrally
organized for university–wide participation in addition to programs organized at
faculty [departmental] level’ (ibid, p. 10).
Since publication of this report, a number of new honors programs have been
developed at the universities of applied sciences. In early 2014, the Sirius Programme
published a study in which a number of participating universities of applied sciences
tried to formulate the shared profile of ‘excellent professionals’ (Sirius Programma
2014a, see also Coppoolse et al. 2013, p. 64).
Table 4.2 depicts the situation at the time of writing. The programs at member
institutes of the Sirius Programme and other programs known to the Sirius
Programme were first described. The other universities of applied sciences were
asked about their honors education offer by e-mail or phone. All institutions except
the Thomas More Hogeschool replied. The universities of applied sciences in
Table 4.2 are ordered by size (measured in student numbers).
4.5.1 Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam,

HvA) puts emphasis on developing programs of excellence with a recognizable,
vocational signature. First and second-year students can enter Studium Excellentie,
a program where they investigate their talents. Third- and fourth-year students can
participate in full honors programs, organized per domain (department). Selection
46
The association was then called HBO Raad, currently it is Vereniging Hogescholen.
47
See information about Academische pabo in Sect. 4.3.1.
Table 4.2 Honors programs at universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands

Disciplinarity
Total number (disciplinary, Number of
University of applied sciences of studentsa Program inter, multi) honors studentsb
Amsterdam University of 48,027 Yes D/I 1,082 (2013)
Applied Sciences (HvA)c
Fontys University of Applied 42,484 Yes D 36 (2010)
Sciences
HU University of Applied 36,454 Yes I/M 500 (2013)
Sciences Utrecht (HU)c
Rotterdam University of 32,443 Yes I/M 1,200–1,500
Applied Sciences (HR)c (2013)
HAN University of Applied 31,921 Yes D/I 40 (2010)
Sciences
InHolland University 30,138 Yes D 25 (2010)
of Applied Sciencesc
Avans University 27,705 Yes D 20 (2010)
of Applied Sciences
Hanze University of Applied 26,223 Yes D/I/M 920 (2013)
Sciences Groningenc
Saxion University of Applied 25,336 Yes I 303 (2012/2013)
Sciencesc
The Hague University of 24,783 Yes D 15 (2011)
Applied Sciences (HH)
Windesheim University 20,112 Yes I/M Unknown
of Applied Sciences
Zuyd University of Applied 14,675 Yes D 24 (2010)
Sciences
NHL University of Applied 11,512 Yes I/M 250 (2013)
Sciencesc
Stenden University of Applied 10,412 Yes D 20 (2014)
Sciences
University of Applied 8,794 Yes I Unknown
Sciences Leiden (HL)
Breda University of Applied 7,171 Yes I 30 (2013)
Sciences (NHTV)
HZ University of Applied 4,629 Yes (pilot) I n/a
Sciences
Christelijke Hogeschool Ede 4,195 No, but due
to start
in 2015
VHL University of Applied 4,171 No
Sciences
HKU University of the Arts 3,870 No
Utrecht
ArtEZ Institute of the Artsc 3,055 Yes I 45 (2013)
Amsterdam School of the Arts 2,939 Yes D 26 (2013)
(AHK)c
(continued)
Table 4.2 (continued)

Disciplinarity
Total number (disciplinary, Number of
University of applied sciences of studentsa Program inter, multi) honors studentsb
HAS University of Applied 2,591 Yes I 50–90 (2014)
Sciences
Vilentum University of Applied 2,565 No, but due
Sciences to start
in 2016
Hotelschool The Hague 1,934 No
VIAA/Gereformeerde 1,606 No
Hogeschool
Marnix Academie 1,552 Yes D 14 (2009)
University of the Arts 1,542 No, but due
The Hague to start
in 2015
Driestar Educatiefc 1,321 Yes D 20 (2013)
Codarts Rotterdam 972 No
Hogeschool iPabo 935 Nod
Gerrit Rietveld Academie 894 Yes I 20 (2014)
(GRA)
De Kempel 757 Yes D 19 (2010)
Design Academy Eindhoven 735 No
Katholieke Pabo Zwolle 663 No
Thomas More Hogeschool 506 –
Iselinge Hogeschool 433 Yes D 36 (2014)
Total 440,235
a
Source: Vereniging Hogescholen (2014), numbers for 2013
b
Sources: website Sirius Programme, program website or Wolfensberger et al. 2012b, p. 39 (2010
numbers)
c
Indicates member Sirius Programme
d
At Hogeschool iPabo, a possible future honors program focusing on excellent mathematics
students is in development
is usually based on motivation and portfolio. One interdisciplinary institute-wide

honors program exists, Design in Society, where students from different domains
work in an innovative way on socially relevant tasks of institutions and businesses
in the city.
4.5.2 Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Fontys teacher academies offer the PaboPlus program. This program, for primary
school teacher students, includes 1 day a week of extra lessons and more focus on
research. Around 25 students per year can take part. In communication science, an
honors program involves a stay in the USA to conduct research on a topical
subject.
4.5.3 HU University of Applied Sciences
The HU University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool Utrecht, HU) has different

honors tracks and works with a star system. Students can earn a total of five stars:
as a reflective practitioner, for innovation and dissemination, international perspec-
tive, professional drive and leadership qualities. Excellent achievements in all five
profile features lead to award of the ‘Designation of Excellence’ on the bachelor
diploma.48 The program is flexible, a student can follow a complete program, excel
within one course or during an internship, or suggest his or her own activity within
the program.
4.5.4 Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
The Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool Rotterdam, HR) has

‘excellence rewarded’ as its motto. The honors program is intentionally flexible:
themes, expectations and personal characteristics of the students are so varied that
programs need to be tailor-made. In general, the program consists of two phases: the
‘scouting and recruitment’ phase in the first 2 years and the ‘research & innovation’
phase in years 3 and 4. In this second phase, the program focuses on the innovative
and multidisciplinary side of the professional. An integral part of all honors pro-
grams is taking part in an Innovation Lab in the fourth year of studies. Here the
student works in a team of ambitious students to address a topical problem from real
companies and institutions in Rotterdam. In addition, a special scholarship is
awarded to one of the excellent students, to actually carry out an idea from the hon-
ors program experience.
4.5.5 HAN University of Applied Sciences
The HAN University of Applied Sciences offers both an institute-wide ‘Honours

Lab’ and a number of disciplinary honors tracks. In the Honours Lab, third- or
fourth-year students work in a group for one semester to create an innovative
product.49 Team development, co creation and passion based learning are key
concepts. Selection is based on grades, motivation letter and an interview.
48
HU has made a flyer about its program available in English. It can be found through: www.inter-
national.hu.nl/Study%20Programmes/Study%20at%20HU/Honours-programme.aspx
49
A brochure in English is available at http://www.han.nl/gebied/onderwijs-opleiden/nieuws/
nieuws/het-multidisciplinaire-ho-1/_attachments/honourslab_for_top_students.pdf
4.5.6 Inholland University of Applied Sciences
The honors programs at Inholland are organized per discipline, an institution-wide

program has been discontinued. Students can register at the end of the second year
and every program is broadening and includes a multidisciplinary component.
When students finish the program successfully, they receive an honors bachelor
degree in addition to their regular diploma.
4.5.7 Avans University of Applied Sciences
At Avans teacher education academy, two excellence programs are offered, both
called TopClass. The program in behavioral management is a specialization on top
of the regular program starting in the third year, while the program in educational
innovation runs the full 4 years.
4.5.8 Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen
The Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen (Hanzehogeschool) is a large

institution in the north of the Netherlands, with a strong focus on honors and over
50 talent trajectories, including talent programs, minors, specializations, projects
and the institute-wide Hanze Honours College. All programs are focused on ‘pro-
fessional excellence’. The institution’s target involves having 6 % of all students in
these ‘talent routes’ by late 2015. Hanze wants honors students and teachers to form
an ambitious, stimulating community that is connected to regular students, teachers
and the field, and shares its knowledge and experiences.
4.5.9 Saxion University of Applied Sciences
Saxion offers honors programs and other ‘pathways to excellence’. The honors
programs are 3-year broadening programs of around ten ECTS credits per year, in
addition to the regular bachelor program. The program challenges the students to
become ‘Reflective Professionals’ with the ability to think transdisciplinary and
be bridge builders. Saxion offers nine honors programs in various fields such as
entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, care or philosophy. An excellence pathway
differs from an honors program: it is an excellence track within the domain of
study (the department where the major is taken), focused on deepening knowledge.
There is also a special honors program in teacher education at Edith Stein, a school
that has recently become part of Saxion. It is called ‘Top Teacher Program’.
4.5.10 The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Since 2010, The Hague University of Applied Sciences (Haagse Hogeschool, HH)
offers an honors minor in the study program MER (Management, Economics and
Law). This program consists of extra subjects totaling 15 ECTS credits that students
can take in their second year. The institution is also developing an Honours College,
but this has not yet been realized.
4.5.11 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences
Windesheim offers both the Honours College,50 a separate program aimed at an

international audience, and an interdisciplinary honors program where a group of
honors students analyze a topical question, coming from a company, over a rela-
tively short period of time.
Instruction at Windesheim Honours College occurs in English. Students train to
become international project managers, specializing in either Public Health or
Communication and Media. The students follow an intensive study program and form
a learning community, which means they not only study, but also live together.51
4.5.12 Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
In close cooperation with the Belgian PXL University College, Zuyd offers a 1-year
honors program for health care workers from all over the world. Admission criteria
include motivation letters and three letters of recommendation. Teaching is entirely
in English.
4.5.13 NHL University of Applied Sciences
The honors program at NHL is built around the idea of ‘community’, called NHL
Excellent. This is an institute-wide community, in which students work together and
with innovative teachers and lecturers to develop their competencies. Students
achieve this goal by working on their own projects, completing assignments for
external clients, or participation in projects within research groups. At the end of the
program, an integral portfolio assessment determines if the student has shown
enough excellence to be awarded an extra diploma.
50
See www.windesheimhonourscollege.nl (in English) for more information.
51
This is an adaptation of a description written by second-year student Elise Eichler, as published
in Wolfensberger et al. 2012b, p. 34.
4.5.14 Stenden University of Applied Sciences
A broad honors program has been discontinued at Stenden in 2012, but the university
of applied sciences still offers two disciplinary modules aimed at excellent students.
They are both focused on mathematics and statistics. Motivated students can apply
and then follow the modules on top of their regular program. The first module is
Mathematics and Statistics for Business and Economics (in English, 10 ECTS), the
second is a pre master module in mathematics (in Dutch, 8 ECTS).
4.5.15 University of Applied Sciences Leiden
In the Honours program at University of Applied Sciences Leiden students form an

honors community and work on projects with socially relevant themes. Students in
their second year can apply and selection is based on grades, motivation and an
interview. The program is co-curricular, takes 3 years and successful participants
receive an extra certificate with their diploma.
4.5.16 Breda University of Applied Sciences
Breda University of Applied Sciences (NHTV) started a new honors program in

2013, called ‘The Entrepreneurial Journey’. The 2-year English-language study
program helps students to develop the skills and knowledge needed to become an
entrepreneur. All students can apply for 30 seats in the program and are selected
based on motivation and interviews.52 In addition, an upgraded graduation track in
Strategic Business Management has been developed, granting students an honors
bachelor diploma as well as an entry ticket to several business-related MSc pro-
grams at a number of research universities.
4.5.17 HZ University of Applied Sciences
In September 2014, HZ has started the ‘Honours Challenge’ as a pilot project. It is

an interdisciplinary project aimed at educating reflective professionals who can
work across domains. Students can participate from their second year and are
selected based on first-year results, a letter in which they describe their motivation
and an interview. Participants form an honors community and follow the project on
top of their regular bachelor program.
52
An information leaflet in English can be found at https://insight.nhtv.nl/wp-content/
uploads/2013/09/Information-leaflet-honours-program.pdf
4.5.18 ArtEZ Institute of the Arts
ArtEZ is an arts school. Compared to the regular program, the honors program
focuses more on theory and research. It is a 2-year program on top of the regular
program, with a series of lectures in the first year (some of them on Saturdays) and
an individual research project in the second year. Students with good results in the
first year can apply with a motivation letter and will then be asked for an interview.
The total program involves 30 ECTS credits. Students completing the program earn
an extra diploma and a letter of recommendation from the school board.
4.5.19 Amsterdam School of the Arts
At Amsterdam School of the Arts (AHK), there is a specific program at the National
Ballet Academy. Its Young Bachelor program is ballet at international level. Students
can apply to be admitted to this bachelor program while still at secondary school.
Contrary to most programs, it is not a separate excellence program, but an existing
education program that was already focused on excellence.
4.5.20 HAS University of Applied Sciences
At HAS University of Applied Sciences, the honors program consists of interdisci-

plinary masterclasses for motivated third- and fourth-year students. A masterclass is
organized by a lectorate and often based on a topical subject. It consists of six to ten
evening meetings with lectures, and a multidisciplinary assignment that students
work on in small groups. Students are selected on the basis of motivation. Upon
successful participation in one or more masterclasses, they receive a special certifi-
cate with their regular diploma. Two to three masterclasses are held per year and on
average 25–30 students take part per masterclass.
4.5.21 Marnix Academie
The Marnix Academie in Utrecht offers regular teacher education (pabo), but also
an academic variant, for which only students with a vwo-diploma can be admitted.
This full 240 ECTS study program is focused on research and design and includes
a pre master. Contrary to academic pabo programs, this program Academische
lerarenopleiding (academic teacher education) leads to one diploma and is meant
for students who want something different and more challenging than the regular
pabo program.
4.5.22 Driestar Educatief
Driestar offers teacher education and has developed an honors program for third-
and fourth-year students. Participants spend an extra day per week at the school
where they complete an internship. This day can be spent for example on research.
Focus is on ‘excellent teachers’.
4.5.23 Gerrit Rietveld Academie
The honors program Art and Research is a collaboration between the art school
Gerrit Rietveld Academie and the University of Amsterdam. Founded in 2006, it
offers extra theoretical input for the art school students, and more creative processes
for the university students. A group of around 20 students works on a joint project
combining science and art for about 14 months. One of the main ideas is that stu-
dents contribute to the development of the program’s content as it progresses. The
program ends with a joint publication and presentation.
4.5.24 Hogeschool De Kempel
De Kempel offers teacher education and has developed the Challenge Program for
talented students. This is a complete bachelor program combining vocational edu-
cation with academic education through the Open University. After finishing the
4-year program, students can enter an academic master at Open University, or they
can continue teaching and are then primary school teachers ‘with a plus’.
4.5.25 Iselinge
Iselinge is a small HEI offering teacher education. Since 2009, Iselinge has a selective
full 240 ECTS study program called ‘Academische PABO’ (academic teacher
education). Students are selected based on tests, a writing assignment and an interview.
They follow a program which includes extra academic modules totaling 40 ECTS,
which are offered in cooperation with the Open University. The extra modules are
mentioned on the diploma.
The long list of institutes and programs in this chapter shows that honors programs
are well-developed in the Dutch context. In all other countries in this study they are
rarer, which allowed us some room to discuss the programs in more detail. In the
next chapter, we focus on the Netherlands’ southern neighbor: Belgium.
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Chapter 5
Belgium: Complex System, Differentiated
Development
Basically there is no Belgian education system. Instead, there are three: the Flemish, French
and German-speaking communities each have their own.
Belgium consists of three regions and three language communities and has no
less than seven governments. Luckily, for education purposes it is quite clear who is
responsible. Responsibility has been decentralized to the different communities.1
This results in three systems: Flemish, French and German-speaking (see Fig. 5.1).
As there is only a very limited offer of higher education in the German-speaking
community, two systems are relevant for higher education.2 In international educa-
tion comparisons and statistics, the Flemish and French communities of Belgium
are usually dealt with separately (Box 5.1).3
Belgians are generally quite happy with their education system. Results are
around average in the PISA report on 15-year-olds’ achievements, although there
are wide variations within the country. For example, science score is an above-
average 518 for the Flemish community while the French community scores a
below-average 487 (OECD 2013).
All communities have a system with a compulsory primary school until the age
of 12, followed by different types of secondary education. Each school type is
1
Only the determination of the starting and finishing ages for compulsory education, minimum
requirements for diploma conferrals and the pension system are still federal matters (Eurydice
2014 – Flemish community overview).
2
In the small German-speaking community, there is no university or university of applied
sciences. Therefore educational provisions in this community are not discussed in the remainder
of this chapter.
3
For example, there are three separate entries in Eurydice’s Eurypedia encyclopedia and the
Flemish and French communities’ systems are also dealt with separately in the World Data on
education by UNESCO (IBE reports).

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_5
a
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
78
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
KINDERDAG- SECUNDAIR ALGEMEEN UNIVERSITEIT

KLEUTERONDERWIJS LAGER ONDERWIJS
VERBLIJVEN ONDERWIJS SECUNDAIR ONDERWIJS
TECHNISCH / KUNST SECUNDAIR ONDERWIJS HOGESCHOOL
DBSO HOGER BEROEPSONDERWIJS (HOBS)
BEROEPSSECUNDAIR ONDERWIJS
SECUNDAIR-NA-SECUNDAIR(Se-n-Se)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
b0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
5
ÉCOLE MATERNELLE ÉCOLE PRIMAIRE ENSEIGNEMENT SECONDAIRE GÉNÉRAL / TECHNIQUE / ARTISTIQUE UNIVERSITÉ / HAUTE ÉCOLE / ÉCOLE SUPÉRIEURE DES ARTS
DE TRANSITION
CRÉCHE HAUTE ÉCOLE / ÉCOLE SUPÉRIEURE DES ARTS
ENSEIGNEMENT SECONDAIRE TECHNIQUE / ARTISTIQUE

DE QUALIFICATION
ENSEIGNEMENT SECONDAIRE PROFESSIONNEL

DE QUALIFICATION
c
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
KRIPPEN
GRUNDSCHULE ALLGEMEIN BILDENDER / TECHNISCHER ÜBERGANGSUNTERRICHT HOCHSCHULE
TECHNISCHER BEFÁHIGUNGSUNTERRICHT
BERUFSBILDENDER UNTERRICHT
ERGÄNZENDER BERUFSBILDENDER SEKUNDARUNTERRICHT

Belgium: Complex System, Differentiated Development
Fig. 5.1 Structure of education systems in Belgium. (a) Flemish community. (b) French community. (c) German-speaking community (Eurydice 2014) see
Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
Box 5.1: Belgium – The Basics

• Capital: Brussels
• Federal monarchy
• Education is governed by the Flemish, French and German-speaking com-
munities, each with their own government
organized in three ‘cycles’, normally taking 2 years (see Fig. 5.1). After the first
cycle of secondary education, around age 14, differentiation is made into four types
of education.4 From all levels, progression into higher education is possible, but
from the vocational stream this is rare (Vlaamse Overheid 2014; Federation
Wallonie-Bruxelles 2014) (Box 5.2).
Box 5.2: Education in Belgium

• Compulsory between the ages of 6 and 18 or until graduation from second-
ary school
• Governed by the Flemish, French and German-speaking communities
• Primary education (6–12 years) and secondary education (12–18 years)
each organized in three cycles
• Four general types of secondary education
• Universities in Flemish and French communities, organization of rest of
higher education landscape is in development
• Secondary school diploma gives general entrance to higher education, with
a few exceptions
• Compulsory education free, higher education tuition fees regulated by
governments
4
In the Flemish community, the four types are General Secondary Education (GSE) which aims to
provide a broad theoretical education and prepares pupils for higher education; Technical
Secondary Education (TSE) which focuses especially on general and technical theoretical subjects,
provides practical classes and prepares pupils either for a professional career or for higher educa-
tion; Artistic Secondary Education (ASE) which combines a general and broad education with
active artistic practice and prepares pupils either for a professional career or for higher education;
and Vocational Secondary Education (VSE) which allows pupils to acquire specific vocational
skills combined with a general education. Progression to higher education is possible but rather
rare (Eurydice 2014, chapter 6.1). In the French community, focus is more on the stages: From the
third year onwards, education takes four different forms (general, technical, artistic and vocational)
and consists of two streams (the transition stream and the qualification stream). The transition
stream prepares pupils for higher education whilst also offering opportunities to enter the labor
market, whereas the qualification stream prepares pupils to enter the labor market while also
enabling them to continue their studies in higher education (Eurydice 2014, chapter 6).
80 5 Belgium: Complex System, Differentiated Development
Generally speaking, most regular schools recognize high ability with acceleration,
enrichment projects and streaming (Freeman 2002a, p. 84). In the Flemish community,
an extensive infrastructure for gifted children and youngsters in primary and
secondary education exists. There are research centers, such as the Centre for
giftedness research in Antwerp, which has recently been renamed Exentra,5 different
associations focusing on spreading information,6 lobbying and/or organizing activities.7
While there are no recognized special schools for gifted children, a number of schools
run so-called ‘kangaroo classes’. Here, gifted children at the school come together
2–4 h per week to work on special projects (Infolijn Onderwijs 2014).
In the French community, a parents’ association is also very active.8
In general, a secondary school diploma9 gives access to higher education. There
are a few exceptions, for studies which are very popular. In Flanders, entrance
exams are organized for dentistry and medicine. In the French community, some
measures restrict student numbers in popular studies such as veterinary science and
psychology. For arts colleges, special admission criteria apply.
Belgian universities generally have a good reputation. KU Leuven is the world’s
oldest surviving catholic university, founded in 1425. In 1970, it was split in a
Flemish (Leuven) and a French (Louvain) university. The Flemish part is the largest
university in Belgium with over 46,000 students. In international rankings, Ghent
and Leuven universities score in the top-100 (ARWU 2013).10 In the Flemish
community, the other main type of higher education institution is locally known as
hogeschool. In English it is called university college, which can lead to confusion,
as they are very different from university colleges in the Netherlands. All recognized
Flemish university colleges are associated with a university, following a recent
structure change.11
5
The former name was Centrum voor Begaafdheidsonderzoek. The organization’s website is www.
exentra.be
6
For example, parents’ association Hoogbegaafd Vlaanderen maintains a list of schools that offer
extra opportunities to gifted children. It can be found at www.hoogbegaafdvlaanderen.be/06_HB_
op_school/scholen.html
7
For example the organizations Bekina and Mensa (see key links in Appendix 2). More associations
can be found in Infolijn Onderwijs 2014.
8
EHP-Belgique, offering information, lobbying and organizing activities.
9
Diploma van Secundair Onderwijs/Certificat d’Enseignement Secondaire Supérieur.
10
In the 2013–2014 Times Higher Education World Ranking, KU Leuven was the highest-placed
at position 60, with Gent following at 83. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2013
(Shanghai List) Gent is the best at place no. 85.
11
After extensive public discussion, the Flemish government decided in 2010 to integrate the
academic university college programmes in the universities from the academic year 2013–2014.
Now only the universities will be able to offer academic programs. The university colleges will
only be able to offer professional bachelor programs (and associate degrees), as they are to transfer
their academic bachelor and master programs to the universities or integrate them in the universities
(Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.1). Apart from this, there are some more small ‘Registered Institutes of
Higher Education’.
In the French community, there are two types of HEIs apart from universities:
colleges (Hautes Ecoles) and arts colleges. A new system was due to be introduced
in late 2014, reforming the structure and organizing the institutes in five geographic
clusters (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.1).
There is one institute recognized by all communities, the Royal Military
Academy. Finally, there are some universities that do not fall under Belgian jurisdic-
tion but are recognized in a foreign country: for example Boston University Brussels.
These institutions are excluded from this overview.
Contrary to education, research is partly under federal policy and is also
conducted at federal scientific institutions. These are regulated by the Belgian
Science Policy Office (BELSPO).
It is difficult to make general statements about Belgium and this also applies to
the culture and policy towards excellence. However, three observations can safely
be stated:
1. Attention for excellence in Belgium has come later than in the Netherlands;
2. Focus on excellence is stronger in the Flemish community than in the French
community;
3. Excellence in education is hardly supported by policy or funding from any level
of government (Box 5.3).

The following institutions are the most important players in the field of talent
and excellence in education:
• The ministries of Education of the Flemish and French communities
• The Interuniversity Councils of both communities
• Exentra, the centre for giftedness research based in Antwerp
• Parents’ associations Hoogbegaafd Vlaanderen and Bekina (Flemish) and
EHP-Belgique (French)
Belgium exhibits a tradition of egalitarianism, but not as strong as, for example,
the Nordic countries. The educational policy goals in the French community refer
more to equality measures than in the Flemish community (IBE 201212), where ‘a
thoroughly personal education’ also exists as a main goal.
12
This follows from a comparison of both communities’ texts.
In the Flemish community, the problems of gifted children are a much-discussed

subject, but there are no official policies, apart from the legal possibility to accelerate
in primary school. In 2006, a group of parliamentarians proposed to make more
provisions for gifted children in the schools (Vlaams Parlement 2006), but this was
dismissed. As a result no special legislation on excellence in education exists.
General legislation allows schools some freedom to organize their own initiatives
for talented pupils, but there is no funding available.
The French community first conducted a research project on the needs of gifted
children in schools in 1999. Subsequently, an inter-university network13 was estab-
lished with three roles: giving information to the public,14 facilitating research and
disseminating research findings (Brasseur et al. 2001). However, this network was
discontinued in 2012 after community funding ended (Federation Wallonie-
Bruxelles 2012). In the same year, three parliamentarians made a proposal to
officially recognize the needs of gifted children in schools (Parlement de la com-
munauté Française 2012). In January 2014, a debate was held in the French com-
munity’s parliament on the question: Why should the specific needs of young people
with high potential be officially recognized? No decisions on the issue have been
taken at the time of writing (Box 5.4).

The word ‘honors’ is used in Belgium, but there are also other terms in use to
refer to (programs for) gifted and talented children and students:
• enfants/jeunes/élèves/étudiants à haut potentiel (children/youngsters/
pupils/students with high potential)
• élèves talentueux (talented pupils)
• surdoués (highly gifted)
• hoogbegaafd (highly gifted)
• talentvolle studenten (talented students)
• leervoorsprong (‘ahead in learning’)
At the universities, there are some specialists in the field of gifted education
and talent development. In January 2014, Hasselt University established a chair
for the study of gifted children in schools and gifted adults in the workplace
(Furniere 2014).15
13
It was called Réseau interuniversitaire d’écoute et d’accompagnement des jeunes à haut
potentiel et de leur entourage.
14
This part of the job was carried out in the Centre d’écoute et d’accompagnement des JHP (centre
for listening and accompaniment of youngsters with high potential).
15
Tessa Kieboom, who also leads Exentra, the Centre for giftedness research in Antwerp, was
appointed as one of the chairs.
5.3 Honors Programs per University 83
5.3 Honors Programs per University
The higher education sector in Belgium is currently undergoing great reforms.

While stability exists at the university level, the educational reform progresses
soundly at the level of universities of applied sciences. Therefore, we limited the
search for honors programs to the universities. In total, six programs were found,
three of which are at Ghent University. An overview of universities with programs
is shown on Map 5.1. Table 5.1 depicts all Belgian universities.
Since 2010, Flemish universities have developed honors programs. Some small
programs have been running for a few years. The first university-wide program in
Ghent started in 2013. So far, the only French university offering an honors program
is Université Catholique de Louvain, which participates in an inter-university hon-
ors program with two other universities.
5.3.1 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Founded in 2013, the honors program at KU Leuven’s Faculty of Law strives to

acquaint students with top-notch lawyers and broaden their horizons, encouraging
them to think beyond law. The top 20 students (measured in grade point average) are
invited to participate in the program. Over 90 % of students accept the invitation.16
Antwerp
Gent
Kortrijk Brussels Leuven
Lille Metropolitaine
Mons BELGIUM
8684
Map 5.1 Belgian universities with honors programs, 2014
16
When the slots are not entirely filled, the next top students are invited.
Table 5.1 Honors programs at Belgian universities

No. of Honors
University Community studentsa Webpage program
Katholieke Universiteit Flemish 46,068 Kuleuven.be Yes
(KU) Leuven
Ghent University (UGent) Flemish 36,117 Ugent.be Yes
Université Catholique de French 25,990 Uclouvain.be Yes
Louvain (UCL)
Université Libre de French 23,968 Ulb.ac.be No
Bruxelles (ULB)
University of Liège (ULg) French 19,204 Ulg.ac.be No
University of Antwerp Flemish 17,166 Uantwerpen.be Yes
(UAntwerp)
Vrije Universiteit Brussel Flemish 10,427 Vub.ac.be No
(VUB)
University of Mons French 6,586 Umons.ac.be No
(UMons)
University of Namur French 5,646 Unamur.be No
(UNamur)
Hasselt University Flemish 2,987 Uhasselt.be Nob
(UHasselt)
Saint-Louis University French 2,583 Fusl.ac.be No
Brussels
Total 196,742
a
Sources: Vlaamse Overheid 2014 for Flemish universities (numbers for 2013), CREF 2014 for
French universities (numbers for 2010). Numbers for Université de Mons include Université de
Mons-Hainaut and Facultés Universitaire Catholique de Mons (FUCaM)
b
At Universiteit Hasselt, an honors program is in development
To compile this table, first the websites of all universities were searched with keywords to find
honors programs. Then they were all approached by e-mail and/or phone to ask if they had any
special provisions for talented students, matching our working definition. All institutions eventually
replied. Most of this work has been carried out by honors student Melina Ghasseminejad
Apart from the top 20, there are also five ‘wild card slots’. They are meant for students
who do not score as high but are socially involved either in- or outside the university.
These students are selected on the basis of a cover letter describing their motivation.
During the academic year, students participate in eight interactive, work field-related
honors classes, provided by well-known lawyers and scholars. There are also
excursions to national or international institutions. Upon successful completion of
the program, the participants receive an extra certificate. KU Leuven explicitly
refers to ‘the Dutch tradition’ in their description of the honors program.17 In autumn
2014, the program expanded because of its success. In addition to last-year bachelor
students, it now includes first-year master students (Table 5.2).
17
See www.law.kuleuven.be/home/onderzoek/nieuws-onderzoek/honoursprogramma_2013
Table 5.2 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – Honoursprogramma

Organizing Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Faculty of Law
institution
Form Disciplinary program
Target group Final (third) year bachelor students, first year master students from autumn 2014
Admission By invitation and application
Description Each year a group of 20–25 students is formed and follows two semesters of activities
Founded 2013
Participants 20–25 per year
Website www.law.kuleuven.be/home/onderzoek/nieuws-onderzoek/
honoursprogramma_2013
Table 5.3 Ghent University – Quetelet Colleges

Organizing institution Ghent University
Form Interdisciplinary program (university-wide)
Target group Second- and third-year bachelor students
Admission First selection based on study results, CV and motivation letter,
followed by interview
Description Each year a group of maximum 50 first-year students is selected
to run activities over four semesters in their second and third
bachelor year
Founded 2013
Participants 50 admitted per year
Website www.ugent.be/student/nl/studeren/honoursprogramma/
universiteitsbreed-programma
5.3.2 Ghent University
5.3.2.1 General
The Quetelet Colleges is a new university-wide program, the first of its kind in
Belgium. All first year bachelor students may apply. Admission is based on grades
and a cover letter, and finally an interview. In the Quetelet Colleges students participate
in four modules spread over the second and third bachelor year. Every module
consists of ten lectures, with a new theme every week. The specialist lecturer
provides knowledge and insights and also discusses with the students. The theme of
the first module is: ‘What is science?’ The second module revolves around ‘Science
& Society’, and the third module is ‘The revolutions of the 20th century’. During
the last module ten scientific or societal challenges of the twenty-first century are
discussed. The students themselves put the last module together. To complete the
program, students must attend all lectures, participate in discussions and write two
short papers for each module. Upon completion of the program, students receive a
certificate and a personalized letter of recommendation from the university rector
(Table 5.3).
5.3.2.2 Specific
Before starting the university-wide program, Ghent University already had some
departmental honors programs. The first is the interfaculty honors program in Life
Sciences, in which different departments in this area work together in a program
focused on scientific research. The second is the Honors Awards in Sciences
program, focusing on broadening and deepening the studies. Students in both
programs work individually.
The honors program in Life Sciences includes both general and specific compo-
nents. The general part consists of lessons, lectures, and self-study. The lessons take
place in the first semester. The specific part consists of project-related laboratory
work and writing a scientific paper. Laboratory work can also be done abroad,
for example in developing countries. Upon successful completion of the program,
students receive a special certificate (Tables 5.4 and 5.5).
Table 5.4 Ghent University – Honors Program in Life Sciences

Organizing Ghent University, Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine and Health
institution Sciences and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Form Interfaculty program – individual
Target group Top 20 % bachelor students
Admission First selection based on study results, CV and motivation letter, followed by
interview
Description Individual program where student does own research project in
approximately 1 year: following lectures, lab work and writing of a scientific
article, supported by personal tutor
Founded 2012
Participants 23 at time of writing
Website www.ugent.be/ge/nl/voor-studenten/uitwisseling/honoursprogramme.pdf
Table 5.5 Ghent University – Honors Award in Sciences program

Organizing Ghent University, Faculty of Sciences
institution
Form Faculty program – individual
Target group Bachelor students, from second year
Admission Invitation based on study results, selection based on plan and motivation
letter
Description Students make an individual plan, which consist of two parts: a research
project they set up on their own (supervised by a tutor) and a series of
courses in a different study program than their own. End product is a paper
or presentation.
Founded 2012
Participants Unknown
Website www.ugent.be/we/nl/onderwijs/has
5.3.3 University of Antwerp
Founded in 2011, the Honours College at the University of Antwerp focuses on the
department (faculty) of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences. There
are plans to offer a university-wide honors program in Antwerp (Gazet van
Antwerpen 2012), but this has not started yet.
The goal of the Honours College involves allowing ‘talented students to reach
their maximum potential’. Each year, all students who have obtained all their
credits in their first year and scored at least ‘good’18 are invited for an informa-
tion session at the start of their second year. Interested students apply with a
cover letter describing their motivation; eventually 12 students are selected.
Candidates must be motivated, have a broad academic interest, be ambitious and
accept the challenge of doing ‘a whole lot of extra’. In their first semester, the
theme is ‘exploring scientific research’. In their second semester and following
summer vacation they undertake an individual honors research project, which is
usually conducted during an internship. During the third and fourth semesters,
students follow a series of interdisciplinary lectures and debates about science
and society and also write a paper. Finally, students develop the results they
obtained during the research project in further detail and present them in writing
or verbally. This presentation could take the form of a discipline-oriented sym-
posium or a 1-day congress, including a poster or an oral presentation, or of a
scientific article, review or protocol. Upon successful completion, participants
receive an extra certificate (Table 5.6).
Table 5.6 University of Antwerp – Honours College

Organizing University of Antwerp, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and
institution Veterinary Sciences
Target group Second-year bachelor students
Admission Invitation/application/selection
Description Each year a group of 12 students is formed which runs activities over four
semesters and one summer
Founded 2011
Participants 24 in total, 12 per year admitted
Website www.uantwerp.be/en/faculties/fbd/education/honours-college/
18
In the Flemish system of grading, students can fail, pass, or get one of three levels of distinction,
which roughly translate to good, very good and excellent. The first level of distinction (‘good’) is
required to qualify for this program.
Table 5.7 Université Métropolitaine – Honours College

Organizing Special collaborative project between KU Leuven – KULAK, UCL Mons and
institution French university PRES Université Lille Nord de France
Form Interdisciplinary program
Target group Second- and third-year bachelor students
Admission Application/selection
Description Each year a group of maximum 40 students is formed who will follow summer
school and work on a project and run activities during the academic year
Founded 2012
Participants 23 (academic year 2013–2014)
Website www.metropolitanuniversity.eu
5.3.4 Inter-university Program
The Université Métropolitaine – Honours College is an extra-curricular program

combining the development of scientific skills with discovering the borders with
other disciplines. The program includes multiple partners; KU Leuven (KULAK
campus), Université Catholique Louvain (UCL) in Mons and French university
PRES Université Lille Nord de France. Together, they started an institute called
Metropolitan University, which organizes the program. Forty spots annually exist,
10 for Mons, 10 for Leuven and 20 for Lille. Students from every discipline who are
in their second or third bachelor year can apply. Selection is based on study results,
motivation and language knowledge. Every institution organizes the selection for its
own students. After the group is formed, they kick off with a 4-day summer school.
Then they enter a ‘broadening module’. Under guidance of a professor, students
work in a group around one of the themes of the summer course with the ultimate
goal of writing a scientific article. Upon successful completion of the program, stu-
dents receive a certificate signed by the three partner institutions (Table 5.7).
We have seen that honors programs are already developed at some Belgian universi-
ties and more may follow in the coming years. We now move to the last country in
the Benelux: Luxembourg.
Literature19
ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities). (2013). World University Rankings 2013.
19
Literature 89
Brasseur, S., Defresne, F., Lecocq, C., Goldschmidt, I., Leheut, M.-F., & Van Onckelen, S. (2001).
Les enfants et les adolescents à haut potentiel: recherche-action interuniversitaire. Retrieved
from: www.enseignement.be. 10 Mar 2014.
CREF. (2014). Etudiants selon le sexe en distinguant les belges et les étrangers porteurs d’un titre
secondaire à programme belge ou étranger. Retrieved from: www.cref.be/Stat_base.htm. 10
Mar 2014.
from: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/eurydice/index.php. Data for different
countries gathered November 2013–May 2014. Last checked 22 May 2014.
Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles. (2012). Haut potentiels – accueil. Retrieved from: enseignement.
be/index.php?page=25001&navi=308&rank_page=25001. 11 Mar 2014.
Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles. (2014). Enseigement et recherché scientifique. Les indicateurs de
l’enseignement 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=26998.
10 Mar 2014.
Freeman, J. (2002a). Out-of-school provisions for the gifted and talented around the world. A
report for the department of education and skills. Part one: The research. Retrieved from:
www.joanfreeman.com/pdf/Text_part_one.pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
Furniere, A. (2014). New chair at UHasselt for study of gifted children and adults. Flanders today
24 January 2014. Retrieved from: www.flanderstoday.eu/education/new-chair-uhasselt-study-
gifted-children-and-adults. 10 Mar 2014.
Gazet van Antwerpen. (2012). UA lanceert masterclass voor uitblinkers. GVA 3/10/2012.
Retrieved from: www.gva.be/regio-antwerpen-stad/nieuw-programma-bereidt-topstudenten-
voor-op-doctoraat.aspx. 11 Mar 2014.
IBE (International Bureau of Education). (2012). World data on education – Seventh edition
2010/2011 – update 2012. Belgium – Flemish community and Belgique (Communauté française).
UNESCO documents IBE/2012/CP/WDE/BE/fl and IBE/2012/CP/WDE/BE/fr. Retrieved
from: www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/
Belgium_Flemish-Community.pdf and www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/
Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Belgium_French-Community.pdf. 8 Mar 2014.
Infolijn Onderwijs. (2014). Scholen met speciale klassen en organisaties voor hoogbegaafde leer-
lingen. Retrieved from: www.ond.vlaanderen.be/infolijn/faq/hoogbegaafdheid/. 11 Mar 2014.
OECD. (2013). PISA 2012 results. Belgium – country note. Retrieved from: www.oecd.org/pisa/
keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-belgium.pdf. 10 Mar 2014.
Parlement de la communauté Française [Belgium]. (2012). Proposition de resolution en vue de
reconnaître officiellement les besoins spécifiques des enfants à haut potentiel et d’améliorer
leur prise en charge au sein de l’enseignement. Déposée par Mme Caroline Persoons, Mm.
Didier Gosuin et Jean-Luc Crucke, 13-7-2012. Retrieved from: http://users.skynet.be/
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pdf. 10 Mar 2014.
Chapter 6
Luxembourg: Small, Multilingual
and International
Luxembourg has the highest share of students who do not speak the language of instruction
at home and the highest number of foreign languages learnt per student. The annual taught
time for foreign languages exceeds those of all other countries. (Eurydice and Eurostat
2012)
Luxembourg is a small country with just over half a million inhabitants who
speak multiple languages. Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch), the native language,
exists alongside the official governmental language French, and German which is
widely used and taught in schools (e.g., for alphabetization). This multilingualism
represents an important theme in education: over 40 % of time is spent on foreign
languages in primary education.1 According to University of Luxembourg researcher
Antoine Fischbach, ‘alphabetization happens in German as if German were the stu-
dents’ mother tongue (which it is not for about 99 %). Luxembourgish is used as a
language for “integration” and French is taught in a kind of integrative approach (not
mother tongue and not foreign language either)’.2 English is taught as a true foreign
language. While German is the main language of instruction in elementary school
and lower secondary education, most subjects in higher secondary education are
taught in French (Eurydice 2014 – overview, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg 2012).
The diversity of languages presents difficulties for all students, but especially for
immigrant children who speak yet another language at home. At the University of
Luxembourg, teaching occurs in English, French and German (Boxes 6.1 and 6.2).
The second important theme in Luxembourgish education involves international
focus. At all levels, around 50 % of pupils are foreign nationals. In many cases,
1
This is very high in comparison to other countries: the number is under 15 % in all other European
countries. See Eurydice and Eurostat 2012, p. 12. Note that foreign language is defined as a lan-
guage not usually spoken at home.
2
Personal communication from Dr. Antoine Fischbach, research scientist at University of
Luxembourg, May 2014.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_6
92 6 Luxembourg: Small, Multilingual and International
Box 6.1: Luxembourg – The Basics

• Capital: Luxembourg
• Grand-duchy
• Luxembourgish, German and French are official languages
• 43 % of inhabitants are foreign nationals
• Social-democratic/green/liberal coalition in power
Box 6.2: Education in Luxembourg

• State education free at all levels
• Compulsory from age 4 to 16
• Primary education until age 14, mostly in German
• Two types of secondary education: general and technical, mostly in French
• One university, with selective access to certain study programs
• Around half the pupils at all levels have foreign nationality
• Primary and secondary education administered by Ministry for Education
and Youth, higher education by Ministry for Higher Education and Research
these children do not have one of Luxembourg’s languages as their mother tongue,
which increases the number of languages these students must learn to at least four.
National and foreign pupils are not equally represented in the different types of
education, with foreigners overrepresented in the more vocational types (See
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enfance et da la Jeunesse 20143). To adapt
to the needs of the pupils and taking into account the small size of the country,
Luxembourg ‘developed a range of measures allowing its residents to enroll in
education and training in the Greater Region4 or in other foreign countries. Especially
in the field of higher education, a strong tradition of educational mobility has
thus been established’ (Eurydice 2014 – overview). One additional reason for this
mobility is the simple fact that no university existed until the University of
Luxembourg was founded in 2003 (see below).
Primary level, called enseignement fondamental, lasts until the age of 14. No
differentiation between pupils on the basis of academic abilities is made (see Fig. 6.1).
3
In secondary education, foreign nationals make up around 20 % of pupils in the general secondary
education and over 40 % in technical secondary education.
4
In the Greater Region of Luxembourg, a number of regions in Belgium, Germany and France
cooperate with Luxembourg on economic and cultural subjects. Apart from the Grand-Duchy of
Luxembourg, the region includes Wallonia and the German-speaking region in Belgium, the
Länder of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland in Germany and the region Lorraine in France.
6.1
Education System
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1.Zyldus - cycle 1 2.Zyldus - cycle 2 3.Zyldus - cycle 3 4.Zyldus - cycle 4
VORSCHULE - PRIMÄRSCHULE - LYCEUM - LYCEUM - UNIVERSITÄT -

PRÉSCOLAIRE ÉCOLE PRIMAIRE LYCÉE LYCÉE UNIVERSITÉ
CRÉCHE -
KRIPPE TECHNISCHES LYCEUM - TECHNISCHE AUSBILDUNG - TECHNISCHES LYCEUM -
LYCÉE TECHNIQUE REGIME TECHNIQUE LYCÉE TECHNIQUE
TECHNIKERAUSBILDUNG -
REGIME DE TECHNICIEN
BERUFSAUSBILDUNG - MEISTERPRÜFUNG -
REGIME PROFESSIONNEL BREVET DE MAITRISE
Fig. 6.1 Structure of the Luxembourgish education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
93
Secondary level (enseignement secondaire) becomes split in the general lycée,

preparing for university, and the lycée technique, mostly preparing for vocational
education.5 A number of private and international schools, mainly aimed at the
expat community in Luxembourg, also exist. Around 13 % of all pupils are in private
education, 90 % of which are foreign nationals (Ministère de l’Éducation nationale,
de l’Enfance et da la Jeunesse 2014).
State lycées generally educate for a diploma called baccalauréat, which is also
known in neighboring countries and makes admission into foreign universities easy
for students from Luxembourg.6
Luxembourg has one university taking undergraduate students within its borders:
the University of Luxembourg (UL).7 In 2003, UL formed when several smaller
institutions merged. Over half of the approximately 6,200 students come from
foreign countries and thus the university has an extensive admission scheme.8 Local
students can enter with their high school diploma, which grants general access to
higher education. However, for certain courses student numbers are restricted.
The selection process depends on the specific program. For example, a bachelor in
information science selection focuses on grades with particular emphasis on science
grades, and for a bachelor in psychology selection occurs through a personal inter-
view (see Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2.1 and University of Luxembourg 2014 for
more details) (Box 6.3).

The word ‘honors’ is not used in Luxembourg. Due to its multilingualism,
different terms are used to refer to gifted and talented pupils:
• élèves à haut potentiel (pupils with high potential)
• élèves talentueux (talented pupils)
• begabt (gifted)
• leistungsstark (‘strong achievements’)
5
The highest track of the lycée technique prepares for university as well.
6
Technical lycées have their own programs, which lead to a diploma called Brevet de Technicien
Supérieur.
7
Apart from the University of Luxembourg, there is also the Institut Universitaire International
Luxembourg (IUIL), which is not taking undergraduate students, but focuses on continuing educa-
tion and applied research. There is also a small number of foreign institutions with a campus in
Luxembourg. These include:
– the private Brussels Business Institute for Higher Education focuses on tourism and hospitality
and has a campus in the castle of Wiltz. It can award BA degrees recognized by the Luxembourg
government;
– the European Center of the American Miami University;
– a college of business belonging to the Sacred Heart University, also from the USA.
8
The University of Luxembourg actively takes part in EU exchange programs like Erasmus. Local
bachelor students are required to spend a semester abroad.
Providing special opportunities to talented students is not a focus point in

Luxembourgish education policy. Instead, policy focuses on languages and on the
relations with other countries, facilitating the flow of students to and from
Luxembourg. Excellent students can distinguish themselves by participating in
programs to study abroad. The university also has a number of other ways to stimu-
late excellent students. Since 2007, the Top Student Prizes are awarded annually to
nine of its best students. The university is divided into three departments (faculties)
and three students from each faculty are chosen.9 The prize differs each year. In
2013, it was a 3-week summer school in Asian studies at Sophia University in
Tokyo, Japan. In 2012, the best 18 students from the two previous years travelled
to China for a month-long course in Chinese language and culture (University of
Luxembourg 2013). Other awards for excellent students include scholarships to
study abroad, for example grants to study in the USA funded by the American
embassy (Box 6.4).

The key players in excellence in education in Luxembourg are:
• The Ministry for Education and Youth
• The Ministry for Higher Education and Research
• Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education
• The University of Luxembourg
The university also runs some programs for talented secondary school students.
In the Uni@Lycées program, university professors visit a school to give a lecture in
their subject and discuss it with students. To take part, students must send a moti-
vated application letter.10
Additional provisions exist for talented children in primary and secondary edu-
cation. Schools in Luxembourg ‘are allowed to individually develop special pro-
grams for groups of gifted pupils’ (Ziegler et al. 2013, p. 391). Children with good
learning abilities can start primary education a year early and/or skip classes
(Eurydice 2014, chapter 5.3). There are also some programs for children with higher
abilities, especially in science subjects. One example is the enrichment program at
a lycée in Diekirch (Lycée classique de Diekirch 2013), where smart students
receive extra challenges in- and outside the school.
9
Personal communication from Jenny Hällen Hedberg, Head of international relations at University
of Luxembourg, March 2014.
10
More information at wwwen.uni.lu/universite/science_public/uni_lycees
Lycées can also apply at the ministry for funding for an extra project outside the
regular curriculum. Such projects are called projets d’établissement. They are used
to inspire and motivate students and some of them are specifically aimed at
high-potential students (CCPE 2013).
Broadly speaking, however, no clear policy on the subject of excellence in higher
education exists.
Two recent developments may serve as a ‘trigger’ to develop policy on the issue of
excellence in education: the 2012 PISA results and the recent installation of a new
government.
Luxembourg took part in the PISA research on competences of 15-year-olds
since 2003. In all years, Luxembourg scored around or below the OECD average for
all subjects (OECD 201311). The results have prompted renewed discussion about
the multilingualism in schools where the government has been studying new policy
options (Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Formation professionnelle and
Université de Luxembourg 2013, p. 160).
At the time of writing, a new government had recently been installed in
Luxembourg, for the first time without the christian-democratic party.12 It remains
uncertain yet what consequences this will entail for policy towards higher
education.
This concludes our overview of Luxembourg, as there are no honors programs at
the single university in the country.
Concluding our discussion of the Benelux countries, we found honors education
highly developed in the Netherlands and starting to develop in Belgium. The
Netherlands and Flanders share the same language and this facilitates easy sharing
of information about the development of honors education. Also, the local culture
towards excellence seems to develop in similar ways, although government support
is mostly lacking in Flanders. In the Walloon region of Belgium and Luxembourg,
some facilities to promote talent development in compulsory education were found,
but apart from the inter-university program Université Métropolitaine, no honors
programs have developed yet.
We now move to the north of Europe, to discuss the situation in the five Nordic
countries.
11
The trend in the 2012 results is slightly upwards. The reading score improved by 16 points
compared to 2009, but is still below average.
12
The new government came into power in December 2013. Claude Meisch is the new minister for
both the Education and Youth ministry and the Higher Education and Research ministry.
Literature 97
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de l’année scolaire 2012–13 – Descriptifs succincts. Retrieved from: www.ccpe.lu/media/
pe-2012-2013.pdf. 9 Dec 2013.
Eurydice, & Eurostat. (2012). Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe 2012. Retrieved
from: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/key_data_series/143EN.pdf.
11 Dec 2013.
Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. (2012). Education et formation. Retrieved from: www.luxembourg.
public.lu/fr/societe/education-formation/index.html. 9 Dec 2013.
Lycée classique de Diekirch. (2013). Encadrement des élèves à haut potentiel. Retrieved from:
www.lcd.lu/projets/eip/. 9 Dec 2013.
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Formation professionnelle, & Université de Luxembourg.
(2013). PISA 2012 – Nationaler Bericht Luxembourg. Retrieved from: http://www.men.public.
lu/fr/publications/secondaire/etudes-internationales/pisa-2012/index.html. 8 Dec 2013.
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enfance et da la Jeunesse [Luxembourg]. (2014). Key
figures of the Luxembourgish education system. Retrieved from: http://www.men.public.lu/
catalogue-publications/systeme-educatif/statistiques-analyses/enseignement-chiffres/2012-
2013-depliant/en.pdf. 5 Mar 2014.
OECD. (2013). PISA 2012 results. Retrieved from: www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-
results.htm. 12 Dec 2013.
University of Luxembourg. (2013). An international experience for the university’s top students.
Retrieved from: http://wwwen.uni.lu/university/news/slideshow/an_international_experience_
for_the_university_s_top_students/%28language%29/eng-GB. 9 Dec 2013.
University of Luxembourg. (2014). Application – Choose bachelor. Retrieved from: http://wwwen.
uni.lu/students/application_re_registration/eu_application_choose_bachelor. 14 Jan 2014.
Ziegler, A., Stoeger, H., Harder, B., & Balestrini, D. P. (2013). Gifted education in German-
speaking Europe. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 36(3), 384–411.
13
Part III
The Nordic Countries
Iceland
Finland
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
8684
Map III.1 The Nordic countries

100 III The Nordic Countries
While many people know the term Scandinavia, the cooperating countries in the
north of Europe prefer the term ‘Nordic’. This term refers to Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, Norway and Sweden.1 All countries score high on indexes of human
development and wealth. They also have related traditions and intensive political
cooperation. The common heritage, culture and educational tradition lead to a
comparable view towards excellence, even though there are huge differences in the
development of honors education between the countries.
Common Heritage and Cooperation
The Nordic countries share a large part of their history. While the individual countries
have existed in different forms and unions for many centuries (Nordic Council
2014),2 the current division in countries was finalized only in the first decades of the
twentieth century. This common history is partly expressed in languages: Danish,
Norwegian, Swedish and to a lesser extent Icelandic are closely related.3
After World War II, the Nordic countries started intensive forms of cooperation.
They form a passport union since 1958, have a common labor market and guarantee
free movement of citizens. These practices are regulated by the Nordic Council (for
interparliamentary cooperation) and the Nordic Council of Ministers (for intergovernmental
cooperation).4 These councils make common policies and have a budget for projects
that facilitate cooperation between the countries.
Culture Towards Excellence
All the Nordic countries have a twentieth century tradition of focusing on equal
opportunities, equity and equality.5 In popular language, this egalitarianism gains
expression in the Law of Jante.6 Taken from a 1933 novel by Danish-Norwegian
1
It also refers to the autonomous regions of Ǻland, the Faeroes and Greenland, which fall outside
the scope of this research.
2
Sweden and Norway formed a united kingdom between 1814 and 1905 while Iceland was dependent
upon Denmark. Denmark, Norway and Iceland were ruled in a personal union from the sixteenth
century. And before that, in the fifteenth century all countries were united in the Kalmar Union. See
Nordic Council 2014 for more information on Nordic history.
3
While Finnish is completely different, Swedish is an official language in Finland and a compulsory
subject in schools.
4
The Nordic Council was introduced in 1952. In 1971, the Nordic Council of Ministers was
formed.
5
This can partly be explained by the strong position of socio-democratic parties in all countries.
They came up in the early twentieth century and with these parties in power, welfare state provisions
were developed throughout the twentieth century.
6
The Law of Jante is Janteloven in Danish and Norwegian and Jantelagen in Swedish.
III The Nordic Countries 101
author Aksel Sandemose (Sandemose 1970 [1933]),7 the concept suggests that the
culture within Scandinavian countries discourages people from promoting their
own achievements over those of others (Scott 2013, see also Persson et al. 2000,
p. 718). In the novel, ten rules are mentioned that all basically amount to the same:
‘you are not to think you are special or that you are any better than us’. This idea
strongly influences the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian societies and becomes
visible in the university system.8 Different interviewees spontaneously referred to it
when asked about the local culture towards excellence.
Swedish gifted education researcher Roland Persson thinks these ideas go back
even further. Referring mostly to Denmark, Norway and Sweden he states that ‘the
strict notion of equality and social collectivism at all levels of society, is best under-
stood as an inherent cultural characteristic in which certain political ideals have
merged with indigenous traditions and sentiments, which draw on historical facts
and events dating from early medieval times and possibly even earlier’ (Persson
2009, p. 4).
The situation for Iceland and especially Finland presents itself differently, due to
uniqueness in tradition: ‘Individuality and freedom of choice are emphasized more
strongly in the Finnish school system than in any other Scandinavian country’
(Persson et al. 2000, p. 720).
However, the principle of equality is very visible in the structure of the education
systems in all Nordic countries. Two important common features are:
1. No tuition fees are charged: (state) education is offered free at all levels, including
higher education;
2. Compulsory education is organized in only one type of school (single structure
education). A government-funded comprehensive school is available9 for primary
and lower secondary education. This school runs from age 6 or 7 to age 15 or 16.
After this, upper secondary education is offered at different levels. The rules
governing admission to higher education differ between the countries.
7
Sandemose was born in Denmark and has a Danish father and Norwegian mother. He migrated to
Norway in 1930 and there the book was first published in 1933. It was later reprinted with a new
foreword by the author.
8
Recently, German university professor Linda Maria Koldau published a trilogy called ‘Jante
University. Episodes from Life behind the Wall’, giving a (fictional) insight in what university
life is like in a new public management university based on this law. The book is based on her
experiences at a Danish university.
9
In all Nordic countries private education also exists alongside the state system, but everywhere the
great majority of pupils attend state schools. More info about private education follows in the
country chapters.
Nordic Collaboration in Talent Development
Education is one of the areas of cooperation in the Nordic Council. At the higher
education level, this takes shape in the Nordic Master programs. Since 2007, Nordic
higher education institutions can apply for a subsidy to develop a master program
which includes university courses from at least three countries (see Nordic Council
of Ministers 201410).
There has also been some effort to develop Nordic cooperation in the field of
talent development. Denmark initiated a Nordic talent seminar in November
2007. At that time, the Danish organizers concluded that ‘there are many enthu-
siasts and local talent development projects in the North, but none of the other
Nordic countries have yet developed a formal talent development policy’
(Folketinget 2008).11
In recent years, Denmark has been at the forefront among the Nordic countries
in talent development. In August 2013, researchers interested in talent support and
excellence in education in the Nordic countries gathered in Denmark and started the
Nordic Talent Network. They wrote a manifesto stating the need to make provisions
for the talented in the education system in the Nordic countries (Nordisk
Talentnetværk 2013).12 The network creates possibilities for more effective lobby-
ing. In Boxed text III.1 below, network coordinator Uffe Sveegaard elaborates on
the background of the network.
Box III.1: ‘Denmark Has a Ten Year Lead on Talent Development

in the Nordic Countries’
Interview Uffe Sveegaard, coordinator Nordic Talent Network, based at
ScienceTalenter, Denmark
‘In the Nordic countries we have a tradition of being social-democratic
countries where equity has been the leading factor. You couldn’t make special
provisions for the very skilled ones [in education]. That would be considered
very wrong. Of course you could do that within arts, or football. In sports,
everybody knows and accepts that in order to be part of the national team you
need to be very skilled. And if you go to the Royal Conservatory to play the
violin, you are of course expected to receive an elite training. So everyone
agrees to make provisions for the very talented in arts and sports, but never in
(continued)
10
These are English-language programs covering at least 120 ECTS.
11
The seminar was organized on the initiative of the Danish Ministry of Education, supported by
the Nordic Council of Ministers.
12
The full manifest is published in Danish only.
III The Nordic Countries 103
the education system. The [intellectually] skilled children in Denmark were

supposed to manage on their own, because it was said that intelligent children
are never bored. (…) That has been the attitude. The same goes for the other
Nordic countries.’
‘But in 2004, Denmark was hit by globalization. Everybody in the political
system was suddenly saying: “what are we going to do about this global com-
petition?” The Danish ministry of Education then launched a task force to
look into provisions for talented children. It turned out that nothing happened.
Then the minister launched TalentCamp05. He invited 48 experts within edu-
cation, business, arts, sports and so on to be together for 48 hours and have
brainstorms about making provisions for the talented and gifted. After Talent
Camp 05, (…) more and more politicians and teachers in Denmark have come
to the conclusion that you really need to do something for the very skilled and
talented. It is a slow turn, but now in Denmark we are the pioneers for the
Nordic countries for this agenda.’
‘Now we are also trying to launch a Nordic cooperation [The Nordic Talent
Network]. It is a huge task (…). In August 2013 we had fifty to sixty people
from the Nordic countries here to talk about talent development. This shows
that they are aware of this agenda and want to adopt it. (…) I think Norway,
Sweden and Finland will slowly come along. They are now where we [in
Denmark] were ten years ago.’
In the next chapters, the differences between the Nordic countries in the
development of talent in general and honors programs in particular will become
clear. We first look at the country that is taking the lead in these developments:
Denmark.
Literature13
Folketinget. (2008). Redegørelse om talentudvikling til Folketingets Uddannelsesudvalg. Retrieved

from: www.ft.dk/samling/20081/almdel/udu/bilag/104/625768/index.htm. 10 Jan 2014.
Nordic Council. (2014). About Nordic Cooperation. Retrieved from: www.norden.org/en/about-
nordic-co-operation. 12 Jan 2014.
Nordic Council of Ministers. (2014). About the Nordic Master Programme. Retrieved from: www.
norden.org/en/about-nordic-co-operation/areas-of-co-operation/higher-education/projekt-1/
nordic-master-program/about-the-nordic-master-programme. 12 Jan 2014.
13
Nordisk Talentnetværk. (2013). Manifest for det nordiske talentsamarbejde i uddannelsessystemet.

Retrieved from: www.sciencetalenter.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/partnerskab/Manifest_for_
det_nordiske_talentsamarbejde.pdf. 11 Nov 2013.
Persson, R. S. (2009). Gifted education in Europe. In B. A. Kerr (Ed.), Encyclopedia of giftedness,
creativity, and talent (Vol. 1). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Retrieved from: http://hj.
diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:233187/FULLTEXT01.pdf. 18 Dec 2013.
Sandemose, A. (1970 [1933]). En flyktning krysser sitt spor. Espen Arnakkes kommentarer til
Janteloven. Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard) (4th print of this version with extra fore-
word, which was first printed in 1962. Original version first printed in 1933).
Scott, M. (2013, December 18). Signs of Cracks in the Law of Jante. New York Times. Retrieved
from: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/signs-of-cracks-in-the-law-of-jante/?ref=
technology&_r=0. 9 Jan 2014.
Chapter 7
Denmark: Strong Focus on Talent
Development
Education seems almost to have attained the status of a national religion in this country. The
Danes cannot provide enough of it or get enough of it. (NCEE 2006, p. 2)
The Danes are prepared to spend a lot of money on an extensive education sys-
tem. In 2010, Denmark used 8.8 % of GDP on education – together with Norway
the most of all OECD countries (OECD 2013, p. 218). As a result, Denmark has a
well-educated population. But another result is that Danish students traditionally
enter the labor market at a relatively high age (Undervisningsministeriet 2010,
p. 91). The average age of students starting a university bachelor was 24.9 years in
2008, while the average age to finish a bachelor was 29.5 years.1 The Danish gov-
ernment wants young people to start their working careers earlier, they achieve this
(among other things) by putting more focus on talent development. Focus on this
issue has increased greatly in the last decade, although it is not evenly distributed
across the educational levels (Box 7.1).
The average age of students starting a university bachelor was 24.9 years
The basic structure of the Danish education system is quite simple (see Fig. 7.1).
At the age of six, children go to school and start with a compulsory preschool class
year.2 Afterwards, the integrated primary and lower secondary school (grundskole)
lasts 10 years. Nine years are compulsory and the tenth grade is optional
1
Ibid. In Denmark it is quite common to take a ‘break’ between upper secondary and higher
education. On average, a student completing a master’s degree has used 4.3 years of extra time
(see also Sirius Programma 2012).
2
This is known as 0th grade.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_7
106 7 Denmark: Strong Focus on Talent Development
Box 7.1: Denmark – The Basics

• Capital: Copenhagen
• 5 regions, 98 municipalities
• Social-democratic coalition in power
(Undervisningsministeriet 2010, p. 63). Most children go to a municipality-run

school, known as folkeskole.4 There is a national exam at the end of grade nine of
grundskole, and another one at the end of grade ten. It is not compulsory to partici-
pate in a ‘leaving examination’ as it is locally known, but nearly everyone does
because exam results show a successful completion of the compulsory school period
(Box 7.2).
Box 7.2: Education in Denmark

• Free at all levels
• Ten years compulsory from age six
• Integrated primary and lower secondary school in grundskole
• Four types of upper secondary school
• Four types of higher education institutions
• Higher education admission based on grades
• Ministry of Education responsible for primary and secondary education;
ministry of Higher Education and Science responsible for higher education
At the end of grundskole, pupils are around 16 years old. Most of them then
move on to one of the four types of upper secondary education,5 which usually lasts
3
About half of the children elect to take 10th grade, while others mostly go on to upper secondary
education after 9th grade.
4
Apart from the municipal folkeskole, pupils can also attend private and/or independent basic
schools, generally called friskole. These schools generally offer all grades. For the grades 8–10,
pupils can also choose private ‘continuation schools’, often boarding schools. In the year 2008,
there were 704,000 pupils in basic school. Of these, 82 % attended a municipal basic school, and
14 % the private basic schools, while 4 % attended a ‘continuation school’ (Undervisingsministeriet
2010, p. 6).
5
The four levels of upper secondary education are: Gymnasium (STX) offering 3 years of general
education which can be entered after 9 years of basic school; HHX (Higher Commercial
Examination Programme), 3 years after grade 9, focus on economic subjects; HTX (Higher
Technical Examination Programme), 3 years after grade 9, focus on technical subjects and finally
7.1
Education System
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
VUGGESTUER BØRNEHAVER FOLKESKOLE / GRUNDSKOLE UNIVERSITET

ALDERSINTEGREREDE INSTITUTIONER
GYMNASIUM PROFESSIONSHØJSKOLE
HANDELSSKOLE / TEKNISK SKOLE ERHVERVSAKADEMI
ERHVERVSSKOLE
Fig. 7.1 Structure of the Danish education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
107
3 years. At the end of the last year, pupils take examinations in Danish and other
subjects studied at the highest level.6 Students who pass these exams successfully
possess the basic qualifications to go on to higher education.
A secondary education diploma does not guarantee a place in higher education.
Admission depends on the number of ‘student seats’ available. For every study pro-
gram at a higher education institution, a maximum number of students is set. For
some studies this number is decided centrally by the ministry,7 for others it is set by
the institution. Admittance is coordinated nationally through the agency Optagelse.8
They process all applications and the students with the best Grade Point Average
(GPA) get placed first. A cut-off mark (the minimum GPA needed to get in) is set
for each study program in each institution. This can differ greatly, for many studies
all applicants find seats or are ‘taken up’ (as it is called locally), while for popular
studies the cut-off mark may be close to the maximum possible GPA. Students can
get some idea of their competitiveness for a certain study by looking at the pub-
lished cut-off marks of previous years (Ministeriet for Forskning, Innovation og
Videregående Uddannelser [Denmark] 2013).9 For some studies additional criteria
are also set by the HEIs, such as prerequisite subjects, minimum marks in these
subjects, or work experience (Nuffic 2013, p. 8).
Higher education in Denmark is free, although students have to pay for books
and teaching materials. Students may apply for government support grants, known
as Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (SU). These grants are quite generous, compared to
most other countries.10 In 2011, around 4.7 % of Denmark’s population was in ter-
tiary education, which is slightly above EU average.11
The Danish higher education system has developed rapidly in the last decade.
The Bologna Process has been combined with extensive reform of the whole
tertiary education sector (Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher
Education 2012; Nuffic 2013). The higher education landscape now consists of
four types of institutions (Danske Universiteter 2013a, b; see Box 7.3). The
Danish research universities generally have a good reputation and feature quite
HF (Higher Preparatory Examination). This is a 2-year program that can be entered after complet-
ing 10 years of basic school.
6
Subjects can be followed at three levels: A, B and C. The level here corresponds to the number of
hours of education received in the subject. A-level refers to the highest number of hours.
7
Courses with centrally decided numbers of seats include the medical, veterinary, dentistry, and
nursing schools (Undervisningsministeriet 2010, p. 16).
8
Optagelse is a joint service by the ministries for Education and Science, Innovation and Higher
Education. It literally means ‘taking up’.
9
A complete overview of the number of students seats and cut-off marks for all higher education
study programs in Denmark is published each year by the ministry on its website, so that students
can get an idea of their chances in applying for a certain place. This publication is known as
Hovedtal.
10
All students receive the same Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (SU). For students living on their own,
aged 20 and older, this constitutes a monthly income of just over 5,800 DKK, around 780 euros
(amounts for 2014).
11
See Fig. 2.1 in Chap. 2 for a comparison of all countries in this book.
prominently on international rankings.12 At the research university level, it is not

common to quit studying after receiving a bachelor diploma. Most students
continue in a master program.13
Box 7.3: Danish Higher Education Landscape

8 Research universities (5 general and 3 specialized);
8 University Colleges (Professionshøjskole), mainly offering professionally
oriented bachelor programs;
13 Specialized universities in arts, music, architecture, etc.;
8 Academies of Professional Higher Education (Erhvervsakademi) – short-
cycle higher education that will lead to special diploma not equivalent to
bachelor
The Danish culture traditionally focuses on equivalence, as shown in the Law of

Jante which is relevant to all Nordic countries but is based on a description of a
small Danish town.14
Specifically for Denmark, the ideas of nineteenth century philosopher NFS
Grundtvig are still influential in shaping the line of thinking in basic education and
the general pedagogical culture. In his time, education in Denmark was reserved for
the elite. Grundtvig opposed this and established a number of folk high schools,
focusing on freedom, practical skills and equality. Danes embraced these ideas
enthusiastically, and education has remained very important ever since. In twentieth
century Denmark, social-democratic values found their way into the education
system. The system, based on inclusiveness, did not provide special opportunities
for talented students.
12
Copenhagen University is the best scoring university on the Shanghai Ranking at place 42, but it
only scores place 150 on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2013–2014.
Here, the Technical University of Denmark scores highest at place 117. Aarhus University also
features in the top 150 of both lists.
13
In 2012, 84.5 % of research university bachelor graduates who had completed the first cycle
programme (bachelor) continued in a second cycle program (master) and 11 % of second cycle
graduates eventually enter into a third cycle program (Ph.D.) (European Higher Education
Authority 2012, p. 5–6). This can be explained partly by tradition: before the introduction of the
bachelor/master structure, the lowest level of research university diploma in Denmark was equiva-
lent to a master diploma.
14
See chapter Nordic countries.
In the twenty-first century, the concepts of excellence and talent have become
more accepted. Several reasons for this development can be identified. First,
Denmark has an ageing population and therefore it is important to get young people
to enter the labor market at an earlier age. A second development involves Denmark’s
increasing awareness of its global position. In 2006, the government adopted a strat-
egy to ‘make Denmark a leading knowledge society with strong competitiveness
and strong cohesion’ (IBE 2012). The basic structure of the education system was
not changed and its aim was still inclusiveness, but for the first time the government
explicitly stated the system should also ‘foster talent’.
Third, in 2001, a new government came in, without the social-democrats. The
new coalition was more open to discussion about talent and in 2005, the ministry of
Education officially called talent development a priority (Folketinget 2008). The
ministry also hosted TalentCamp05, where 48 participants gathered for 48 h to
generate proposals on how talent could be promoted in the educational system in
Denmark. Some ideas were immediately put into practice, such as the Academy for
Talented Youth and the ScienceTalenter program.15 In the aftermath, experts from
the Netherlands and Germany were brought to Denmark to discuss ‘good practices’.
In 2006, the government established a Globalisation Fund. An amount of around 3.4
million euros was set aside for the development of elite programs and modules for
excellent students in the master phase of their education (see Hermann et al. 2011,
p. 28).16 At that time, the first excellence programs at university level started.
Two years later, the minister of Education established an official working group
on talent. This talentarbejdsgruppe prepared an extensive report (Hermann et al.
2011), published in April 2011. Several recommendations were made for talent
development at all levels of education. Publication of the report put the subject high
on the political agenda. In the same year, the government made honors education an
official goal and proposed to make special honors degrees possible (Regeringen
2011, p. 11).17 Another proposal had already created talent and elite classes in
primary and secondary education (Regeringen 2010) (Box 7.4).18
15
Following TalentCamp05, 26 projects were supported from the ministry’s ‘talent pool’ of ten
million kroner (approximately 1.4 million euros).
16
The amount available was 25 million Danish kroner. Selection rounds resulted in 8 full elite
master programs (120 ECTS), 20 elite modules of 30 ECTS and 4 special elite modules of 30–70
ECTS focusing on cooperation between universities and the private sector (Sirius Programma
2012). At the same time, universities also established Elite programs themselves.
17
‘Establishment of elite programs designed to give the most talented students the opportunity to
replace courses in their ordinary bachelor-master with particularly demanding and challenging
modules. Students can follow individual educational elements at the elite level, which are inte-
grated with and/or support ordinary undergraduate and graduate modules, and lead to a special
honours degree’. The Netherlands and especially Utrecht were named as an example for Denmark.
18
This was worked out in the proposal ‘Professionalism and Freedom’ (Regeringen 2010). Elite
classes (eliteidrætsklasser) are specifically meant for sports talents. Talent classes can be formed
on the following principles: ‘Basic school [folkeskole] will help to spot, develop and challenge
students with special talents. The goal of having good conditions for particularly talented young
people is to elevate the overall level in the school. (….) Talent classes should be open to anyone
who wants it. It is not exclusionary’ (Regeringen 2010, p. 29, own translation).

• The ministries of Education and of Higher Education and Science
• Members of the government’s talentarbejdsgruppe, a working group on
talent that produced a landmark 2011 report. The group was disbanded but
former members are still considered experts
• The Nordic Talent Network – Nordic network for improving education for
talented students
• Gifted Children – nationwide organization for (parents of) gifted
children
• ScienceTalenter – nationwide organization to promote excellence in sci-
ence among young people
• Academy for Talented Youth – nationwide program for talented 16–19
year-olds
In late 2011, the government changed again. A new center-left minority coalition
formed, which put less focus on talent and excellence programs. Still, the agenda of
talent development did receive support. According to former head of the
talentarbejdsgruppe Stefan Hermann, support continued because ideas were not
controversial; ‘most of the recommendations were generally speaking good things
to do if you want to improve the quality of education’. However, Hermann remains
critical about the distribution of talent development programs. ‘I think the culture
has changed and there is much greater stress on these issues, but it is unequally
distributed. It is very easy for a wealthy traditionally very strong university to
develop such programs, but for a university college where you do not have a long
tradition or consensus it is difficult’.19
Following the slow change of culture described above, there has also been an
increase in provisions for talented or gifted children at primary and secondary
school level. There are now special schools for gifted children, called Mentiqa
schools.20 Other initiatives include individual competitions such as national
Olympiads and the Young Scientists21 program.
19
See full interview Stefan Hermann in Appendix 4.
20
Mentiqa schools are especially aimed at gifted students who do not feel understood,
respected or challenged enough in the school environment. There are Mentiqa schools in
Odense, northern Jutland and Copenhagen (Atheneskolen). On the website of Gifted Children,
an overview of schools offering special programs for talented students throughout Denmark
can be found.
21
Unge Forskere, see ungeforskere.danishsciencefactory.dk.
Two programs are especially focused on linking talented youth to higher

education:
• Academy for Talented Youth (Akademiet for Talentfulde Unge). ATU is a 2-year
co-curricular program for talented youth in Danish upper secondary schools.
It intends to challenge students by holding workshops, teaching them and invit-
ing them to visit companies.22
• ScienceTalenter program for talented students age 12–20. They have camps and
special educational opportunities for science talents.23
There are also special talent programs at upper secondary schools themselves
(see for example Niels Brock Gymnasium 201424) and ‘linking’ programs run by
the universities (see for example University of Copenhagen 201425).
Talent development is now firmly established on the agenda of both the Danish
government and the HEIs, although focus is stronger at the universities than at the
university colleges. Three developments can influence the near future of talent sup-
port and excellence programs in Denmark.
First, the PISA report presented unsatisfactory results for the government, espe-
cially the fact that relatively few Danish students perform excellent (OECD 2011,
p. 26–27).26 Stefan Hermann commented in the media and said that Danish culture
had produced this result. Changing it would be a long-term issue, he said: ‘It is
about making Danish educational culture far more ambitious – not just for the mid-
dle group but also for the most talented’ (Jessen and Gunge 2013, own translation)
(Box 7.5).
22
See interview coordinator Nynne Afzelius in Appendix 4.
23
See interview with coordinator Uffe Sveegaard in Appendix 4.
24
The Niels Brock Gymnasium in Copenhagen for example works together with Copenhagen
University and others to offer Master class courses to talented pupils.
25
For example, the University of Copenhagen runs the Junior Researchers project. Pupils at upper
secondary level can take part in this 1-year project, where they immerse in a certain subject and
make a proposal for a research project. All pupils involved have a 2-day meeting at the university.
In four categories, 12 proposals are selected and presented at a final seminar. The two education
ministers present the winners in each category, who receive money to carry out their proposal.
26
In PISA 2009, only 4.7 % scored in the top two levels of the reading test, compared to a 7.6 %
OECD average (OECD 2011, p. 26). The OECD researchers concluded that ‘put simply, there are
too few Danish students demonstrating competence on the more challenging tasks and problems in
the international tests’ (OECD 2011, p. 27).

‘Talent’ is the preferred term in Denmark, ‘honors’ is rarely used.
Local terms used to refer to (programs for) talented and gifted students
include:
• talentcenter (talent centre)
• dygtige elever (skilled, clever pupils)
• børn med særlige forudsætninger (literally: children with special qualifica-
tions/requirements)
• højtbegave (highly gifted)
• eliteuddannelse (elite education)
• eliteforløb (elite programs)
Second, there are important legal developments. In January 2014, the govern-
ment proposed a number of rule changes, giving talents more legal room (Ministry
of Higher Education and Science 2014). The bill includes four initiatives:
• the introduction of distinction in diplomas, enabling institutions to award honors
degrees;
• recognition of extracurricular (or co-curricular) activities in diplomas;
• removal of the maximum number of ECTS a student can obtain in a diploma,
enabling talented students to take more courses; and
• more possibilities for ‘early start’. Secondary and vocational students should
have the option to take higher education subjects. They should also receive merit
for their efforts, and if they already meet the necessary requirements, could later
receive admittance to that particular or related program.27
The law has been passed in June 2014 (Folketinget 2014) and has come into
effect in the academic year 2014–2015.
Finally, the formation of a network is important. The Nordic Talent Network
creates a platform for more effective lobbying and might form a discussion partner
for government.
While there is no indication that talent support efforts will be nationally coordi-
nated in the near future, existing programs at the different HEIs generally flourish.
Development of more programs could therefore spontaneously initiate from the
institutional side.
27
See Ministry of Higher Education and Science 2014 for a press release on the proposal. It is sup-
ported by government and some opposition parties.
7.4 Honors Programs per Higher Education Institution
Six HEIs in Denmark offer honors programs. All HEIs with programs are shown on
Map 7.1. Most programs are found at research universities and, in particular, at the
specialized universities Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and Technical
University of Denmark (DTU). DTU is the only HEI to offer an honors program
across all master programs. Other programs are specific to one study program or
department.
The development of honors programs has been influenced by the policy on ‘Elite
Master programs’. From 2006 to 2012, Elite Master programs at research university
level were established under a nationwide government-supported program. The
policy was aimed at institutions, which could turn an existing master program into
an Elite Master by offering extra opportunities to students and providing higher-level
teaching. Government subsidy ran until 2012 and was discontinued under the new
government. Since then, some universities have continued the Elite Masters, while
others stopped.28
8684
SWEDEN
DENMARK
Aarhus
Copenhagen DTU
CBS
UCL Roskilde
SDU
Map 7.1 Danish higher

education institutions with GERMANY
honors programs, 2014
28
For example, Aalborg University was the first Danish university to offer elite programs at the
master level in 2006 (Andersen n.d.). Students could either take a full master’s degree or just a
single semester on the elite programme. These Elite Master programs are no longer specially rec-
ognized as such. Another example is the University of Copenhagen: they included the Copenhagen
Masters of Excellence Program (COME) in its strategic goals for the period 2006–2012. Its goal
was to establish 15–20 Elite Master programs. In 2009, eight programs were launched. However,
when the subsidy was revoked, the program was discontinued.
7.4 Honors Programs per Higher Education Institution 115
Table 7.1 Honors programs at universities and university colleges in Denmark

Honors
No. of students, education
Higher education institution Webpage 2013a offer
General universities
University of Copenhagen www.ku.dk 38,181 No
Aarhus University www.au.dk 34,107 Yes
University of Southern Denmark (SDU) www.sdu.dk 20,378 Yes
Aalborg University www.aau.dk 17,255 No
Roskilde University www.ruc.dk 7,813 Yes
Specialized universities
Copenhagen Business School (CBS) www.cbs.dk 16,499 Yes
Technical University of Denmark (DTU) www.dtu.dk 5,897 Yes
IT-University of Copenhagen www.itu.dk 1,874 No
University colleges (professionshøjskole)
VIA www.viauc.dk 19,206 No
Metropolitan www.phmetropol.dk 10,395 No
UCC www.ucc.dk 9,743 No
Northern Denmark www.ucn.dk 8,622 No
Zealand www.ucsj.dk 7,793 No
Lillebaelt (UCL) www.ucl.dk 6,816 Yes
South Denmark www.ucsyd.dk 6,124 No
School of Media and Journalism www.dmjx.dk 2,034 No
Total 212,737
a
Source: Statistics Denmark 2014
To compile this table, first the websites of all higher education institutions were searched with
keywords. Then they were all approached by e-mail. All institutions replied
Some university colleges offer extra opportunities to their students, such as sum-
mer schools (in which no regular credits can be obtained),29 special English-language
programs30 or new forms of education that integrate different subjects.31 Sometimes
university colleges specifically target ‘talents’ in marketing efforts for a certain study
program. However, most of these programs do not have special admission criteria to
identify the talented and motivated students and are therefore not included in Table 7.1.
29
For example, there is a summer school for motivated students at Metropolitan University College
in Copenhagen. Summer schools in most European countries refer to extra programs in which
students participate voluntarily and for which no regular study credits can be scored. Sometimes,
special certificates are awarded to successful participants. Often, teaching staff also participates
voluntarily.
30
At Zealand University College, a special study program in International teacher education was
developed. This is branded as a ‘talent line’ in marketing materials and taught 100 % in English,
but the admission procedure is the same as for the ordinary teacher education program.
31
At UCC University College, in 2013 a special science profile “Advanced science teacher educa-
tion” (ASTE) was started, where students will get an education covering all science subjects (math,
biology, physics, chemistry and geography).
One example not fitting our definition of an honors program, but worth mention-
ing is the new ‘3 + 5 program’ at the University of Copenhagen, which started in
September 2014. Participants integrate their MSc and Ph.D. into one five-year
scholarship-supported program.32
In Table 7.1, findings for all universities and university colleges are summarized.
7.4.1 Aarhus University
At Aarhus University, talent development is an official priority, although implemen-

tation occurs primarily at the Ph.D. level. The university has two Elite Master pro-
grams and participates in a number of international joint degree programs, including
the Erasmus Mundus program. A pilot honors project is organized for undergradu-
ate students in Physics and Astronomy. The program only started in 2013, and is
still under development. The program’s goal involves making sure that ‘challenges
exist also for the most talented students and that they have a good chance to further
develop their skills, competences, and qualifications’. All students follow all the
regular courses and the ‘talentforløb’ is a 20 % supplement, consisting of individual
modules in different forms. While regular courses are taught in Danish, this pro-
gram is in English (Table 7.2).
7.4.2 University of Southern Denmark
At the time of writing, the University of Southern Denmark was planning to offer a
new talent program in the near future, but was waiting for the government plans to
create more room for talent development to be put into law.33 In the planned
Table 7.2 Aarhus University – Talentforløb Physics and Astronomy

Organizing institution Aarhus University, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Target group Bachelor students in first year (pilot phase)
Admission Signing up/application for later phase
Description Students follow individual extra modules (up to six per year)
in English. In later stages, they get associated with a research group
Founded Summer 2013 (pilot phase)
Participants Around ten students per module
Website None yet
32
Personal communication from Anne Mette Schaffalitzky, central PhD coordinator at University
of Copenhagen (February 2014).
33
See description of proposals under ‘new developments’ above.
Table 7.3 University of Southern Denmark – research in corporate communication

Organizing International Business Communication Studies, Faculty of Humanities,
institution University of Southern Denmark
Target group Master students
Description Six-month module which includes special classes and doing research at a
selected company, in order to familiarize the student with research put into
practice
Founded 2010
Participants 50 per year
Website www.sdu.dk/Uddannelse/Kandidat/IVK_elite
program, students will be able to choose some higher level courses from the second
year up. There will also be a possibility for students to have an oral defense of their
bachelor thesis, and to act as opponents on other students’ bachelor theses. In total,
this will amount to an extra 30 ECTS (Christensen 2013). Students are supposed to
do the extra work on top of their regular program and not take more time for their
studies. The exact details are not yet known.34
The university already offers an elite module in International Business
Communication. Explicit goals are to provide students work experience at selected
companies, and give them insight in research at a university in order to for example
continue doing research towards a Ph.D. (Syddansk Universitet 2014, own transla-
tion) (Table 7.3).
7.4.3 Roskilde University
Since 2012, Roskilde University offers ‘languages profiles’ to talented students in

bachelor programs in humanities or social sciences. Students entering this program
follow co-curricular or extracurricular activities supporting their competences in
and use of relevant literature in a third language (apart from Danish and English).
At the time of writing, French, Spanish and German language profiles are offered.
The program occurs in the first three semesters of the bachelor phase. The profiles
are seen as ‘an innovative way of combining language and culture learning with the
general undergraduate study. And they are a central part of Roskilde University’s
internationalization strategy’ (Table 7.4).
34
Personal communication from Martin Svensson, Head of Department, Institut for Matematik og
Datalogi, Syddansk Universitet, March 2014.
Table 7.4 Roskilde University – language profile

Organizing institution Roskilde University
Form Disciplinary program, for all bachelor students in humanities or
social sciences
Target group Bachelor students
Admission Application/motivation letter
Description Students follow activities supporting their competences in and use
of relevant literature in a third language
Founded 2012
Participants 30–40 in total
Website www.ruc.dk/uddannelse/bachelor/bachelor-med-saerlig-sprogprofil/
7.4.4 Copenhagen Business School
The Copenhagen Business School (CBS or Handelshøjskolen in Danish) runs some

highly prestigious and selective study programs that are still considered regular edu-
cation, but it also has a number of programs that can be defined as honors education
(See Sirius Programma 2012, p. 8–935). Selection for some study programs is very
tough. The maximum GPA in Denmark is 12. In 2013, cut-off GPA for CBS’ most
prestigious bachelor program, the BSc in International Business, was 11.9 (CBS
2014a). Master degree programs at CBS are usually also very selective and some are
advertised as ‘elite’ programs, such as the Elite Advanced Economics & Finance
Master’s degree program (CBS 2014b36).
Groups of selected students (undergraduate and graduate) can also enter interna-
tional case competitions. The exact form varies, but in general teams compete
against international schools to analyze and solve a business case.37 CBS itself
organizes the CBS Case Competition, which is well-known internationally. In 2013,
it was won by a team from the National University of Singapore.38
Within the already highly selective BSc program in International Business, two
honors programs stand out: the GLOBE program and the EngAGE program. The
GLOBE program focuses on international education (CBS 2014c), while the
EngAGE (Engaged Applied Global Education) program aims to ‘equip selected
students with the necessary skills to enter the workforce in a high quality job after 3
years of university education’ (CBS 2014d). This program is developed with partner
35
A delegation from the Dutch Sirius program visited CBS in 2012 and described some programs
in its report.
36
This programme is designed for students ‘who have demonstrated particular skills and interest in
analytical and quantitative economics and finance’. The programme collaborates with ‘some of the
most prominent Danish firms in their respective industries and offers external mentors for the
students’. Twenty-five students are admitted each year.
37
Teams receive the business case and are then sequestered from the other students for anywhere
from 24 to 60 h on-site - even longer if the research is done ahead of time off-site. They analyze
the case and make a plan to resolve the issues, which is then judged by a jury.
38
See www.casecompetition.com for more information.
Table 7.5 Copenhagen Business School – GLOBE program

Organizing Department of International Business, Copenhagen Business School, the
institutions Chinese University of Hong Kong and Kenan-Flagler Business School at
the University of North Carolina (USA)
Form Disciplinary international program
Description Three participating institutions each select 18 students, who then form
one class. In two semesters, the class follows courses at each of the
participating schools
Founded 2006
Website www.cbs.dk/globe
Table 7.6 Copenhagen Business School – EngAGE program

Organizing Department of International Business, Copenhagen Business School
institution
Form Disciplinary program with business involvement
Target group Application in second semester bachelor program
Description Partner companies of EngAGE work closely with one to five students and
take on a mentoring role that will develop the students’ business skills
over three semesters and prepare them for a final semester-long
internship facilitated by the company
Founded 2012
Website www.cbs.dk/en/study/bachelor/bsc-in-international-business/engage
companies in line with government policy to have Danes start their working career
at an earlier age. The goal of EngAGE involves having a maximum of 10 % of stu-
dents following a master program after completion of the program; instead, they are
supposed to start their working career. Alternatively, they can follow a master pro-
gram later in their career, sponsored by the company they then work for (Sirius
Programma 2012, p. 9). In September 2014, the EngAGE program was under review
and its continuation was uncertain (Tables 7.5 and 7.6).
7.4.5 Technical University of Denmark

7.4.5.1 General
The Danske Tekniske Universitet (DTU) has an extensive offer in honors education,
focused on the master phase, to the extent that honors programs exist in every MSc
program. Here, ‘elite students have access to a particularly challenging course of
studies. It is estimated that only 10 % of the MSc students will be qualified for
Honors Programmes’ (DTU 2013). Participating students get a personal tutor, make
an individual study plan and travel abroad. To gain admission, candidates must have
completed their BSc at excellent level. They must then write a personal essay and
are assessed in an interview. Students who are admitted, are evaluated at the end of
each term. To remain in the program, they must keep on scoring at excellent level
and complete their individual plan.
7.4.5.2 Specific Programs
At undergraduate level, the department of systems biology focuses on talent devel-

opment. It has created the Eduforce program and founded/established Biotech
Academy. Through Eduforce, talented university students are hired to teach talented
secondary school students. It is not directly linked to the students’ academic major
study program, but draws on the leadership skills, teaching abilities, and peer men-
toring qualities of upper-level students. University students get paid and employ-
ment commitments exist on a mouth-to-mouth basis. It is not an honors program
according to our definition, but it provides clear advantages for talented students (on
their CV) and for the department (having great ambassadors).
Biotech Academy is a program in which talented students develop teaching
materials. This highly prestigious program is run completely by students them-
selves, with the department serving as facilitator. More information is in Box 7.6
(Table 7.7).
Box 7.6: ‘It Has to Be Student-Driven’

Interview Lene Krøl Andersen, Head of talent development, DTU Systems
Biology
What do you do in Biotech Academy?
‘The idea is that students make teaching materials for high schools within
the area that they are interested in. For this, they attract their own funding
from companies. It is all student-driven. We at the institute offer support.’
I can imagine the students are really good ambassadors for you.
‘Yes, they are. And they are also good ambassadors for themselves. The
companies love them. Because they know they are trained in negotiations, in
expressing themselves, selling their ideas. They really go the top. One student
developed a sort of virtual laboratory. The government supported it and it is
now freely available to all high school students in Denmark.’
(continued)
How does it work if you want to get in?

‘You have to be spotted by the people in Biotech Academy. They talk to
professors and ask them who are the best students and then they follow them
and ask them for interviews. Individuals are also asked mouth-to-mouth. But
it depends on how the chairman wants to do it. It develops all the time, because
the new people in the group all have new ideas.’
Is it important that the program is student-driven?
‘We have to have it student-driven. I think talent development is all about
making it on your own. In the old days we pointed at the students and they got
it all served. I believe that was completely wrong. They have to create their
own careers and fight for it. We see that all the people that have been in
Biotech Academy, really all, have good positions now. It is really through
their engagement and their hard work, that their mindset is developed. Of
course it also needs to be prioritized by the institute. Because a student-driven
program has to have a back-up at all times. They are ambitious, but they are
also very fragile sometimes. That is where we come in, checking and making
sure everything is ok.’
Table 7.7 Technical University of Denmark – Biotech Academy

Organizing Independent student organization, with department of systems biology at
institution DTU as facilitator
Target group Talented students in general
Admission No official procedure, by invitation
Description Talented students develop web-based interdisciplinary education projects
for (high school) children on topical issues in biotechnology research
Founded 2007
Participants 10 to 15 in total at the same time
Website www.biotechacademy.dk (Danish only)
7.4.6 University College Lillebaelt
After a conference arranged by the Ministry of Education in 2008, Lillebaelt decided

to start a talent program, called the Talent Palette. Students sign on to outside assign-
ments as an individual or as a small group. The extent of the projects offered is
normally about 30–40 h extra workload per semester. The number of projects
available differs from year to year. A cooperation contract between student and the
outside provider is signed and students then report their progress in a logbook,
Table 7.8 University College Lillebaelt – Physiotherapy Talent Palette

Organizing University College Lillebælt, Physiotherapy
institution
Form Disciplinary program with outside involvement
Admission Application/grades/interview
Description Students can sign on to assignments from physiotherapy clinics, hospitals
or from Ph.D. students, take part and receive a diploma addendum if
successful
Founded 2008
Participants Numbers differ per year, around 50 in total so far
Website None
which is regularly evaluated with their teacher. Successful participants receive a

description of the assignment and the outcome attached to their diploma at the end
of their study (Table 7.8).39
7.5 Programs Outside Formal Higher Education System
Apart from the programs described above, we came across three programs outside
the formal higher education system, but worth mentioning. These are:
Centres of Excellence Sponsored by Danish industry, Centres of Excellence
programs address pupils in vocational short-cycle higher education (erhversaka-
demi), where pupils can receive a basic vocational qualification after 1.5–2.5 years
of studies. Currently, two academically based centers exist. These centers support
talented students from across the country in selected vocational education
programs. Students receive training at the highest level and with industry-relevant
equipment.40
KaosPilot Arhus KaosPilot is an international private design and business school in
Aarhus, held in high regard. Admission involves a tough selection process, however
KaosPilot is not part of the official education system and does not issue a widely
accepted diploma.41
Future Entrepreneurs of Denmark Future Entrepreneurs of Denmark, open to stu-
dents of all Danish universities, supports students with a passion for entrepreneurship.
39
Personal communication from Anne Marie Højvang Christiansen, program leader, March 2014.
40
Danish Industry (DI) and Industry Foundation are behind the project. They cooperate with four
vocational schools: Herningholm Vocational College, Mercantec, Copenhagen Technical Academy
and TEC. More info on http://foreninger.di.dk/CoE/Pages/forside.aspx (Danish only).
41
See Sirius Programma 2012 and www.kaospilot.dk
Literature 123
Around 30 students can be admitted each semester, based on a personal essay and
grades. Accepted students receive five workshops per semester, dealing with various
topics related to entrepreneurship. In groups, they work together to prepare for these
workshops. The program is a joint initiative of student organizations at numerous
Danish universities and is supported by a number of companies.42
Talent development in Denmark seems to be firmly established. Legal changes that
have taken effect late 2014 can facilitate the development of more honors programs.
After Denmark, we focus on Norway, where development towards stimulating
excellence in higher education is less apparent.
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CBS (Copenhagen Business School). (2014b). Cand.oecon/MSc in Advanced Economics
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economics-and-finance. 12 Jan 2014.
CBS (Copenhagen Business School). (2014c). GLOBE. Retrieved from: www.cbs.dk/en/study/
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CBS (Copenhagen Business School). (2014d). EngAGE. Retrieved from: www.cbs.dk/en/study/
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Chapter 8
Norway: Slow Shift Towards Differentiation
Pupils shall not normally be organized according to level of ability, gender or ethnic
affiliation. (Education Act 2010)
In Norway, it is forbidden by law to make a permanent differentiation between

students based on their abilities. Equity is a central thought in Norwegian education
policy. In fact, ‘Equity in education is a national goal and the overriding principle
that applies to all areas of education’ (Norwegian Directorate for Education and
Training 2008, p. 3). This also shapes the approach towards excellence in Norway.
Little is organized and existing excellence programs typically focus on system,
rather than individual student needs (Box 8.1).
Primary and secondary education are founded on the principles of equity and
‘adapted education’ for all pupils, in a school system based on the National
Curriculum (See SIU 2013 and Ministry of Education and Research 2007).1 Adapted
education means that differentiation within the school does take place to some
extent.2 In practice, schools and teachers ‘accommodate both the physical and social
1
The education system is centralized. The Ministry of Education and Research
(Kunnskapsdepartementet) is responsible for all levels of education.
2
The principle of adapted education was introduced in government policy in 1987 and promoted
as ‘an ideological guideline for school policy as well as a standard for all teaching with a particular
reference to the variety of pupils in need of additional support. On the school level, adapted educa-
tion included local curriculum programs adapted to the school’s culture, neighbourhood and com-
munity. On the individual level, the revision stated that adapted education should support the
variety of pupils’ with appropriate and individual adapted challenges, included the challenges
immigrants as cultural and linguistic minorities encounter in school’ (Fasting 2010, p. 182). This
principle is ‘being used to promote the development of an education system which supports all
pupils and their individual requirements without the need to classify them’ (European Agency for
Development in Special Needs Education 2009, p. 13).

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_8
126 8 Norway: Slow Shift Towards Differentiation
Box 8.1: Norway – The Basics

• Capital: Oslo
• 19 provinces
• Conservative/liberal coalition in power
learning conditions as well as the learning content to the pupils’ ability, skills and
needs – not the other way around’ (Fasting 2010, p. 182, see also Opheim 2004).3
Consequently, a basic feature of the Norwegian education system is the arrange-
ment of extra support and special education as much as possible within the common
compulsory school called grunnskole (Fasting 2010, p. 180), which lasts 10 years
and ends with a national exam (IBE 2012, p. 12)4 (see Fig. 8.1). After this, most
pupils move on to upper secondary school (videregående skole). This school pro-
vides another 3 years of general training or 4 years of vocational training (see Nuffic
2012, p. 5–6).5 Apart from these state schools, alternative education opportunities
are rare but they do exist (Ministry of Education and Research 2007, p. 14)
(Box 8.2).6
3
The Differentiation project (1999–2003) was a national project initiated by the Ministry of Education
and Research, involving all upper secondary schools in the country. ‘The goal for the project was to
develop and practice methods for learning that would ensure, as far as was possible, adapted training
for each individual student. Each school decided themselves what types of strategies they wanted to
try out. More than 1,600 different types of strategies for adapted learning took place during the proj-
ect period’ (Opheim 2004, p. 65). The project was not particularly successful though. Evaluation
showed that ‘while half of the teachers find the projects in their school interesting and useful, the
other half find the differentiation projects unclear regarding criteria and goals’ (ibid).
4
In the national exam, ‘pupils are required to take a centrally set written examination in one of three [sic]
subjects: Norwegian, Mathematics, Sami or English. Every year it is decided locally which groups of
students will take each of the four subjects. Pupils are told only a few days before the examination what
will be their subject. The national exams are marked externally’ (Eurydice 2014, chapter 5.3).
5
There are 12 different programs students can follow at videregående skole, nine of which are more
vocational in nature. Students can choose a specialist subject (valgfag). In the second year of upper
secondary school, students following a general academic program can choose a direction in either
the natural or social sciences in addition to their specialist subject (Nuffic 2012, p. 5). Students
who finish their studies successfully are awarded Vitnemål for Videregående Opplaering (Secondary
School Certificate), which is comparable to the Dutch vwo diploma. In the vocational variant,
students do 2 years of schooling followed by 1 or 2 years of practical training, leading to a Fagbrev
or Svennebrev diploma, comparable to a Dutch mbo 3 or 4 diploma (Nuffic 2012, p. 6).
6
There are some Christian schools and Rudolf Steinerskolen (anthroposophical). In total, there are
about 150 private primary and lower secondary schools with almost 14,000 pupils (2.2 % of total),
and about 75 private upper secondary schools with approx. 10,000 pupils (6 % of total).
8.1
Education System
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Barnetrinnet Ungdomstrinnet
VANLIG BARNEHAGE / FAMILEBARNEHAGE / GRUNNSKOLE UNIVERSITET / HØGSKOLE

ÁPEN BARNEHAGE / VIDEREGÁENDE SKOLE ≥2
UNIVERSITET / HØGSKOLE
LÆRLINGORDNING
FAGSKOLE
Fig. 8.1 Structure of the Norwegian education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
127
Box 8.2: Education in Norway

• Compulsory for 10 years from age 6
• Integrated primary school (barneskole) and lower secondary school
(ungdomsskole) in 10-year grunnskole
• Three-year upper secondary education at videregående skole
• Higher education admission based on exam grades
• Ministry of Education and Research responsible for all levels of education
Norway has taken part in the PISA assessments of 15-year-olds since the early
2000s. The first results, in 2002, led to a ‘PISA shock’ as Norway scored average
results: well below expectations (Haugsbakk 2013).7 This led to a massive restructuring
of the teacher education system (Hammerness and Klette 2013).8 The 2012 results
presented another disappointment, the overall score was around average among the
OECD countries and performance in mathematics and science dropped (OECD
2013). The new government, dissatisfied with the results, announced action to
improve results.
Generally speaking, some provisions exist for talented students in primary and
secondary education.9 Pupils have the possibility to do their grade ten exam in a
certain subject early, or to skip a grade. Talented secondary school students can also
study at universities or university colleges in Norway. This is not an official program,
but all upper secondary schools are expected to know about it and make appoint-
ments with the university or university college in their geographical area.10 Talented
high school students can apply to take part in a regular university course together
with regular university students and take the same exams. These university courses
are taken in addition to the regular program in their upper secondary school. If they
finish the course successfully, they receive a document and the credits can later
transfer as university credits. Some universities advertise these possibilities
7
Since then, results improved slightly. However, OECD researchers concluded that in spite of
spending relatively large amounts of money on education, ‘Norway performs around average in
mathematics, above average in reading, but below average in science. Norway’s mean performance
in mathematics declined since the previous PISA assessment in 2009’ (OECD 2013, p. 1).
8
In response to the 2002 PISA results, ‘educators and policy makers in Norway took a number of
steps to improve the quality of teaching, to boost recruitment into teaching, and to increase respect
for the profession of teaching’. Generally speaking, teachers for primary and lower secondary
education are educated at university colleges, while for upper secondary school a university degree
is needed. A 1-year pedagogy course is usually followed after taking a university degree.
9
Outside the school system, Mensa (the international association for gifted people), has a
Norwegian branch that is also meant for children. There is also an Association of Parents of gifted
children and some parents who blog about gifted children and gifted education: some of these
parents also organize activities. Goals of these activities are usually focused on the social level.
10
Personal communication Grethe Sofie Bratlie, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Higher
Education, February 2014.
prominently on their website, notably the universities of Oslo and Agder. They are
also working together to prepare national guidelines on this subject.11 In 2013/2014,
the University of Oslo also offered a special mathematics course at university level
for talented high school students (See University of Agder 2013; University of Oslo
2014). Some universities have programs involving university staff teaching at high
schools, or high school students can incidentally visit universities.
Admission to Norwegian universities is a complicated process, partly dependent
on grades. Students who follow a general training path at the upper secondary
school will take exams that lead to general university admission certification, called
generell studiekompetanse. This diploma is a requirement to be admitted to univer-
sities, but it does not guarantee placement (SIU 2013; Ministry of Education and
Research 2007).12 Students who want to enter university must apply at the national
coordination centre, called Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service
or Samordna Opptak in Norwegian. This institute admits students to study programs
based on a point scale, with the highest ranking students offered a place until the
study program is full. Points are awarded based on average grades from upper
secondary school, but additional points can also be awarded for various reasons
such as language proficiencies, gender (for a select number of studies) or completed
military service. A number of seats are offered without using the point scale.
Admission to some programs is highly competitive (Samordna Opptak 2013). In
addition, universities or university colleges may set additional requirements for
candidates, depending on the particular program (Nuffic 2012, p. 8).
The Norwegian higher education system has developed rapidly in the last decade
(Nyborg 200713). The Bologna Process has been combined with extensive reform
and development of the whole tertiary education sector (Bakken 201314). There are
now institutions at three levels: universities, specialized university colleges and
‘general’ university colleges (accredited and non-accredited, see Box 8.3). At the
11
Personal communication form Bjørn Monstad, Director of Academic Affairs University of
Agder, March 2014. The University of Agder has an official program linking secondary and uni-
versity education since 2013, but already in 2009 a few gifted students from upper secondary
school followed courses at the university.
12
There are also different ways of entry: Pupils with vocational education and training may qualify
for admission to universities and university colleges by taking a 1 year supplementary programme
leading to general university admissions certification (SIU 2013). Another route, closely related to
the principle of equity, is through the law of 23/5. This means a person above 23 years of age who
has 5 years of combined schooling and work experience and has passed exams in Norwegian,
mathematics, natural sciences, English and social studies can enter higher education (SIU 2013).
Persons over 25 can also enter ‘on the basis of a documented combination of formal, informal and
non-formal competence’ (Ministry of Education and Research 2007, p. 16).
13
Nyborg provides an overview of the history of higher education in Norway.
14
The process started in 2002, with the reformed Universities and Colleges Act, which is also
known as the Quality Reform. This act ‘introduced institutional accreditation through the
Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) and thus opened up an opportu-
nity for any institution to qualify for any institutional category, as long as it successfully passes the
accreditation process and demonstrates compliance with the relevant standards’ (Bakken 2013).
See also Ministry of Education and Research 2009.
time of writing, there are about 250,000 students in Norwegian higher education,
distributed between 75 institutions (Statistics Norway 2013, p. 6; Bakken 2013).
Box 8.3: Higher Education Landscape

8 universities, which have the right to establish programmes at all levels
9 specialized university colleges, which have the right to establish study
programmes at all levels within their majors
36 accredited university colleges, which have the right to establish study
programmes at bachelor level
22 non-accredited and mostly very small colleges of higher education
The four traditional and major universities are located in Oslo, Bergen, Tromsø
and Trondheim. Oslo University is by far the oldest and largest university, founded in
1811. It is also the Norwegian university featuring most prominently on world rankings.15
Since 2003, four specialized institutes and university colleges converted into a full
university,16 which means Norway has eight universities at the moment. Apart from
the universities, there is an extensive network of university colleges. Broadly speaking,
the nine specialized university colleges work at the national level, while the 36
accredited ‘general’ university colleges mostly focus on their region.17
Equal opportunities to complete education are a prerequisite if we are to sustain and further
develop the welfare state on the basis of the Norwegian model, with minor social differences
between people. (Ministry of Education and Research 2009)
These are the first words of the Education Strategy of the Norwegian government,
as approved by parliament in 2009. As said before, equity is a central thought
in Norwegian education policy. This can be seen as successful to some extent.
15
Oslo University is at place no. 69 in the Shanghai ranking and 182 on the Times Higher Education
World University Rankings 2013–2014. The other two Norwegian institutes featuring prominently
on these lists are Bergen University, found at place 201–225 of the Times List and 201–300 on the
Shanghai Ranking, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim
(201–300 Shanghai, 251–275 Times).
16
According to Bakken (2013), the portfolios of the new universities ‘are still dominated by large
professional programmes (teaching, nursing, engineering, etc.) and relatively few of their students
follow master degree programmes. Programme diversity has increased in each individual institu-
tion, while the institutions in many ways have become more similar. So the development is towards
increased diversity within institutions and diminished diversity among institutions.’
17
These colleges came into existence after the university college reform in 1994, with the goal of
giving every county a higher education institution. They are commonly known as høyskole.
Norway scores high on equity in the 2012 PISA report (OECD 2013, p. 1).18 It also
scores relatively well among European countries on resilience (ibid, p. 4)19 and on
other social factors (Bakken and Elstad 201220).
But there are also other consequences. The focus on equity and fear of elitism
are problematic for gifted students. University of Stavanger researcher Dr. Ella
Cosmovici Idsøe sees this as a major problem: ‘Even though many national and
international investigations on Norwegian students show that they are not stimulated
and challenged enough in school, this is still a taboo topic. (…) There is no defini-
tion or normative identification criteria for gifted learners, there is no focus on the
needs of these children in schools or teacher training programs and there is a lack of
research on this topic’ (see also Udberg-Helle 2013, p. 4) (Box 8.4).21

The word ‘honors’ is rarely used in Norway. Local terms used to refer to
(programs for) talented and gifted students include:
• fremragende utdanning (excellent education)
• evnerike barn (gifted children)
• vitebegjærlige barn (‘inquisitive children’)
• skoleflinke barn (academically strong children)
• høy begaved (highly gifted)
• eliteprogramm/eliteutdanning (elite education)/elitelinje (elite line)
Traditionally, student recruitment in Norway primarily emphasized universal

access rather than excellence and attracting talented students. But this approach
slowly changed after the 2002 Quality Reform (Frølich and Stensaker 2010). In the
early 2000s, the government concluded that one of the results of the equity approach
was a lack of top teaching and top research.
Focus was first on excellent research and then moved to excellent education. As
a first step, the Research Council of Norway initiated a program to identify Centers
of Excellence in Research (SFF, Senter for Fremragende Forskning). The intention
18
‘A relatively small part of the variation of performance can be attributed to differences in students’
socio-economic status’ (OECD 2013, p. 1).
19
‘In Norway, 22 % of disadvantaged students are “resilient”, meaning that they beat the
socio-economic odds against them and perform much higher than would be predicted by their
background’ (ibid, p. 4).
20
See Bakken and Elstad 2012 for more information on this subject and a review of the consequences
of the 2006 law reform.
21
Personal communication, December 2013. See full interview in Appendix 4. Apart from Idsøe,
researcher Udberg-Helle also concludes that ‘most Norwegian teachers and politicians have little
general knowledge of what it means to be a gifted student. (…) They appear to hold a certain
assumption which is based solely on their own experiences, not on factual knowledge’ (Udberg-
Helle 2013, p. 4).
was to bring more Norwegian researchers and research groups up to a high international
standard. There have now been three rounds in which Centres were identified and
awarded extra money.
Following a successful evaluation of this SFF program, the Ministry of Education and
Research started a similar program in education. It established the Centres of Excellence
in Higher Education (SFU, Senter for Fremragende Utdanning) program in 2010.
The SFU program, managed by quality assurance agency NOKUT, is a prestige
arrangement for educational activities in higher education. The overarching aim of
the SFU program involves contributing ‘to the development of excellent quality in
higher education and to highlight the fact that education and research are equally
important activities for higher education institutions’ (NOKUT 2013) (Box 8.5).

• Ministry of Education and Research
• NOKUT – the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education – an
independent government agency that contributes towards quality assurance
and enhancement in higher education and tertiary vocational education
• Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions (Universitets- og
Høgskolerådet) – the co-operative body for higher education institutions in
Norway
The SFU program started in 2010 as a pilot project with one centre. In an evalu-
ation, researchers concluded that Centres of Excellence are ‘welcome (…) in a field
receiving comparably few prestigious national measures to ensure a systematic
foundation of high quality practices’ (Carlsten and Aamodt 2013, p. 9). In 2013 a
new round of applications was held. NOKUT received 24 bids, and finally three new
Centres of Excellence were identified. Each centre receives a top funding of NOK
three million (about 350,000 euros) annually for a 5-year period, which can be
extended for another 5 years upon successful evaluation. One of the programs
receiving SFU status is the BioCEED program at Bergen University. This program
provides students experience with theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and
socially relevant tasks throughout their studies. There is room to experiment with
new educational forms. Program Director Vigdis Vandvik thinks the most important
implication of the new status rests in the extra leverage. ‘The status gives us better
credibility in the university and we collaborate more with the other biology insti-
tutes. It’s easier to make things happen and to experiment’.22 SFU Program Director
Helen Bråten adds that a main aim involves stimulating the best to develop further
and innovate. At the same time dissemination remains important in the program, as
22
Personal communication from Vigdis Vandvik, Director BioCEED Centre of Excellence at
University of Bergen, January 2014. See full interview in Appendix 4.
does showcasing best practices and having others adopt and assess outcomes to help
prove program success in attaining goals. ‘We want the Centres to disseminate
both internally, within their organization, but also regionally, nationally and interna-
tionally, hence enhancing quality in education across the sector. The new Centres
are progressing quite fast, I think, so that is promising’.23
It should be noted that the Centre of Excellence programs are aimed at the institute
level and not at the level of individuals. For example, there are no additional admis-
sion requirements for students that are taught in Centres of Excellence in Higher
Education, thus upholding the equity principle. According to Education ministry
Deputy Director General Grethe Sofie Bratlie, until now ‘research is the way of
taking care of talented students’. The universities try to guide them into research and
to pick them up as Ph.D. students. The government has financed quite a few Ph.D.
programs for talents.24
Three recent developments might lead to a change in the approach towards excellence.
Firstly, a new government took office in October 2013. The centre-left government
has been replaced with a centre-right government, led by Erna Solberg of the Høyre
party. This party is not opposed to using the word ‘elite’, as in fact it has a tradition
of an ‘elite program’ for its most-promising young members (Unge Høyre 2013).
Within 2 weeks of taking office, the new Education minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen
commented about gifted children in an interview for state television news NRK,
‘We must learn that gifted children can have big challenges and may need help (….)
We are very busy with this problem and will handle it. The first thing we shall start
with is to make the specific problem known’ (Engen and Osterud 2013, own
translation25).
In January 2014, the new government announced its plans for higher education
(Ministry of Education and Research 2014). Focus is placed on quality. Financing
and structure will be reviewed and more focus will be placed on teacher education.
A long-term plan for higher education and research is announced for late 2014. This
can be seen as a significant shift.26
23
Personal communication from Helen Bråten, Project Manager SFU at NOKUT (Norwegian
Accreditation Agency), February 2014.
24
Personal communication from Grethe Sofie Bratlie, Deputy Director General, Ministry of
25
A discussion about the subject of excellence in education also broke out in Norwegian media. In
an opinion article on the NRK website, one of the directors of the group Lykkelige barn (happy
children) was critical about the ‘fear of elitism’: ‘Today, Norway and Sweden are the only two
countries in Europe where the silence about giftedness has been almost total over many decades.
One can of course be tempted to speculate about the reasons. Have we stopped talking about
unequal learning conditions out of fear that we say something about the ‘worth’ of a human being
at the same time? Has the fear of elitism lead to us putting a lock on this discussion?’.
26
Personal communication from Grethe Sofie Bratlie, Deputy Director General, Ministry of
Second, a sense of disappointment exists with the overall 2012 PISA results. The
minister commented that ‘we must have higher ambitions than to be in the middle
among the OECD countries (…) We must be better at helping those who perform
weakly, and at the same time we must lift up more students to the highest levels’
(Kunnskapsdepartementet 2013, own translation). The Oslo City Council also rec-
ognized the problem of few high-performing Norwegian students and adopted a
talent strategy in 2013.27
Third, the further development of the SFU program might lead to more innova-
tion in higher education in general and experimenting with new forms of education
for talented students in particular.
Along with these developments, the newly-established Nordic Talent Network
(2013) might form a platform for more effective lobbying towards the government.
We found no honors programs at Norwegian higher education institutions fitting our defi-
nition. However, there are some other provisions for talented students worth mentioning.
Students in Norway can apply for one-time allowances or scholarships, for
example, to study abroad. Private institutes providing scholarships often do have a
tough selection process.28 Some Norwegian HEIs participate in international pro-
grams, such as Erasmus Mundus and the Nordic Master program. The Norwegian
School of Economics (NHH) takes part in a number of international programs
(Double degree and CEMS-MIM), which were described in part I.
In addition, for some institutes admission is highly competitive, especially art
schools and universities. For example, at Bergen Academy of Art and Design ‘we
could have several hundred applicants to forty-five seats in a program. As an aver-
age we have five to six times the number of applicants compared with the number
of openings’.29 The same goes for Oslo’s School of Architecture and Design.
‘Admission to AHO is highly exclusive, e.g. for Master of Architecture there are
2,000 applicants for less than 100 seats. You obviously need to be both talented and
motivated to get in, but it is still a “regular study program”’.30 At the Norwegian
Academy of Music, ‘almost all our students are talented and the whole institution is
oriented towards educating talented students. We have very strict admission proce-
27
Information on the Oslo City Council talent strategy can be found on www.ivarjohansen.no/
dmdocuments/talenter.pdf and www.bystyret.oslo.kommune.no/getfile.php/bystyret%20
%28BYSTYRET%29/Internett%20%28BYSTYRET%29/Dokumenter/Bystyrets%20forhan-
dlinger/2008-2013/20131004_April.pdf
28
For example the Sons of Norway foundation that has some scholarships available for Norwegians
wanting to study in North America.
29
Personal communication from Ingjald Selland, Director of Academic Affairs Bergen Academy of
Art and Design (KHiB), February 2014.
30
Personal communication from Erling Rognes Solbu, International coordinator Academic
Services at Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), February 2014.
Table 8.1 Universities and specialized university colleges in Norway

No. of Honors
Higher education institution Webpage studentsa education offer
Universities
University of Oslo (UiO) Uio.no 27,100 No
Norwegian University of Science and Ntnu.edu 22,043 No
Technology (NTNU)
University of Bergen (UiB) Uib.no 14,257 No
University of Agder (UiA) Uia.no 9,824 No
University of Stavanger (UiS) Uis.no 9,530 No
Arctic University of Norway (UiT) Uit.no 9,436 No
University of Nordland (UiN) Uin.no 6,009 No
Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) Nmbu.no 4,344 No
Specialized university colleges
BI – Norwegian Business School Bi.no 20,000** No
NHH – Norwegian School of Economics Nhh.no 3,468 No
Specialized University in Logistics (HiMolde) Himolde.no 2,242 No
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH) Nih.no 1,383 No
MF – Norwegian School of Theology Mf.no 950** No
Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) Nmh.no 660 No
Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) Aho.no 618 No
Oslo National Academy of the Arts Khio.no 502 No
School of Mission and Theology Mhs.no 350** No
Bergen Academy of Art and Design Khib.no 330 No
Total 133,046
a
Source: Statistics Norway 2014 (numbers for 2012) for all HEIs except the ones marked with**.
These are private institutions. Numbers are taken from the institute’s own web pages (February 2014)
To compile this table, first the websites of all universities and specialized university colleges were
searched with keywords to find honors programs. Then they were all approached by e-mail and
asked if they had any special provisions for talented students, matching our working definition.
All institutions replied
dures and up to forty-fifty applicants for each seat for some of our programs’.31
Finally, the Oslo National Academy of the Arts offers ‘a small number of highly
competitive programs, each in specialized fields of the arts. We receive many more
qualified applicants than our yearly admission quotas permit us to accept. We put all
applicants through rigorous tests and we interview a large portion of the applicants
each year. The result is a limited number of highly motivated and gifted students
who are offered programs that are all very challenging and demanding’.32
Table 8.1 presents an overview of universities and specialized university colleges in
Norway, ordered by size (measured in student numbers).
31
Personal communication from Kjetil Solvik, chief of studies at Norwegian Academy of Music
(March 2014). The Norwegian Academy of Music is also in the SFU program with its Centre of
Excellence in Music Performance Education.
32
Personal communication from Torben Lai, Head of Academic Affairs, Oslo National Academy
of the Arts (March 2014).
No honors programs have been developed in Norway yet, but the SFU program
and the new government’s intentions are incentives to develop further in this respect.
In the next chapter we will see if development is also occurring in neighboring
Sweden.
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brosjyrer/Education_in_Norway_f-4133e.pdf. 29 Oct 2013.
Ministry of Education and Research [Norway]. (2009). Education strategy – Summary in English
(Report no. 44 (2008–2009) to the Storting). Retrieved from: www.regjeringen.no/
pages/2235526/PDFS/STM200820090044000EN_PDFS.pdf. 27 Nov 2013.
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and research. Press release 14/01/2014. Retrieved from: www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kd/
press- contacts/Press-releases/2014/clear-priorities-in-higher-education-and.
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in higher education. Retrieved from: www.nokut.no/en/Universities-and-university-colleges/
Excellent-quality-in-higher-education/Centres-of-Excellence-in-Higher-Education/. 26 Nov
2013.
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Understanding central concepts. Oslo: Utdanningsdirektoratet. Retrieved from: www.
european-agency.org/country-information/norway/norwegian-files/Equity_Likeverdig_eng_
jan-2008.pdf. 27 Nov 2013.
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recognition/country-modules. 29 Nov 2013.
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keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-norway.pdf. 12 Dec 2013.
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skning. Retrieved from: www.oecd.org/norway/38692818.pdf. 28 Nov 2013.
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Chapter 9
Sweden: Incentive to Move Towards More
Differentiation
Sweden’s education minister, Jan Björklund, said the PISA results were “the final nail in the
coffin for the old school reform” and speculated that the central government could take over
running schools from Sweden’s municipalities. (Adams 2013)
Trust in the Swedish education system was dealt a harsh blow late 2013, when
the latest PISA report comparing 15-year-olds’ achievements in education in dif-
ferent countries was published. Sweden scored the lowest results among the 11
countries in this report and below the OECD average in all subject areas. Further
heightening anxieties, the trend reflected downward. Since the first PISA assess-
ment in 2000, Sweden’s performance has declined the most (Skolverket 2013b,
p. 8, own translation). In addition, ‘an increasing number of students in Sweden
perceive school as a waste of time and feel little affinity with their school’ (ibid,
p. 9) (Box 9.1).
Sweden scored the lowest PISA results of all countries in this study
These realities led to a big discussion in Sweden, partly about who is to blame
and partly about necessary changes. The opposition leader at the time (and current
prime minister) Stefan Löfven even called the results a ‘national crisis’ (Kärmann
2013). In a publication in The Economist (2013), the discussion was summarized:
‘[Education Minister] Björklund blames the poor results on the period when the
Social Democrats were in charge. Others say poorly paid teachers are at fault. The
profession, once highly regarded, has seen salaries fall far behind other jobs requiring
a higher-education degree. The student demand for teaching programmes is so low
that almost anyone applying will be accepted’ (see also IBE 2012; Regeringskansliet

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_9
140 9 Sweden: Incentive to Move Towards More Differentiation
Box 9.1: Sweden – The Basics

• Capital: Stockholm
• 21 counties
• Social-democratic/green minority coaltion in power
2010).1 The government immediately asked OECD researchers for an in-depth analy-
sis of the results, which was provided in a report in February 2014 (OECD 2014). It
documented that relatively many students are in schools where ‘teachers’ low expec-
tations of students hinder learning’, Sweden has ‘the highest proportion of students
who arrive late for school among OECD countries’ and that ‘students in Sweden report
lower levels of perseverance to learn than students in most other countries’ (ibid,
p. 18–24). All these findings are not very helpful for an excellence strategy (Box 9.2).
Box 9.2: Education in Sweden

• Compulsory from age 7–16
• Integrated primary and lower secondary school in 9-year grundskola
• Three-year upper secondary education at gymnasieskola
• Municipalities run state system of primary and secondary education
• Independent private friskolor exist alongside state system
• Higher education admission based on grades, national test and other
criteria
• Ministry of Education and Research ultimately responsible for all levels of
education
Discussion started about changes in the educational system, which is firmly

rooted in the Nordic tradition of egalitarianism, but has undergone a big reform
starting in the early 1990s. Since then, private schools (friskolor) have gained a
prominent but also much-criticized position in the system (see Box 9.3; more info
1
In an international review of teacher education, a number of weaknesses in Sweden have been
pointed out. These included ‘an underdeveloped culture of academic research and lower than aver-
age levels of internationalization’ (IBE 2012, p. 38). But the major problem, according to these
researchers, is the relatively high number of teachers without a teaching degree. ‘In 2009/2010
approximately 77 % of upper secondary teachers held teaching degrees. In upper secondary voca-
tional education and training, only 61 % held a teaching degree. (…) An applicant without full
qualifications may be employed on a temporary basis but this may be extended year after year’
(IBE 2012, p. 38–39). Teacher education in Sweden has recently gone through major reforms
(Regeringskansliet 2010).
Box 9.3: Free Schools and Education for Profit

Apart from the government-supported ‘state’ schools, independent schools
generally known as free schools or friskolor are also available since the early
1990s. A law reform allowed privately-run institutions to apply for state fund-
ing for each student, provided they also stick to the national curriculum and
are also free and open to all. If parents decide to opt for another school than
the nearest grundskola, they receive a voucher representing an amount of
money their children can take with them to another school.
Since the introduction of this system, there have been clear tendencies towards
a marketization of education funding. Some of the friskolor are run by private
companies, which is controversial and has led to intense debate. Although actual
effects are unclear, critics say the principle of profit-seeking by definition puts
quality at risk. In 2013 a number of for-profit companies running free schools
have been in financial difficulties and some in fact went bankrupt. The state had
to step in to find a solution for the students. Another discussion ensued when a
TV program revealed that ‘privately-run schools were prepared to bend selection
rules [for gymnasieskola] to admit bright pupils’. This critique, combined with
the worrying PISA results, has led the government to indicate in late 2013 that
‘private-equity funds will no longer be welcome owners’. At the time of writing,
no measures to change the system had been taken yet.
can also be found in Bunar 2010; Wiborg 2010; Adams 2013). In the same reform,
municipalities gained a central position in primary and lower secondary education.
They employ teachers, organize school activities, and are responsible for allocating
resources to schools (See Helgøy and Homme 2006, p. 1482).
Primary and lower secondary education are integrated into one school: grunds-
kola, with nine grades.3 All students follow the same national curriculum, with
limited possibilities for schools to vary, and also limited options for children to
choose subjects. The grundskola period is usually not entirely spent in one school.
In grade six or seven, pupils often change to a bigger school with different teachers
per subject. At the end of grundskola, almost all pupils4 continue in upper second-
ary education called gymnasieskola (see Fig. 9.1). Pupils’ academic performance,
measured by grades5 determine if they can continue in a study program geared
2
State primary and lower secondary schools are run by municipalities. The National Agency for
Education (Skolverket) oversees this. The Ministry of Education and Research
(Utbildningsdepartementet) is ultimately responsible for all levels of education.
3
Before grundskola, most children from one to five will attend förskola (preschool). This is provided
free of charge. There is a year of förskolaklass (preschool class) from the age of six. During the
grundskola period, most children will attend a fritidshem (leisure time centre) before and after school.
4
It is not compulsory to attend upper secondary education, but nearly everyone does. There are 18
national programmes in gymnasieskola. Six are higher education preparatory programmes and the
other 12 are vocational programmes (Eurydice 2014, chapter 6).
5
Students receive grades from grade 6. More info in Eurydice 2014, chapter 5.3.
142
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
FÖRSKOLA
FÖR- GRUNDSKOLA
SKOLE- GYMNASIESKOLA UNIVERSITET / HÖGSKOLA
KLASS
YRKESHÖGSKOLA
KOMMUNAL VUXENUTBILONING / FOLKHÖGSKOLA
Fig. 9.1 Structure of the Swedish education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
9 Sweden: Incentive to Move Towards More Differentiation
towards higher education preparation, or towards vocational education. Students

must apply for places in upper secondary schools. In many municipalities all stu-
dents will get their first choice, if they just have the passing level. Other schools
have a certain amount of places available and the pupils with highest grades get in
(See Orange 2011 for further explanation of this system). In upper secondary
schools, students can follow different programs, but a wide range of compulsory
subjects exists (see Skolverket 2013a and Eurydice 2014, chapter 6).6 There is no
central examination. Students receive a school leaving certificate (Slutbetyg från
Gymnasieskolan), stating the subjects they took and the grades they received.
However, national tests have been introduced in the school year 2013/14 in science
in year 9 in the compulsory school, and also in social studies in years 6 and 9
(Ministry of Education and Research 2013, p. 15).
Admission to higher education depends on upper secondary grades and a national
admission test7 that students can take voluntarily. A numerus clausus principle applies
to all higher education study programs, meaning that there is a great deal of competition
for seats in the most popular programs (Nuffic 2012, p. 7). One third of the seats at
HEIs are usually distributed on the basis of grades and one third on results from the
aptitude test. For the remaining third, universities and university colleges have the
right to decide on criteria for selection, for example, prior learning and experience,
proficiency in specific areas and interviews (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2.1). More and
more Swedes apply for places in higher education and this also means more applica-
tions need to be turned down: in the 2012 autumn semester 59,800 students were
admitted from 126,000 new applicants (Universitetskanslersämbetet 2013, p. 26).8
Higher education and research in Sweden mainly takes place at 14 state universities
(universitet) and 21 state university colleges (högskolor),9 which are autonomous
agencies under the auspices of the government (Ministry of Education and Research
2013, p. 8). The oldest universities in Sweden are Uppsala University, founded in
1477, and Lund University, founded in 1666.10 The highest scoring institutes in inter-
national rankings are the universities of Uppsala and Lund, Stockholm University,
and the Karolinska Institute, a medical university in the Stockholm area. In research,
the universities have different excellence centres and/or excellence strategies. This
does not apply to the education side, where no differentiation is made.
6
There are 18 national programs in total. Social sciences and natural sciences are the most common.
For some programs (mostly arts subjects), there can be an entrance exam. All upper secondary
school programmes include the same nine compulsory courses in Swedish /Swedish as a second
language, English, history, civics, religion, mathematics, science studies, physical education and
health and artistic subjects.
7
Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test, Högskoleprovet in Swedish. The Swedish Council for Higher
Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet) has the overall responsibility for this test. It is usually
organized twice a year. The result is valid for 5 years (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2.1).
8
The number of applicants with no prior experience of higher education in 2012 was the highest
figure ever recorded and an increase of 8 % compared to the previous year. The capacity of the
HEIs was not adjusted accordingly: the number of admissions increased around 1 %.
9
There are also 16 private higher education institutions with the right to award degrees. They are
mainly very specialized and small (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7).
10
All other universities have at some point after 1950 been upgraded from university college level.
No-one must believe they are special. It is improper to feel pride in oneself. These words
catch the basic ethos by which individual excellence has commonly been viewed in Sweden.
(Mattsson and Bengmark 2011, p. 81)
Sweden has a long tradition of focusing on equivalence and equality. The princi-
ples of the Jantelagen11 are upheld. Striving for equity and equal opportunities is also
official government policy, ‘Quality, equivalence and high accessibility are the foun-
dations of the education system’ (Ministry of Education and Research 2013, p. 5).12
While equivalence was and is seen as a positive factor by most Swedes (Englund
2005),13 it is heavily criticized by scholars of gifted education, such as Jönköping
university professor Roland Persson. He states about the Swedish school ‘its raison
d’etre is to bring all students to a minimum level of knowledge and competence;
namely the level that is considered to enable all members of society to lead
well-functioning lives (…) The responsibility of the school system ends once
students have reached this minimum level. Every student reaching further than the
set minimum level is more or less left to fend for him- or herself by systemic default’
(Persson 2010, p. 539).14
Researchers Mönks and Pflüger (2005, p. 137) concluded that ‘high achieving
students have never been the subjects of special educational provisions’ and
researchers Stålnacke and Smedler found ‘little heed is given to the high-ability
group, which remains largely unidentified’ (Stålnacke and Smedler 2011, p. 901). In
a 2009 European survey, Sweden ranked as the only country where ‘they reject in
principle the idea of identifying pupils as “gifted’’’ (European Agency for
Development in Special Needs Education 2009).15
Advocacy for gifted education shows increase in recent years (see Mattsson and
Bengmark 2011). In the new general school law in force since 2011, an implicit
reference to talented students is made: ‘Students who easily reach the minimum
knowledge requirements which shall be reached should be given guidance and
11
Law of Jante. See introductory text for Part III: The Nordic countries.
12
In addition, the ministry states: ‘The fact that all education should be equivalent does not mean
that it should be the same everywhere. In the preschool, compulsory and upper secondary schools,
each child’s and pupil’s circumstances, needs and level of knowledge should be taken into account’.
13
Englund (2005), in a discourse analysis of the use of the concept, concluded that the focus on
equivalence had undergone ‘a considerable shift in the last 20 years. The main characteristic of this
displacement is that the concept has maintained its recognition as a symbol of positive values,
whereas many of its earlier associations with equity and equality no longer apply’ (p. 42).
14
In addition, Persson found out in a 2007 survey among Swedish Mensa members that they felt
unhappy even in universities: 65 % maintained that even at this level of education their experience
was mainly negative (Persson 2010, p. 553).
15
The Swedish point of view was explained as follows: ‘This categorization procedure, they argue,
could become an obstacle for the development of inclusive education. From an inclusive perspec-
tive it is schools that have to modify their practice and offer adequate support capable of meeting
pupils diversity without any need to categorise them in order to include them’ (p. 14).
stimulation to come further in their knowledge development’ (Skollag 2010, p. 800,

chapter 3.3, translation from Mattsson 2013, p. 14). In the 2011 curriculum for the
compulsory school, it explicitly states teachers should stimulate pupils to use all
their abilities (Skolverket 2011, p. 16).16 Interestingly, the word talent, which is
widely used in Denmark, is not used in Sweden at all. Instead, if any references are
made, they mostly have the word ‘elite’ in them (see Box 9.4).

The word ‘honors’ is not used in Sweden. Local terms used to refer to (programs
for) talented and gifted students include:
• spetsutbildningar (cutting edge programs or advanced placement programs,
literally: peak programs)
• begåvade barn (gifted children)/särbegåvade barn (highly gifted children)
• elitutbildningar (elite programs)
• elever med särskilda förmågor (students with specific abilities)
• talangfulla elever (students with talent)
Terminology about these programs and students is a very political issue in
Sweden. Programs may therefore also be marketed as ‘for those who like to
be challenged’ or in similar terms.
In 2013, mathematician Linda Mattsson wrote a thesis titled ‘Tracking mathe-

matical giftedness in an egalitarian context’, which contains a list of six elements on
which development is necessary to provide successful education to mathematically
gifted students. It is worth replicating these here, as they seem applicable not only
to mathematics, but also to the broader Swedish education context (Mattsson 2013,
p. 3–5)17:
– gifted students need to get legal recognition in the national policies;
– the gifted mathematics students need to be identified;
– introduction of gifted education during the Swedish teacher education;
– a need to strengthen the connection between research and implementation of
gifted education;
– a need for coordinating measures for development of gifted students; and
– attend to the social and emotional needs of gifted students.
This list may seem basic at first sight, but it provides a snapshot into the current
state of affairs in Sweden.
16
‘Teachers should take into account each individual’s needs, circumstances, experiences and
thinking, (…) organise and carry out the work so that pupils develop in accordance with their own
capacity, and at the same time are stimulated into using and developing all their ability’. In the
curriculum for upper secondary school (Skolverket 2013c), a similar statement is made.
17
See for more information the interview with Linda Mattsson in Appendix 4.
Still, in recent years more focus has been placed on talented children, usually
without naming them as such. This trend follows the developments around the free
schools, which has led to more choice for parents and more public debate about the
education system.
For talented children, there are a few possibilities for early start and acceleration.18
In 2008, a law was passed that allowed a number of gymnasieskola to experiment
with a special program for high-achieving students in a number of subjects. Students
taking part can follow part of their education at a university or university college.
These are officially called spetsutbildningar (SPETS, literally: peak programs), but
are also referred to as elitutbildningar (elite programs) in the media or in everyday
talk. This pilot project runs until 2016 (Skolverket 2013d). The program strives to
‘provide students from across the country the opportunity of depth and width in the
discipline or in the subject area in which SPETS is directed. The subject areas of
SPETS are mathematics, science, the social sciences and the humanities’.19
Since 2011, similar programs are also possible in grundskolan. The aim is to
provide pupils with ‘the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills as far as
possible, for example, by starting to study upper secondary school courses while in
the compulsory school’ (Ministry of Education and Research 2013, p. 15).20
Evaluations have been done on a few aspects of some of these programs. But
according to Mattsson (2013, p. 5–6), ‘nowhere in these evaluations are the “most
important conceptual foundations of a gifted program” discussed; that is, “the theory
of giftedness that undergirds the program”’.21
In addition to the spetsutbildningar policy, top programs exist in arts, for example
ballet (Box 9.5).22
The system of friskolor, described in Box 9.3, has led to a situation where a number
of these schools refuse to take weaker pupils (Sandelin 2013) and some become de
facto schools for extra talented youngsters because they use very high entry grades
18
First, they can decide to enroll their child early, at age 6 instead of 7. Then, by law there is also a
provision for acceleration: ‘compulsory schooling may finish earlier if the child demonstrates pos-
session of a level of knowledge corresponding to a completed compulsory schooling’. See Eurydice
2014, chapter 5.1. There are also other initiatives. Some of these have existed for a long time. For
example, according to Mattsson, ‘Sweden has had special classes for gifted students in mathemat-
ics at upper secondary school for a quarter of a century. Yet these activities have, from an educa-
tional policy perspective, gone almost unnoticed’ (2013, p. 5).
19
Personal communication Ylva Eriksson, Director of Education Unit for Upper Secondary School
at Swedish National Agency for Education. In English, the spetsutbildningar are referred to as
either advanced placement classes or cutting edge programs. See also Skolverket 2013d. There are
20 gymnasia all over Sweden that had such advanced placement classes. One example is the program
at Viktor Rydbergs Gymnasium in Djursholm, where the program is focused on English. About
75 % of classes are taught in English, and during their third year the students take a foundation
course in English at nearby Stockholm University (www.vrg.se)
20
The programs are accredited and financed by the National Agency for Education (Skolverket). Eight
programs were approved in 2011, and ten in 2012. These excellence programs can start from grade 7.
21
Mattsson refers to Moon and Rosselli 2000, p. 500.
22
The international organization Mensa also has a Swedish branch, focusing on getting more
attention for gifted children and organizing events in their Gifted Children Program. The Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences awards prizes to promising young scientists regardless of their age.

No national coordination of efforts in the in the field of talent and excellence
in education exists in Sweden. The most important players are:
• Ministry of Education and Research
• The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) – central admin-
istrative authority for the public school system
• Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet)
• Swedish Higher Education Authority (Universitetskanslersämbetet)
• Association of Higher Education Institutions
• Individual researchers on talent and giftedness, most notably Roland Persson
(see Orange 2011).23 However, the schools do not use terms like ‘gifted’ or ‘talent’.
Some universities have programs in which they cooperate with secondary schools,
but these programs do not explicitly target talents. Overall, the Swedish tendency not
to use words like ‘talent’ or ‘giftedness’ makes it hard to identify programs.
A specific policy targeting talented students in higher education was not found.
Again, this might be due to the difficulties in use of terminology. However, there is
explicit policy not to differentiate. Sweden was the only country in a survey of 24
European countries that chose ‘not to categorize pupils according to different abili-
ties or disabilities’ (European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education
2009, p. 22).24 According to Roland Persson, this represents a deliberate political
choice: ‘It might be good to know that the terms giftedness or talent are almost
never used. In connection with the [spetsutbildningar program], pupils are not even
referred to as high achieving. They are referred to as “Pupils who like to be chal-
lenged” – this is a very political and intentional choice of word. (…) The politicians
of the knowledge economy desperately want high ability in terms of innovation
potential, but they cannot term it “giftedness”. The only reason is that “giftedness”
is a word signifying the segregation of ability and potential. No politician would
gain any public confidence if they promoted policies for special groups and
discussed them as in any way better or different than other groups no matter how
factually correct the issue at hand. So fact stands against strategy. This is presumably
the case everywhere in Europe and elsewhere, but it is particularly sensitive in egali-
tarian cultures such as the Scandinavian’.25
23
Orange 2011 explains how the system works by an example: ‘In Sweden, schools are only
allowed to say how many places they have free. Each student gets their grades at the end of secondary
school and lists the sixth forms they want to go to. The Malmö municipality fills the places in each
school, both free and municipal, in order of grade. So if ProCivitas has 300 places, but 1,000
students want to attend it, then the municipality gives the places to the 300 students with the best
marks. If on the other hand Kunskapsgymnasiet has 400 places and only 360 students want to go,
the municipality will give them all places, even if they have rock-bottom marks.’
24
‘Neither the steering documents nor the official statistics on pre-school activities, leisure-time
centres, schools and adult education categorize children’.
25
Personal communication from Roland Persson, January 2014.
Three interconnected developments may be an incentive to change the Swedish

approach towards excellence in education in the near future.
First, in the last few years, more discussion about the needs of highly gifted
children has appeared in Swedish media. Researchers, especially in mathematics
education and psychology, have published about the merits of gifted education and
participated in discussions.26
Second, discussion intensified after the bad PISA results were announced in late
2013 (see Sect. 9.1 above). They came as a shock to many observers in- and outside
politics. Since then, debate has focused on the effectiveness of the current education
system. In late March 2014, the government set up an ‘education scientific council’,
consisting of 12 professors from different fields, to act as consultants to the government
in school matters (Regeringskansliet 2014). In September 2014, just before the national
parliamentary elections, the government announced a new policy, requiring the develop-
ment of special teaching materials for talented pupils in primary and secondary education
(Regeringen 2014). However, the ruling coalition lost its majority in the elections and
at the time of writing, it is unclear what this will mean for the talent policy.
Finally, researchers interested in talent support and excellence in education in the
Nordic countries started the Nordic Talent Network in 2013. Swedish researchers
take part in this initiative. Dr. Linda Mattsson at the Blekinge Institute of Technology
establishes a national mathematics network to support identification of and develop-
ment of mathematical giftedness, funded by the influential National Center for
Mathematics Education.27 Besides, she also tries to set up a national e-mail list in
order to reach out to all persons interested in the field of gifted education in Sweden
(across all education levels). She intends to create a national network to share expe-
riences and knowledge. In the light of all developments above, these initiatives
might form a platform for lobbying and a discussion partner for politicians.
No honors programs at Swedish higher education institutions have been found. Some
Swedish universities do take part in the Nordic Master Programme, Erasmus Mundus
programs or other networks of international cooperation for talented students. Table 9.1
26
Apart from Roland Persson who has been publishing about the highly gifted for many years,
there are other researchers as well. For example, mathematician Linda Mattsson is setting up a
national mathematics network to support identification of and development of mathematical
giftedness and also tries to form a network of all persons interested in the field of gifted education.
She and her colleague Eva Pettersson both published a Ph.D. about giftedness. Elisabet Mellroth
is trying to set up projects and participates in the Nordic Talent Network and psychologist Anita
Kullander has featured prominently in different media, stressing the needs of gifted children.
27
Personal communication from Linda Mattsson, April 2014.
Table 9.1 Universities and university colleges in Sweden

No. of Honors education
Higher education institution Webpage studentsa offer
Universities
Stockholm University Su.se 36,339 No
Lund University Lu.se 31,540 No
University of Gothenburg Gu.se 31,342 No
Uppsala University Uu.se 27,039 No
Umeå University Umu.se 22,026 No
Linnaeus University Lnu.se 19,982 No
Linköping University Liu.se 19,877 No
KTH Royal Institute of Technology Kth.se 13,365 No
Luleå University of Technology Ltu.se 12,750 No
Mid Sweden University Miun.se 10,967 No
Örebro University Oru.se 10,728 No
Karlstad University Kau.se 10,597 No
Karolinska Institutet Ki.se 7,654 No
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Slu.se 4,632 No
University colleges
Malmö Universityb Mah.se 16,068 No
Jönköping Universityb Hj.se 9,870 No
Mälardalen Universityb Mdh.se 9,861 No
University of Gävleb Hig.se 9,275 No
Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers.se 9,231 No
Dalarna University Du.se 9,100 No
Kristianstad University Hkr.se 8,004 No
Södertörn Universityb Sh.se 7,764 No
University of Boråsb Hb.se 7,535 No
University of Skövdeb His.se 7,169 No
University Westb Hv.se 7,118 No
Halmstad Universityb Hh.se 6,296 No
Blekinge Institute of Technologyb Bth.se 4,858 No
Stockholm School of Economics Hhs.se 1,813 No
Ersta Sköndal University College Esh.se 1,400a No
The Swedish School of Sport and Health Gih.se 948 No
Sciencesb
Konstfack Konstfack.se 769 No
Total 375,917
a
Source: Universitetskanslersämbetet 2013, p. 55. Numbers are for autumn 2012. Exception is
Ersta Skondal, where numbers are taken from institution’s website (May 2014)
b
Indicates private university
To compile this table, first the websites of all higher education institutions were searched with
keywords to find honors programs. Then they were all approached by e-mail and/or phone to
ask if they had any special provisions for talented students, matching our working definition. All
institutions eventually replied
presents an overview of the higher education institutions in Sweden, ranked by student

numbers.28
Some Swedish HEIs offer provisions to talented students on an individual basis.
For example, at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), a special
scholarship is available to talented students.29
At the medical university Karolinska Institutet, a special program prepares students
for research careers. The program’s mission is not to offer extra opportunities to
talented students, but to ‘stimulate recruitment for graduate studies among medical
students’.30 To this end, an introductory research course for medical students runs
parallel with the regular medical study program. The course “Research Introductory
Course for Medical Students” is divided into two courses over five semesters and
also includes two summer projects.31 The number of student places is limited to 25
and admission is based on research interest and a motivation letter.
Little development in honors education in Sweden is seen, however, there might be
change on the way following the results of the 2012 PISA report.
How is the situation in a country that usually does very well in PISA reports?
Finland is the focus of our next chapter.
Literature32
Adams, R. (2013, December 3). Swedish results fall abruptly as free school revolution falters. The
Guardian. Retrieved from: www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/swedish-results-fall-
free-schools-pisa-oecd. 17 Dec 2013.
Bunar, N. (2010). Choosing for quality or inequality: Current perspectives on the implementation
of school choice policy in Sweden. Journal of Education Policy, 25(1), 1–18.
28
Some very small specialized higher education institutions were excluded from the list.
29
‘Since 2013 one of our scholarships has been changed and it is now possible for teachers of GIH
to nominate students who has accomplished a degree work that the teacher consider to be outstand-
ing. The Board of Scholarships then decides which students who gets the scholarship. We provide
scholarships on three different levels of degrees, and the amount of the every scholarship is set to
about 1,000–2,000 euro. There are three levels of degree work, and in every period of nomination
there will be one scholarship in each level. So totally there will be six scholarships a year’ (per-
sonal communication from Henrik Schölin, Secretary of the Board of Scholarships at Swedish
School of Sport and Health Sciences).
30
See homepage of the program at http://pingpong.ki.se/public/courseId/5689/coursePath/5586/
ecp/lang-sv/publicPage.do?item=3851786. The program is known as Foläk.
31
Personal communication from Maya Petrén, administrative officer at Karolinska, March 2014.
32
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swedens-schools. 17 Dec 2013.
Englund, T. (2005). The discourse on equivalence in Swedish education policy. Journal of
Education Policy, 21, 39–57.
pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
Helgøy, I., & Homme, A. (2006). Policy tools and institutional change: Comparing education
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pdf. 12 Dec 2013.
Kärmann, J. (2013). Löfven om Pisa: Nationell kris. In Dagens Nyheter 3-12-2013. Retrieved
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Mattsson, L. (2013). Tracking mathematical giftedness in an egalitarian context. Göteborg:
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Mattsson, L., & Bengmark, S. (2011). On track to gifted education in mathematics in Sweden. In
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Mönks, F. J., & Pflüger, R. (2005). Gifted education in 21 European countries: Inventory and
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Moon, S., & Rosselli, H. (2000). Developing gifted programmes. In K. Heller, F. Mönks,
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Netherlands. Sweden. Version 3, January 2012. Retrieved from: www.nuffic.nl/en/diploma-
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c6/23/42/57/79f05d2e.pdf. 1 Apr 2014.
Orange, R. (2011). Doubts grow over the success of Sweden’s free schools experiment. Retrieved
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Persson, R. S. (2010). Experiences of intellectually gifted students in an egalitarian and inclusive
school system: A survey study. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 33(4), 536–569.
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friskolor-valjer-bort-besvarliga-elever. 21 Mar 2014.
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xurl_=https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fwww5.skolverket.se%2Fwtpub%2Fws%2Fskolbok%2Fwpubext%
2Ftrycksak%2FRecord%3Fk%3D3126. 17 Dec 2013.
Skolverket. (2013c). Curriculum for the upper secondary school. Retrieved from: www.skolverket.
se/om-skolverket/visa-enskild-publikation?_xurl_=https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fwww5.skolverket.se%2F
wtpub%2Fws%2Fskolbok%2Fwpubext%2Ftrycksak%2FRecord%3Fk%3D2975. 21 Jan 2014.
Skolverket. (2013d). Spetsutbildningar. Retrieved from: www.skolverket.se/skolformer/gymna-
sieutbildning/gymnasieskola/program-och-utbildningar/spetsutbildningar. 13 Jan 2014.
Stålnacke, J., & Smedler, A.-C. (2011). Psychosocial experiences and adjustment among adult Swedes
with superior general mental ability. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 34(6), 900–918.
Universitetskanslersämbetet. (2013). Higher education in Sweden 2013 – Status report. Retrieved
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2013-ny.pdf. 17 Dec 2013.
Wiborg, S. (2010). Swedish free schools: Do they work? Published by the Centre for Learning and
Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies at: www.llakes.org. Retrieved from:
www.llakes.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Wiborg-online.pdf. 19 Dec 2013.
Chapter 10
Finland: Excellent Basics, Selective
Continuation
The general downturn in learning outcomes shows that we must take strong action to
develop Finnish education. (Krista Kiuru, Minister of Education and Science, December
2013, quoted in Finnbay 2013)
For a decade, Finland was the dream destination for educational policy makers
around the globe. The country’s schools were flooded with foreign visitors, wishing
to find the secrets of Finland’s educational successes.1 But after the publication of
the 2012 PISA report, things changed. Finland dropped to the twelfth place in the
overall table, which started a nationwide discussion (Box 10.1).
The aims of the Finnish education system are focused on the growth of the
individual as a whole, which means extensive socio-ethical and esthetic education
is offered alongside the usual learning of facts (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 85).
More evidence of the priority the place on education comes from the high level of
formal education teachers receive. Indeed, all teachers hold a master-level univer-
sity degree (Ministry of Education and Culture 2014). Another important principle
is the focus on equality: ‘all people must have equal access to high-quality educa-
tion and training. The key words in Finnish education policy are quality, efficiency,
equity and internationalisation’ (ibid, see also Ministry of Education and Culture
[Finland] et al. 2014). The comprehensive school promotes social and regional
equality by providing teaching, study materials and school meals free of charge for
any pupil (Tirri and Kuusisto 20132).
The Finnish Parliament determines general education policy, which is
implemented by the Ministry of Education and Culture.3 The running of all schools
1
In the 2003 and 2006 PISA reports, Finland placed first overall and in 2009 it was still near the
top, scoring second overall among OECD countries (Korea was first).
2
They refer to the Basic Education Act 628/1998, Section 2, Section 31.
3
In local languages: Opetus- ja kulttuurrijaministeriö/Undervisnings- och kultursministeriet.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_10
154 10 Finland: Excellent Basics, Selective Continuation
Box 10.1: Finland – The Basics

• Capital: Helsinki
• Republic
• 19 regions
• Bilingual: Finnish and Swedish
• Social-democratic/centre-right coalition in power
up to the level of universities of applied sciences rests in the hands of municipalities.

Municipalities can take autonomous decisions on the content and structure of edu-
cation (Hornyak 2011, p. 52). However, individual schools have great autonomy.
Universities are governed at the national level (Box 10.2).
Box 10.2: Education in Finland

• Nine years compulsory from age seven
• Integrated primary and lower secondary school in comprehensive school
• Two types of upper secondary school
• Two types of higher education institutions
• Highly selective university entrance exam, strict quota on student
numbers
• Ministry of Education and Culture responsible for all levels of education;
municipalities run all schools up to the level of universities of applied
sciences
Compulsory education in Finland lasts for 9 years (with an optional tenth year,
see Nuffic 2012 and Hornyak 2011)4 and is organized in comprehensive schools
(see Fig. 10.1).
At the lower level, grades one to six, education is uniform for all and delivered
by a class teacher, except for foreign languages, which are taught by a language
specialist. The teachers at the higher level, grades seven to ten, are specialized sub-
ject teachers.
Finland has invested much effort in educating teachers and Finnish teachers
enjoy high social prestige. This is demonstrated by a fivefold over-application
4
After completion of the 9th form, students can complete a 10th form as well, on a facultative
basis, where their marks can only be corrected upward, not downward.
10.1
Education System
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ESIKOULU - FÓRSKOLA PERUSKOULU - GRUNDSKOLA YLIOPISTO / KORKEAKOULU - UNIVERSITET / HÖGSKOLA

LUKIO - GYMNASIUM ≥3
PÄIVÄKOTI - DAGHEM AMMATTITUTKINTO - AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU - YRKESHGSKOLA
YRKESEXAMEN
AMMATILLINEN OPPILAITOS -
YRKESLÄROANSTALT
ERIKOISAMMATTITUTKINTO - SPECIALYRKESEXAMEN
Fig. 10.1 Structure of the Finnish education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
155
rate to teaching programs (Hornyak 2011, p. 54). It should be noted that high
over-application rates apply to most study programs in Finland (IBE (International
Bureau of Education) 2012).
At the end of comprehensive school, pupils move on to one of two types of upper
secondary education. The first, the general upper secondary school (lukio/gymna-
sium), represents the academic path. The second path, vocational education, is var-
ied in its forms. Both qualify students for entrance to higher education. Around
50 % of students go to gymnasium and over 40 % to vocational education, with the
rest not following qualification-oriented studies (Eurydice 2014, chapter 6).
The general upper secondary school is designed to last 3 years, ‘but students may
complete it in 2–4 years. Instruction is organized in modular form not tied to year
classes and students can decide on their individual study schedules rather freely’
(Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland] et al. 2014, p. 18).
The Finnish approach to equality means pupils with learning- or other disabili-
ties are well taken care of. Legislation guarantees their right to receive special edu-
cation.5 This kind of caring constitutes one of the factors behind Finland’s success
in the PISA studies (Niemi 2012).
At the end of general upper secondary education, nearly all students take the
national matriculation examination (ylioppilastutkinto). Students who pass this
exam have a general qualification to continue in higher education, either universities
(yliopisto in Finnish), which are more focused on research; or polytechnics (ammat-
tikorkeakoulu or AMK), which are more focused on vocational education6 (see
Box 10.3). Since 2005, the higher education sector has been reformed.7 Both in
polytechnics and universities bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees can be obtained.8
University students are admitted to study for the master degree and it is unusual to
stop after taking a bachelor degree (Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland]
et al. 2014, p. 23).
5
There are two types of special education teachers in Finnish compulsory education: special edu-
cation teachers who teach small group of pupils with learning disabilities and other problems; and
special education teachers who support class teachers and subject teachers with children who need
special support in some subjects like math or mother tongue (personal communication from Elina
Kuusisto, University of Helsinki researcher, May 2014).
6
Some refer to themselves internationally as universities of applied sciences.
7
Universities can now have the form of a public corporation or a foundation university. Of the
fourteen universities, two are foundations under private law. Polytechnics can be managed by joint
municipal authorities (three out of 24) or by limited companies. For more information, see Ministry
of Education and Culture 2014 and Eurydice, chapter 7.
8
The new polytechnic degree system is comprised of the following degrees: Kandidaatin tutkinto
(first-cycle, bachelor-level degree – it takes three to three and a half years to complete); Maisterin
tutkinto (second-cycle, master-level degree - in order to be allowed for the second-cycle polytech-
nic degree a relevant bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years of relevant working experience are
required. It takes one to one and a half years of full-time study); Lisensiaatin tutkinto (third-cycle,
licentiate degree (pre-doctorate degree) – another 2 years); Tohtorin tutkinto (third-cycle, doctor’s
degree – 4 years). More info in Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.

14 universities
24 polytechnics
University access in Finland is very selective, in 2009:

– 188,000 applications were made
– 94,000 students took entrance exam
– 32,000 students were admitted
Entrance to higher education is highly selective and all study paths are subject to
quota. The amount of seats for each study path at each HEI is determined in negotia-
tions with the ministry of Education and Culture.
Universities and polytechnics select their students independently. Institutions
apply different selection criteria, but the most common procedure includes the
grades attained in the matriculation examination together with the results of an
entrance examination.9 On average, about one third of those taking the exam gain
access to university. For the most sought-after studies, such as theatre, dance or
psychology, this is less than 10 % (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2.1).10 The Finnish
HEIs operate a joint system of online application.11
Finnish universities generally have a good reputation internationally. In interna-
tional rankings, the University of Helsinki scores highest with a constant place in
the top-100 of world universities.12
Since the 1970s the official education policy strongly emphasized educational
equality, as in the other Nordic countries. But from the 1980s, the trend shifted
towards decentralization, individualization and more diverse education. The result-
ing changes make the education system more suited for gifted and talented pupils
9
In some cases admittance is based on entrance examination only or matriculation examination
grades only. In addition, some fields may place additional emphasis on work experience, studies,
practical training, etc. There may also be interviews or material-based examinations, and students
may be required to demonstrate their skills or aptitude. See Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2.1.
10
Numbers are from 2009 (KOTA database). Unfortunately, later numbers have not been published
in English.
11
This can be accessed on the website https://www.yliopistohaku.fi/yshjHakija/
12
University of Helsinki is at place 76 in the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities
Top-500. Four other Finnish universities feature on this list: Oulu, Turku, Eastern Finland and
Jyväskylä, all scoring in the 300–500 range.
than the systems in the other Nordic countries. Also, the tradition of school contests
and very selective entry to university presents greater room for excellence initiatives
for children and youngsters. The concepts of giftedness and talent have been covered
quite intensively by Finnish media, although discussions are not always focused.
University of Helsinki researcher Sonja Laine (2010) concluded that in Finnish
society certain misconceptions exist about the specific meaning and implications of
giftedness.13
This has led to a situation where gifted children in primary and secondary educa-
tion are generally taken care of to some extent, while there is still little development
in higher education. This could be connected to the very selective admission proce-
dures by the universities. It may also be that information was not found because of
the language barrier.14 However, local researchers confirmed that ‘in general there
are no gifted or honors programs in higher education in Finland’.15 There are some
small exceptions, as we will see below (Box 10.4).

The following local terms are used to refer to (participants in) honors
programs:
• Lahjakas (means both gifted and talent)
• erityislahjakas (especially gifted and talented)
• huippuyksikkö (center of excellence)
In recent years the focus on giftedness and talent in general has also taken shape
in policies and legislation. In 2007 the fostering of talent and creativity became a
national educational goal. The ministry’s program “Education and Research 2011–
2016” defined equality of education as entitling every person, including the gifted,
to develop his or her different kinds of talent (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 91. See
also Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland] 2011). The Basic Education Act
allows flexible decisions with respect to acceleration (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013,
p. 88).16 There are also programs specially designed for gifted and talented pupils
13
In a review of the public discussion of giftedness between 2000 and 2007, Laine concluded that
‘giftedness is seen as multidimensional, and both intrapersonal and environmental contributions
are recognized as essential in talent development’. However, common misunderstandings were
that ‘every child is gifted’, that ‘gifted children can succeed on their own’ and that they were per-
ceived as having problems in their social life.
14
None of the researchers for this book knew any Finnish. Gathering information and communicat-
ing with the universities proved quite difficult, sometimes due to lack of information available in
English.
15
Personal communication from University of Helsinki researcher Elina Kuusisto, January 2014.
16
Parents can decide that their children start school at the age of six instead of seven. Another pos-
sibility for acceleration is the ungraded school, where pupils are allowed to advance within a flex-
ible schedule. These ungraded schools have been in use in the upper secondary schools since 1994.
The same is experimented for elementary schools.
with optional enrichment alternatives. These include intensive courses, competi-

tions and summer camps in mathematics and physics (ibid). In Helsinki there are
also bilingual elementary schools, where children receive teaching in both Finnish
and another language (e.g., English, French, German or Russian). These schools
select their pupils according to their own criteria.
Although no special legislation regarding gifted and talented children exists, the
focus on individualization means they are – in principle – taken care of by teach-
ers.17 However, usually teachers are more concerned about weaker pupils and pupils
with learning disabilities, which reflects Finnish ethos and interpretation of equality
(Tirri and Kuusisto 2013; Laine 2010) (Box 10.5).

• Ministry of Education and Culture – sets principles and guidelines for
education
• Finnish National Board of Education
• Academy of Finland – awards centre of excellence status in research
• Individual researchers, most notably professor Kirsi Tirri
• The Nordic Talent Network – Nordic network for improving education for
talented students
The upper secondary level has witnessed an increase in the number of ‘special
schools’, focusing on the education of talented youngsters in arts, sports, sciences and
languages. According to Finnish researchers Kirsi Tirri and Elina Kuusisto, ‘these spe-
cial schools can just as well be called schools for the gifted and talented as it is very
difficult to be accepted into them’. Selection is based on the marks of the student, while
most places organize their own admission exam as well. There are also several enrich-
ment alternatives available to talented high school pupils. For example, groups have
met at the University of Tampere on evenings and weekends to be more challenged in
mathematics and physics (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 90. See also Hornyak 2011).
Two internationally famous examples of provisions for talented youngsters are
Päivölä boarding school and the Millennium Youth Camp. Founded in 1994, Päivölä,
a private independent boarding school, emphasizes mathematics and natural science
and is sponsored by phone company Nokia. There are 20 students between the ages
of 15 and 18, who get selected in a weekend of testing. The students participate in
both domestic and international competitions and graduate from upper secondary
school in 2 years instead of 3 years.18
17
In addition: ‘to promote teachers abilities to better recognize and support gifted pupils, the
Finnish National Board of Education implemented the Project for the Development of Gifted and
Talent’s Education in Finland during 2009 to 2011’ (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 89). See also
http://www.lahjakkuus.fi/page41.php for more details.
18
This brief description is based on Tirri and Kuusisto 2013. The program is described also in
Hornyak 2011.
The National LUMA Centre19 organized the first Millennium Youth Camp in
2010. The camp is geared towards 16- to 19-year-olds, who are gifted in science.
Thirty students participate free of charge and are selected in a two-stage application
process. In 2012 there were more than 1,400 applicants from 100 countries. During
the 1-week camp, students meet researchers and scientists, go to presentations and
workshops, and carry out projects in teams. They get the possibility to network with
like-minded people and enjoy a feeling of togetherness.20
On the research side, focus on excellence has been common for many years.
Focus, as in Norway, prioritizes the institutional side of excellence. Since 1997, the
Academy of Finland has been sponsoring a ‘Centres of excellence’ program, pro-
viding extra funding to excellent and innovative research groups (Academy of
Finland 2014). Funding is provided for 6 years and in the latest round (the period
2014–2019), 14 Centres received awards.
Finland was surprised by the disappointing 2012 PISA results. This has led to a
discussion about education policy (see for example Finnbay 2013) and some wor-
ries in the government (see Ministry of Education and Culture 2013).
One major change, beginning in 2016, involves the national matriculation exam
which will be held electronically. This change can have a large impact on school
pedagogy and increase developments of new technology supported pedagogies in
Finnish schools.21
However, in the latest Education and Research Development Plan (published in
2012), the promotion of equality was the top focus point. This means that a sudden
development of programs for talented and gifted pupils in basic education or honors
programs in higher education is not to be expected.
The search for honors programs in Finnish higher education was limited to the 14
universities in the country. A number of universities takes part in international coop-
erative programs, such as CEMS-MIM (Aalto University) and Erasmus Mundus
(Helsinki). Institutions organize special events for motivated students, such as sum-
mer schools.22 However, development of honors programs is limited. Three
disciplinary honors programs were identified. They are shown on Map 10.1.
All universities are shown in Table 10.1.
19
LU stands for “luonnontieteet,” or natural science in Finnish, and MA for mathematics.
20
For more information, see Tirri and Kuusisto 2013 and Hornyak 2011.
21
Personal communication from University of Helsinki researcher Elina Kuusisto, May 2014.
22
An example is the 3-week Helsinki Summer School, organized by University of Helsinki, Aalto
University and Hanken School of Economics. For more information, see www.helsinkisummer-
school.fi/home/index
Map 10.1 Finnish
8684
universities with honors
programs, 2014
SWEDEN RUSSIA
Oulu
FINLAND
Turku Aalto
Helsinki
Table 10.1 Honors programs at Finnish universities

No. of students, Honors
University Webpage 2013a education offer
University of Helsinki Helsinki.fi/university 35,189 No
Aalto University Aalto.fi 19,386 Yes
University of Turku Utu.fi 17,423 Yes
University of Tampere Uta.fi 15,365 No
University of Eastern Finland Uef.fi 15,353 No
University of Oulu Oulu.fi 15,154 Yes
University of Jyväskylä Jyu.fi 13,301 No
Tampere University of Tut.fi 9,826 No
Technology
Åbo Akademi University Abo.fi 6,267 No
University of Vaasa Uva.fi 5,251 No
Lappeenranta University of Lut.fi 4,811 No
Technology
University of Lapland Ulapland.fi 4,578 No
Hanken School of Economics Hanken.fi 2,385 No
University of the Arts Helsinki Uniarts.fi 2,039 No
Total 166,328
a
Source: Statistics Finland (2014)
To compile this table, first the websites of all universities were searched with keywords to find
honors programs. Then they were all approached by e-mail and/or phone to ask if they had any
special provisions for talented students, matching our working definition. All institutions eventu-
ally replied. Most of this work has been carried out by honors student Vincent Warnaar
10.4.1 Aalto University
At Aalto University’s Information and Computer Science department, an honors

program was started to identify research talents. Participants get the opportunity for
an early start with research work, leading towards a research career (Table 10.2).
10.4.2 University of Turku
Beginning in 2013, the University of Turku offers talented students in physics a ‘fast
track’ program that includes extra courses during the summer, enabling students to
graduate faster. The program advertises the ability to attain a ‘master’s degree in
three years’. Admission mandates passing qualifying exams (Table 10.3).23
Table 10.2 Aalto University – Honours Programme in Information and Computer Science
Organizing Aalto University, Department of Information and Computer Science
institution
Target group Master students (participation for maximum of 2 years)
Admission Based on grades and study progress, selection by steering committee
Description Participating students get associated with a research group and are offered
employment in research-related work, part-time during semester and
full-time in summer
Founded 2009
Participants Around ten students at the time
Website http://ics.aalto.fi/en/studies/honours_programme/
Table 10.3 University of Turku – Physics fast track

Organizing University of Turku, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
institution
Admission Based on grades, program starts with summer course with examinations
at the end
Description Participating students skip some courses and work more hours year-round,
in order to graduate faster. They start the program with an intensive summer
course, followed by some examinations. If they pass, they can move
straight to the second year. They will then continue to do courses faster
Founded 2013
Participants 3 in total
Website www.utu.fi/fi/yksikot/sci/yksikot/fysiikka/opiskelu/fasttrack/Sivut/home.
aspx
23
More information (Finnish only) at www.utu.fi/fi/yksikot/sci/yksikot/fysiikka/opiskelu/fasttrack/
Sivut/home.aspx
Literature 163
Table 10.4 Oulu University – Language honors program

Organizing Oulu University, Languages and Communications extension school, in
institution connection with Oulu business school
Admission Based on grades
Description Students in the business school who are good in a certain language can
follow high-level courses in this language and if they get good marks, they
receive an honors certificate
Founded Around 2003
Website www.oulu.fi/kielikoulutus/node/10235 (Finnish only)
10.4.3 University of Oulu
The University of Oulu’s Languages and Communications School provides possi-

bilities to receive an honors certificate in different languages, including German and
English. To receive the degree, students must choose a specific combination of high-
level language courses spanning a minimum of 12 credits and study results must be
excellent. The program, initiated by an overseas scholar in the Oulu Business School
over 10 years ago, has existed ever since (Table 10.4).24
We came across a few small-scale honors programs at Finnish universities. To con-
clude our discussion of the Nordic countries, we will now describe the situation in
Iceland.
Literature25
Academy of Finland. (2014). Centres of excellence – Spearheading science. Retrieved from: www.
aka.fi/en-GB/A/Programmes-and-cooperation/Centres-of-Excellence-/. 6 Mar 2014.
Basic Education Act [Finland]. (1998/2010). 628/1998 – Amendments up to 1136/2010. Retrieved
from: www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1998/en19980628.pdf. 23 Jan 2014.
24
Personal communication from Anne Viherkari, development manager at the Language and com-
munication school, March 2014. More information (Finnish only) at www.oulu.fi/kielikoulutus/
saksa/tatk
25

Finnbay. (2013, December 3). Golden days where Finland’s education a success are over.
Retrieved from: www.finnbay.com/golden-days-where-acceptance-of-finlands-success-in-
education-is-over/. 2 Mar 2014.
Hornyak, B. (2011). Pillars of talent support in Finland: The Päivölä School Mathematics
Programme. In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support I. Best practices
within and without the European Union I (pp. 51–72). Budapest: Magyar Tehetségsegítő
Datoteke/CRSN/branje/International_Horizons_of_Talent_Support__I__2011_.pdf. 19 Dec
2013.
2010/2011 – Update 2012. Finland. UNESCO document IBE/2012/CP/WDE/FI. Retrieved from:
www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Finland.pdf.
12 Mar 2014.
Studies, 21(1), 63–76.
Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland]. (2011). Education and research 2011–2016: A devel-
opment plan. Retrieved from: www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2012/liitteet/
okm03.pdf. 12 Jan 2014.
Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland]. (2013). PISA12 – Still among the best in the OECD,
but performance is declining. Retrieved from: www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/
Julkaisut/2013/liitteet/PISA12_leaflet.pdf?lang=en. 12 Mar 2014.
Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland]. (2014). Education. Retrieved from: www.minedu.fi/
OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en. 28 Feb 2014.
Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland], National Board of Education, & CIMO. (2014).
Finnish education in a nutshell. Retrieved from: www.oph.fi/download/146428_Finnish_
Education_in_a_Nutshell.pdf. 4 Mar 2014.
Niemi, H. (2012). The societal factors contributing to education and schooling in Finland. In
H. Niemi, A. Toom, & A. Kallioniemi (Eds.), Miracle of education (pp. 19–38). Rotterdam:
Sense Publishers.
Netherlands. Finland. Version 2, October 2012. Retrieved from: www.nuffic.nl/en/diploma-
recognition/country-modules. 21 Feb 2014.
Statistics Finland. (2014). Appendix table 3. New university students and total number of students
by universities in 2013 (published 25/4/2014). Retrieved from: www.stat.fi/til/yop/2013/01/
yop_2013_01_2014-04-25_tau_003_en.html. 20 May 2014.
Tirri, K., & Kuusisto, E. (2013). How Finland serves gifted and talented pupils. Journal for the
Education of the Gifted, 36(1), 84–96.
Chapter 11
Iceland: Getting Back on Track
Between 2007 and 2009, GDP per capita in Iceland dropped from 48,000 to 27,200 euros.
(Eurostat 2014)
In 2008, the Icelandic economy was heavily hit. All three of its major banks
collapsed, currency value dropped severely and the country entered a period of
political and economic unrest. The whole economy, which focused on financial ser-
vices, had to be reinvented. The crisis was dealt with relatively quickly and success-
fully. Many sectors have been reformed, including the education system which had
already gone through some major reforms the years before. In the last decade, the
higher education sector has been firmly established institutionally. It seems Iceland
is now in calmer waters and can focus on building from its new structures (Box 11.1).
A fundamental principle of the Icelandic education system is that everyone
should have equal opportunities to acquire an education, irrespective of sex, eco-
nomic status, residential location, religion, possible handicap, and cultural or social
background (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture 2002). This principle
holds consistency with the other Nordic countries. However, due to its remote geo-
graphic location, small population and specific traditions, the education sector has a
special place in Icelandic society. Education is focused on a broad development of
the child, with special attention for ‘life skills’ (Box 11.2).
As in the other Nordic countries, compulsory education is carried out in an inte-
grated primary and lower secondary school (see Fig. 11.1). Such a grunnskóli can
be very small in rural areas, but can hold up to 1,200 pupils in Reykjavik. In grades
one through seven, pupils usually have one classroom teacher, while from year eight
upwards, pupils receive teaching from a number of different teachers. In recent
years, a kind of differentiation has become common in grades eight to ten. The dif-
ferentiation process lies largely with the pupils themselves, who form groups.
‘Pupils select a group according to ability, i.e. the best pupils choose a group where
they can accelerate in the subject, then there is a group for average pupils and the

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_11
166 11 Iceland: Getting Back on Track
Box 11.1: Iceland – The Basics

• Capital: Reykjavik
• Republic
• Centre-right coalition in power
Box 11.2: Education in Iceland

• Compulsory from age 6 to 16
• Integrated primary and lower secondary school in grunnskóli
• Four types of upper secondary school programs, students can regulate own
speed
• University admission through entrance exam (Stúdentspróf)
• All education comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education,
Science and Culture. Municipalities operate pre-primary and compulsory
schools, upper secondary schools and higher education institutions are run
by the state or private parties
weakest pupils choose a group where the subject matter is covered more slowly’
IBE (2012). Also, compulsory school pupils ‘are entitled to enroll in particular sub-
jects at upper secondary level while still in compulsory school, as long as they
demonstrate the necessary competence’ (Compulsory School Act 2008, article 26).
Upper secondary education comes in four types, ranging in approach from more
theoretical to more vocational. Education is freely available to all youth aged 16–18.
Schools may set admission criteria1 and some schools are more popular than others,
for example because of reputation, size or facilities.2 Students can regulate their
own speed of education, as subjects are usually taught in a unit-credit system. On
average, the university entrance exam (Stúdentspróf) can be taken after 3 or 4 years.
While the University of Iceland was founded only in 1911, there is a long history
of university attendance in Icelandic history. During the Middle Ages a significant
1
The requirements for admission made by the school are prescribed in an agreement between the
upper secondary school and the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Most schools are
public, but there is also a small number of private upper secondary schools (see Eurydice 2014,
chapter 6).
2
There are 34 upper secondary schools in Iceland. The smallest has around 100 pupils, the largest
around 2,000. In rural areas, boarding options are often available. See Eurydice 2014, chapter 6 for
more information.
11.1
Education System
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
LEIKSKÓLI GRUNNSKÓLI MENNTASKÓLI / FJÓLBRAUTASKÓLI
HÁSKÓLI
FJÓLBRAUTASKÓLI /
IÐNSKÓLI / SÉRSKÓLI
FJÖLBRAUTASKÓLI /
IÐNSKÓLI /
MENNTASKÓLI
Fig. 11.1 Structure of the Icelandic education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
167
number of Icelandic young men went to European universities for their education
(Jonasson 2004, p. 140). Still, it is common for Icelandic students to spend a period
abroad.
All tertiary education institutions are referred to locally as háskoli. There are
four institutes operated by the state, while private parties with state support operate
an additional three (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.1). The (public) University of Iceland
is by far the largest institution, followed by the (private) Reykjavik University (see
Table 11.1, in sect. 11.4). HEIs can set their own admission criteria. In practice,
criteria differ per subject. For popular courses, such as medicine, law and econom-
ics, entrance exams are held. The public institutions are free, while the private ones
charge tuition fees.
The higher education sector in Iceland is still young and in the last decade, it has
been under reform.3 After the 2008 banking crisis an international expert panel was
brought in to conduct a review of the system. They recommended reshaping the
education and research landscape and effectively bring it back to two universities,
with some regional campuses (Taxell et al. 2009). This recommendation has not
been followed, but in 2010 the government adopted a new policy in which universi-
ties must form a strong collaborative network (Ministry of Education, Science and
Culture [Iceland] 2010). In 2011, new national curricula came into effect. In basic
school, greater emphasis is placed on design-, arts and crafts-, vocational and tech-
nical studies. Upper secondary schools have more freedom in designing programs.
The arts and cultural education sector also went through a thorough review, follow-
ing a 2009 report (Bamford 2009). Here talent development was explicitly named a
goal, especially in music.
Recent education policy is also shaped by the Iceland 2020 paper, which was
published in 2011. This policy statement was drawn up after a dialogue between
hundreds of individuals, interest groups and authorities, following the banking crisis.
The paper contained a vision for the future ‘for Iceland to become a fully-fledged
member of the group of Nordic welfare states, which guarantee social security and
the equality of citizens’ (Government of Iceland 2011). Education was named ‘a key
factor’ and the importance of equality was restated, ‘A sound education and univer-
sal equality are the preconditions that will enable the nation to successfully embrace
this future’ (ibid).
While the egalitarian culture remains strong, as seen in the offer of educational
opportunities, Iceland also has a tradition of appreciating talent, especially within
the arts. There are different competitions between schools. In lower secondary
school, a talent competition in arts exists, with the annual Skrekkur competition for
13- to 15-year-olds as most famous example. In upper secondary schools, an annual
3
New legislation regulating the sector has been passed in 2006 and 2008.
quiz competition called Gettu betur, has been broadcast on public television since
1986. Teams of three students from each of Iceland’s gymnasiums compete against
each other. This competition has been won 18 times by Iceland’s most famous gym-
nasium, Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík. For several years an annual music competition
between all secondary schools in the country has also been held.
Some special provisions for talented children were made by local authorities in
the past. From 1985 to 1997, the City of Reykjavik supported The Curriculum
Enrichment Service, an extensive program offering extra opportunities to gifted
children aged 6–16. The program was stopped due to political reasons (Freeman
and Josepsson 2002, p. 39).4 From 2000 to 2004 a program called Gifted children –
Appropriate assignments (Bráðger börn – Verkefni við hæfi) was offered by the
Education Centre of Reykjavik in a collaboration with the University of Iceland and
National Parent’s Association in Iceland, and in 2003/2004 a working group was
asked by the government to prepare a report on provisions for gifted children in
elementary schools (Fræðslumiðstöð Reykjavíkur 2004) (Box 11.3).

The following local terms are used to refer to gifted/honors education:
• Bráðger börn (gifted children)
• Dýpkun (enrichment)
• Afburðanámsmenn (outstanding students)
In a 2009 European report, researchers concluded that while ‘there is not a

specific centralised policy concerning the education of gifted learners (…) the
National Curriculum Guidelines for Compulsory Education envisages that gifted
learners are entitled to enriched learning opportunities to develop individual skills
and talents, for example by providing pupils with accelerated and distant learning in
upper secondary school courses and in specific subject matters’ (European Agency
for Development in Special Needs Education 2009, p. 14).
An explicit focus on excellence in another policy area appeared in 2007, when
the Science and Technology Policy Council identified particular fields ‘where
Icelanders have the potential of achieving a specific success internationally’ and
issued a call for proposals for ideas for Centres of excellence or research clusters in
these fields (Rannis 2014). Three Centres were eventually allocated grants: the
GEORG center focusing on geothermal energy and the EDDA center focusing on
equality and diversity, both located at the University of Iceland; and the independent
4
In an overview of provisions in Iceland, Freeman (2002, p. 97–98) concluded that since then
‘there has been no special provision for the gifted in Iceland because the political atmosphere
forbids any taint of élitism’. Still, in an effect study conducted in 2000 comparing participants and
non-participants, the participants not only had a more positive attitude to education and life in
general, but also a stronger self-concept. See Freeman and Josepsson 2002 for more information.
Icelandic Institute for Intelligent Machines. Focus is clearly on research, but a spin-
off effect may be that Icelandic higher education institutions become more familiar
with competition for funding and the concept of excellence (Box 11.4).

The key players in excellence in education in Iceland include:
• Ministry of Education, Science and Culture
• Rannis – Icelandic Research Council
• Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (upper secondary school)
• University of Iceland
In addition, the new educational institution ‘Keilir – Atlantic Centre of excel-

lence’ was founded in 2007. The objective of this private non-profit institute is ‘to
prepare students, who have a vocational training and/or sufficient practical experi-
ence in industry, with the knowledge and competency necessary for further studies
at university level’. It is owned by the University of Iceland and a number of
Icelandic companies (Keilir 2014).
Some recent developments may lead to more focus on talent development in the
Icelandic education system. The new government, that came into power after the
2013 elections declared increased continuity between the different school levels as
a primary goal. Ideally, students can begin university studies at least 1 year earlier
than is customary. Currently, Icelandic students start university studies at the age of
20 or older (Statistics Iceland 2012). New programs may be developed for talents,
to stimulate them to progress through the education system faster.
Also, Iceland faced disappointing PISA results. In the 2012 report, Iceland
reached its lowest scores ever compared to preceding reports. The government
expressed worry, especially about the negative trend in reading skills (Björnsdottir
2013). New policies may develop to reverse this trend.
At the time of writing, no honors programs were found at Iceland’s seven higher
education institutions (see Table 11.1). However, some provisions for talented stu-
dents are worth mentioning.
At the University of Iceland, students run a company that does contractual work
for outside agencies in which students are hired to work on projects related to their
field of study (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2.1).
Table 11.1 Higher education institutions in Iceland

Higher education institution Webpage 2011a education offer
University of Iceland Hi.is 13,919 No
Reykjavík Universityb Ru.is 2,468 No
University of Akureyri Unak.is 1,493 No
Bifröst University Bifrost.is 431 No
Iceland Academy of the Artsb Lhi.is 414 No
Agricultural University of Iceland Lbhi.is 238 No
Holar University Collegeb Holar.is 172 No
Total 19,135
Note: To compile this table, first the websites of all HEIs were searched with keywords to find honors
programs. Then they were all approached by e-mail and/or phone to ask if they had any special
provisions for talented students, matching our working definition. All institutions eventually replied
a
Source: Statistics Iceland (2012)
b
Private institution
Reykjavik University participates in several Nordic Master Programmes and has

a double degree program in computer science with UNICAM University in Italy.5
Talented students at Reykjavik University are also stimulated by a system of schol-
arships. Outstanding upper secondary school students can have their tuition fees for
the first semester waived and students who achieve the best results in each examina-
tion period ‘have a chance to be on the Dean’s List and have their tuition fees for the
next semester waived. As a general rule, approximately 3 % of students shall be
included on the Dean’s List at each time’ (Reykjavik University 2014).
The Iceland Academy of the Arts (IAA) is a special case. In arts education, focus
on talent development remains strong and consistent with the Icelandic tradition of
appreciation of talents in arts. Over the last few years, about one in every four appli-
cants has been granted admission.6 IAA also runs a special diploma program in the
Department of Music, meant for young talented students from the age of 16 who
play an instrument at a high level, but have not yet completed a formal education
from the secondary system in Iceland. Their courses at IAA are evaluated as part of
their studies at the secondary school.7
This concludes our chapter on Iceland and also the part of this report about the Nordic
countries. While these countries share the same basic structure for compulsory educa-
tion, the development in higher education with respect to stimulating excellence has
proven to be varied. Development of honors education is strong in Denmark, but in the
other countries only a few small-scale programs in Finland were found. However, in
most countries incentives exist to change this situation and move towards more dif-
ferentiation within education. The Nordic Talent Network might also play a role in the
further development of programs for gifted and talented students.
5
However, for this program, no special admission procedure is in place.
6
Although comparable statistics are not available for all Icelandic higher education study paths,
this is considered a very strict selection.
7
Personal communication from Björg J. Birgisdóttir, Director of Academic Affairs (February
2014).
Literature8
Bamford, A. (2009). Arts and cultural education in Iceland. Reykjavik: Ministry of Education,
Science and Culture. Retrieved from: http://www.menntamalaraduneyti.is/media/MRN-pdf_
reports/ann_bamford.pdf. 5 Mar 2014.
Björnsdottir, I. R. (2013). Icelandic pupils doing worse. Reykjavik Grapevine, 3/12/2013. Retrieved
from: http://www.grapevine.is/News/ReadArticle/Icelandic-Pupils-Doing-Worse. 4 Mar 2014.
Compulsory School Act [Iceland]. (2008). no. 91. Retrieved from: http://eng.menntamalara-
duneyti.is/media/MRN-pdf_Annad/Compulsory_school_Act.pdf. 21 May 2014.
pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
Eurostat. (2014). Statistics database. Available at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/
portal/statistics/search_database. Used January 2014.
Fræðslumiðstöð Reykjavíkur. (2004). Bráðger börn í grunnskóla – Skýrsla starfshóps. Retrieved
from: reykjavik.is/sites/default/files/ymis_skjol/skjol_utgefid_efni/bradger_born_skyrsla_
starfshops.pdf. 11 May 2014.
Freeman, J. (2002). Out-of-school provisions for the gifted and talented around the world. A report
for the Department of Education and Skills. Part one: The research. Retrieved from: www.
joanfreeman.com/pdf/Text_part_one.pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
Freeman, J., & Josepsson, B. (2002). A gifted programme in Iceland and its effects. High Ability
Studies, 13(1), 35–46.
Government of Iceland. (2011). Iceland 2020 – Governmental policy statement for the economy and
community. Reykjavik: Prime Minister’s Office. Retrieved from: http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.
is/media/2020/iceland2020.pdf. 5 Mar 2014.
IBE (International Bureau of Education). (2012). World data on education (7th ed., 2010/2011 –
update 2012. Iceland. UNESCO document IBE/2012/CP/WDE/IC). Retrieved from: http://
www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Iceland.
pdf. 5 Mar 2014.
Jonasson, J. T. (2004). Higher education reforms in Iceland at the transition into the twenty-first
century. In I. Fägerlind & G. Strömqvist (Eds.), Reforming higher education in the Nordic
countries – Studies of change in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (pp. 137–
188). Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning.
Keilir. (2014). Educational offers. Retrieved from: http://www.keilir.net/en/keilir/educational-
offers. 5 Mar 2014.
8
Literature 173
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture [Iceland]. (2002). The educational system of Iceland.
Retrieved from: observal.eucen.eu/node/583/file_preview/file_text_text. 25 Feb 2014.
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture [Iceland]. (2010). Policy on public universities.
Retrieved from: http://samstarf.hi.is/sites/samstarf.hi.is/files/Policy%20on%20Public%20
Universities.pdf. 4 Mar 2014.
Rannis. (2014). Strategic research programme for centres of excellence and research clusters.
Retrieved from: www.rannis.is/funding/strategic-research-programme-for-centres-of-
excellence-and-research-clusters/. 5 Mar 2014.
Reykjavik University. (2014). Scholarships for students. Retrieved from: http://en.ru.is/services/
student-services/scholarships-and-awards/deans-list/#sthash.Xc9btyAg.dpuf. 4 Mar 2014.
Statistics Iceland. (2012). Registered students at university and doctoral level by schools, type of
study 2007–2011. Retrieved from: www.statice.is/?PageID=1297&src=https://rannsokn.
hagstofa.is/pxen/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=SKO04100%26ti=Registered+students+at+university
+and+doctoral+level+by+schools%2C+type+of+study+2007-2011++%26path=../Database/
skolamal/hsNemendur/%26lang=1%26units=Number. 6 Mar 2014.
Taxell, C., Yelland, R., Gillespie, I., Linna, M., & Verbeek, A. (2009). Education, research and
innovation policy a new direction for Iceland. Retrieved from: http://samstarf.hi.is/sites/
samstarf.hi.is/files/Education%2C_research_and_innovation_policy._Skyrsla_erlendrar_
serfradinefndar_mai_2009.pdf. 4 Mar 2014.
Part IV
The German-Speaking Countries
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
8684
Map IV.1 The German-speaking countries

176 IV The German-Speaking Countries
Germany, Austria and Switzerland share a number of features: they are federal
states,1 German is a main language2 and in the school system children are placed
according to academic abilities at an early age. This means that most academically
gifted students are likely to be found in a particular type of school, for example,
Gymnasium in Germany (European Agency for Development in Special Needs
Education 2009, p. 20).
In all countries, provisions are present for talented and gifted children in primary
and secondary education. These provisions have a long tradition: according to
German professor Albert Ziegler et al. (2013), measures to support talented and
gifted children have been in place since the late eighteenth century.3 These measures
can be found inside but especially outside the school system. Associations like
Jugend forscht in Germany and Switzerland and the Deutsche Schüler/
JuniorAkademie challenge children in summer camps and other meetings. Youth
can also get acquainted with the university early on, for example, through the
KinderUni and Schüler/innen an die Hochschulen programs in Austria.
Another feature found throughout the German-speaking countries is the role of
private foundations in sponsoring both individual talented youngsters and programs
for this group. These foundations can be neutral, but are often based on an ideology
or related to a church. Particularly in Germany, these foundations play an important
role in providing opportunities for excellent students (independent from the univer-
sities), both financially and as a network opportunity. Some foundations also work
across country borders, such as the WiWi talents program that is open to all German-
speaking students in economics4 and the business-sponsored German-language
e-fellows network that brings together talented students from different countries and
focuses on career development.5
Experts on gifted education from the three countries have been working together
in the International Panel of Experts on Gifted Education (iPEGE, see www.ipege.
net and iPEGE 2009) to promote the dissemination of knowledge about gifted edu-
cation and provide tools for teacher training.6
Apart from the similarities and cooperation efforts, there are also differences
between and within the countries. While honors programs have been developed in
Germany and Austria, they are still absent in Switzerland. Within Germany, the
state of Bavaria focuses heavily on talent development and has more programs and
other facilities than other states.
1
Germany and Austria are federal states, Switzerland is a confederation.
2
In Switzerland, four official languages are spoken: apart from German, these are French, Italian
and Romansh.
3
The authors provide a historic overview of the development of gifted education in the German-
speaking countries.
4
See www.wiwi-online.de
5
See www.e-fellows.net
6
At the time of writing iPEGE has published four brochures. One of these, called Professional
Promotion of the Gifted and Talented – Recommendations for the Qualification of Experts in
Gifted Education is also published in English (iPEGE 2009).
IV The German-Speaking Countries 177
We have focused mostly on universities in our search for honors programs. This
is partly because in the German tradition, there is quite a big difference between
universities and universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen), and most talent
programs are expected to be found at the university level. The focus on universities
is also due to a practical reason. In Germany, there are over 100 universities. In addi-
tion, there are over 200 Fachhochschulen. Contact was made with an organization
of these institutions at the national level: the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz.7 They
did not know about any programs fitting our description of honors programs, but
could not be sure there are none and recommended us to contact the institutions
individually. This was unfortunately not possible in the time frame of this research
project.
In the next chapters, similarities and differences in the development of honors
programs among the German-speaking countries will be discussed in detail.
Literature
European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education. (2009). Gifted Learners – A sur-
vey of educational policy and provision. Retrieved from: www.pef.uni-lj.si/fileadmin/Datoteke/
pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
iPEGE (International Panel of Experts for Gifted Education). (2009). Professional promotion
of the gifted and talented. Recommendations for the qualification of experts in gifted education.
Salzburg: iPEGE. Retrieved from: www.oezbf.net/cms/tl_files/Publikationen/
Veroeffentlichungen/iPEGE_1_english.pdf. 3 Sept 2014.
7
See www.hrk.de
Chapter 12
Germany: Foundations Supporting Talents
Bachelor’s qualifications with the addition “Honours” (“B.A. Hons.”) are excluded. (KMK 2010)
This sentence, in an official federal policy document dating back to 2003, is of

great influence to the development of honors education in Germany. It effectively
prohibits honors programs; students cannot have the completion of a program
recognized concurrently with their regular bachelor diploma.
This might be one reason for the still limited development of ‘official’ honors
programs in Germany, while the supporting infrastructure that would be needed for
its development is generally speaking quite complete.
Another reason is the tradition of providing individualized financial support to
students, often called Stipendium. There is an extensive support system in which
universities themselves, private foundations or companies offer grants to students,
to cover their living expenses (there are no tuition fees at public universities – see
more information below). Often the students who can benefit from these programs
are selected on the basis of ‘talent’, which can be defined in many ways. Mostly,
selection is based on grades, motivation letters and/or interviews. While there is
much focus on this individualized support system, there are fewer examples of extra
educational opportunities for talented students as a group. However, the picture is
varied throughout the different states of the federation Germany.
The country exists in its current form since 1990, when the former German
Democratic Republic (Eastern Germany, DDR) merged into the (western) Bundes-
republik. Germany now consists of 16 states (Bundesländer), which have a large
range of responsibilities and their own government (Box 12.1). Responsibility for
education is mostly at the level of the Bundesländer. They each have a ministry of
Education. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research1 only creates general
1
In German: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_12
180 12 Germany: Foundations Supporting Talents
Box 12.1: Germany – The Basics

• 82 million inhabitants
• Capital: Berlin
• Federal republic
• 16 Bundesländer (states)
• Social-democratic/christian-democratic coalition in power
Box 12.2: Education in Germany

• Managed mostly by the Bundesländer
• Compulsory from age 6 to 15 in most Länder
• Primary education at Grundschule
• Four types of lower secondary (compulsory) education
• Gymnasium upper secondary education leads to university
• Higher education in research universities and universities of applied
sciences (Fachhochschulen)
• University student numbers restricted for around half of all study paths
• Universities traditionally research-oriented, research also in institutes
• Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of
the Länder (KMK) handles central matters
guidelines for education (Nuffic 2012, p. 5). Education policy is coordinated by a

‘standing conference of state ministers of education and cultural affairs of the
Länder’, known as KMK (Box 12.2).2
Primary education is 4 years (age 6–10) and provided at Grundschule.3 Most
pupils attend state schools, although other schools based on religion or method are
available.4 The secondary school can be divided into two phases: Sekundarstufe I
(covering the compulsory education period) and Sekundarstufe II (upper secondary
education). Basically, there are four options for Sekundarstufe I, although the
specifics differ per state5 (see Eurydice 2014, chapter 6.1, KMK 2012 and Fig. 12.1).
2
In German: Kultusminister Konferenz (KMK).
3
Before this, there is Kindergarten (age 3–6), which is not compulsory and not part of the official
system, although most children attend. Responsibility is with the ministries for youth of the
different Länder.
4
For example Montessori and Waldorf/Steiner schools.
5
The four options are:
1. Hauptschule (providing basic general education, only at lower secondary level) and
2. Realschule (providing more extensive general education, offering possibilities for entrance to
higher (vocational) education) are mainly geared towards vocational education.
3. Gymnasium (preparing for general higher education entrance qualification)
12.1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Education System
KRIPPEN GYMNASIUM UNIVERSITÄT / KUNSTHOCHSCHULE /

KINDERGARTEN GRUNDSCHULE
MUSIKHOCHSCHULE
GYMNASIALE OBERSTUFE
SCHULARTEN MIT
VORKLASSE / SCHULKINDERGARTEN DREI BILDUNGSGÄNGEN FACHHOCHSCHULE
FACHOBERSCHULE
REALSCHULE BERUFSAKADEMIE
SCHULARTEN MIT VERWALTUNGSFACHHOCHSCHULE

ZWEI BILDUNGSGANGEN
ORIENTIERUNGSSTUFE
BERUFSFACHSCHULE FACHSCHULE
HAUPTSCHULE
BERUFSSCHULE + BETRIEB
SCHULEN DES GESUNDHEITSWESENS
BERUFSSCHULE + BETRIEB ABENDGYMNASIUM /

KOLLEG
SCHULEN DES GESUNDHEITSWESENS
Fig. 12.1 Structure of the German education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
181
As Gymnasium offers ‘intensified general education’, most talented students are

likely to be found here (Eurydice 2014, chapter 6.1 and 6.4; see also Freeman 2002,
pp. 80–82).6
German 15-year-olds score above average among OECD countries in all subjects
in the PISA report. Since 2003, it is one of the few countries to have improved in
both mathematics performance and equity score (OECD 2013).
Germany’s higher education sector is impressive in numbers. There are 392 insti-
tutions of higher education (see Box 12.37), offering over 16,000 study programs
(Statistisches Bundesamt 2014, p. 5). They have a combined student population of
approximately 2.4 million (BMBF 2014; HRK 2013).8 Almost 94 % of all students
are taught at public higher education institutions (HRK 2014). The rest is taught at
private or church-maintained institutions, which are predominantly small and
specialized (HRK 2013).9

110 universities
226 universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen)
56 specialized colleges of art and music
Historically, entrance to German universities was through the Abitur (exam)10 at

a Gymnasium. The diploma awarded is called Zeugnis der Allgemeinen
Hochschulreife. While most people still enter this way, in recent years the picture
4. Gesamtschule is a comprehensive school that offers teaching at different levels. In 2010, divi-
sion of pupils among the different kinds of schools was as follows: Hauptschule 16.6 %;
Realschule 25.0 %; Gymnasium 36.3 %; integrierte Gesamtschule 9.2 %; other types of schools
offering several courses of education 7.8 %, special schools 4.2 %. (KMK 2012, p. 3). After
completing Sekundarstufe I at Hauptschule or Realschule, there is usually a type of examina-
tion. Afterwards, there is vocational training available.
6
Education at a Gymnasium traditionally takes 9 years, but some Länder are in the process of
reducing this to 8, while in others 8- and 9-year courses are both offered. There was a general move
towards 8-year gymnasium, but there has been a reversal in trend as parents consider 8 years to be
too demanding for their children.
7
The list of universities at www.bmbf.de/en/6574.php was used as a basis. Numbers differ slightly
from the list used by the Statistisches Bundesamt 2014, but all major institutions are included on
both lists. See for more information Appendix 1.
8
The following institutions are part of the university system: Universitäten, Technische
Universitäten/Hochschulen and other Wissenschaftliche Hochschulen of similar level, such as
Pädagogische/Erziehungswissenschaftliche Hochschulen, Medizinische Hochschulen and
Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschulen (Nuffic 2012, p. 10).
9
The private institutions often focus on a very limited range of subjects, for example business
administration, media studies or design. There are 239 government-funded institutions of higher
education, compared with 113 private and 40 church maintained institutions.
10
Abitur includes four or five subjects and at least two of those must be taken at an advanced level.
has become more varied.11 To enter universities of applied sciences, students can
also take exams for a specific diploma called Fachhochschulreife.
A qualification does not guarantee a place, as there are more potential students
than places and studies are subject to quota. Places at universities are awarded using
a number of different admission quotas, based on federal or state law (see Box 12.4).12
Box 12.4: Student Quota

For a lot of study programs in Germany student quotas are set. These quota
can apply nationwide (for example in medicine), locally (per state/Bundesland)
or per institution. There are local restrictions on admission to over 50 % of all
study courses. For the study programs with nationwide quota, allocation is as
follows:
– 20 % of places go to highest achievers;
– 20 % to those longest on the waiting list;
– a small number (2 %) to students disadvantaged in some way (‘hardship cases’);
– allocation of the rest of the places is up to the university. Usually grade
point average is used as criterion, but selection through interviews and/or
entrance examinations is also common.
The system of nationwide quota is centrally administrated by the
Foundation for Higher Education Admission.
Participation in tertiary education is below the EU average in Germany, as

indicated on Map 2.1 in Chap. 2. This is partly due to the fact that for quite a few
jobs, qualifications from upper secondary education are sufficient. On-the-job-
training is also very common: the concept of dual learning (working and learning at
the same time) is well-known in Germany.
Most German universities are public institutions and while there are no tuition
fees, students usually pay a small fee to the university (around € 60 per semester).
For students, national grants and loans are available in the BaföG program, named
after the law initiating it in 1971 (see BMBF 2014).13 Apart from that, students can
also support themselves with grants and stipends from private institutions (more
information below).
11
Possibilities for people not holding this certificate have expanded. They can take tests to show
that their level is sufficient to keep up with other students. Also, other schools than Gymnasiums
can organize Abitur exams.
12
In German: Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (SfH). The states and the individual higher
education institutions can also commission the Foundation for Higher Education Admission to
operate a service for the relevant courses of study.
13
Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz (Federal Training Assistance Act). According to the Federal
Statistical Office, approximately 979,000 students were awarded BAföG grants and loans in 2012.
Roughly speaking, this amounted to around 20 % of the total number of students in higher education.
Germany has a long tradition of providing high-quality university education. The

oldest is the University of Heidelberg, founded in 1386. Six other universities were
founded in the fifteenth century. At present, German universities are found promi-
nently in international rankings: 38 German institutions made the top-500 on the
2013 Shanghai list, with the University of Heidelberg, University of Munich and
Technical University of Munich scoring highest.
When reviewing rankings, it is good to keep in mind that substantial research in
Germany occurs in specialized independent research institutes. These research
institutes are mostly organized in the form of societies. Most prominent example is
the Max Planck Society, an association of 82 research institutes, many being ranked
in the top of their respective field (Max Planck Gesellschaft 2014).14 While German
research already scores well in international university rankings, its research
achievements remain underestimated when just considering universities.
The past fifteen years have witnessed rapid, fundamental, and far-reaching changes in the
attitudes held and approaches taken to the topic of giftedness by schools, researchers, and
ministries of education in German-speaking countries. (Ziegler et al. 2013, p. 386)
Generally speaking, German culture is somewhat ambivalent towards intentionally

labelling academic excellence. Germany fosters an overall egalitarian tendency,
based on the idea that too much praise leads to elitism. At the same time talent
development in Germany has a long but sometimes difficult history (Ziegler et al.
201315). For example, the former GDR had an intricate system of talent development,
of which the most well-known example occurred in the field of sports (Nagy and
Györi 2011, p. 79). Yet criticism of this program arose surrounding accusations of
doping being a structural element (see for example Spitzer 2004).
After the reunification in 1990, the federal government recognized the need for
talent development in order for Germany to keep up its economic achievements.
Soon, a program was established and financial support for a number of programs
and competitions was secured. By 2005, a yearly federal budget of approximately
100 million euros became available for nationwide activities (Van Eijl et al. 2005,
p. 134, own translation). In the same year, the Excellence Initiative in research
gave a significant boost to the support of excellence programming throughout the
university system. In order to understand the current state of affairs in higher education,
we will first discuss three elements of the culture towards excellence separately:
provisions for children in primary and secondary education age, individual grants
and programs by private foundations, and the Excellence Initiative.
14
Since 1948, seventeen Nobel laureates came from the Max Planck institutes. Other prominent
research institutes include the Helmholtz, Fraunhofer and Leibniz societies.
15
The authors provide an overview of early initiatives.
12.2.1 Primary and Secondary School Age
An extensive network to identify talented students and provide them with extra
opportunities is in place in primary and secondary education. This is partly provided
in school, in the form of acceleration possibilities and extra lessons. There are also
a few schools aimed exclusively at talents. Examples include a public school,
Schloss Hansenberg in the state of Hessen, and a private school, Sankt Afra in
Saxony. Both are boarding schools for gifted students in upper secondary school.16
There are also programs in which individual universities work together with
gymnasia in different forms. One example is TUMKolleg, in which TU München
works with the Otto-von-Taube Gymnasium. A maximum of 15 selected gymnasium
students follow courses and do their own research project at the university.17 Also,
different universities have programs, generally known as Frühstudium (early studies),
in which talented secondary school students can follow courses at universities.
More info can be found in Baumgartner 2014.
However, talent development is organized mainly outside or alongside the
school system. A large number of competitions, talent camps, summer schools and
talent development programs are available, mostly sponsored through private foun-
dations. The best-known and largest programs are the German Student Colleges
(Deutsche Schüler Akademie, DSA) and German Junior Colleges (Deutsche
JuniorAkademie, DJA).
The DSA program, founded in 1993, has support from the federal government.
Its basic idea is to have an extra-curricular program for highly motivated students in
Sekundarstufe II (age 15/16 to 18/19) during the summer holidays. The academies
each last 16 days and consist of a maximum of 6 courses with topics from different
scientific disciplines (Deutsche SchülerAkademie 2012, see also Györi and Nagy
2012). Every year, about 1,000 talented students take part.
The DJA program was developed as a spin-off for younger children in 2003. It is
organized regionally and meant for students in Sekundarstufe I (from class 7; age 12
to age 15/16). As in DSA, ‘particularly motivated and hard-working young people
come together who want to expand their interests and abilities during the holidays’
(Deutsche JuniorAkademien 2014). Both programs are under the patronage of the
German president.
There are also other national programs for talented youth, such as Jugend
forscht18 which focus on science talents.
Apart from these academies, a tradition of competition exists. National
competitions for talented students are held in many areas, including Olympiads in
traditional school subjects as well as competitions for composers, writers and inventors,
to name a few.
16
Schloss Hansenberg is based on a public-private partnership between the state of Hessen and
(commercial) partners, see www.hansenberg.de. Sankt Afra claims to be the first publicly funded
school of its kind. See www.sankt-afra.de/landesgymnasium-sachsen.html for more information.
17
More info can be found at tumkolleg.ovtg.de (German only).
18
See www.jugend-forscht.de
Most of the academies and competitions are supported by the federal ministry of
Education.19 The ministry subsidizes the non-profit organization Bildung und
Begabung, which organizes many of the events mentioned above. Bildung und
Begabung presents itself as ‘the focal point’ for talent development in Germany,
supporting around a quarter of a million talented young people per year.20
On a side note: attention for gifted and talented children and youngsters has also
found its way into teacher education and psychology programs. At least four special
courses are available (See iPEGE 2010 for details21). Research on education of high
ability students is carried out in different universities,22 most notably the International
Centre for the Study of Giftedness (ICBF) at the University of Münster.23
12.2.2 Individual Support from Foundations
While the federal government has focused on talent support in primary and secondary
education since the 1990s, it has also started to focus on financial support for indi-
vidual talented students in higher education since 2005. By now, it has built up an
elaborate infrastructure to this end (BMBF 2013c). However, most of the financial
support is indirect. The ministry helps to coordinate the efforts of different private
(non-profit) foundations that offer support to talented students in the form of
scholarships. In the StipendiumPlus team, 12 organizations are working together,
each offering ‘support to students and young researchers with special talents’
(StipendiumPlus 2014). Many of these organizations have existed for decades, but
are now part of one team and have decided to offer the same amounts of financial
support to all accepted students. The team includes ideologically neutral organiza-
tions as well as others that are more politically associated, denomination-based or
are run by the unions or employers’ associations. They have established common
rules and aims in coordination with the federal ministry and work with the motto
‘Diversity in Unity’ (ibid, see also BMBF 2013b24).
19
More info can be found at www.bundeswettbewerbe.de/startseite. See also Nagy and
Györi 2011 .
20
See www.bildung-und-begabung.de/ueber-bildung-und-begabung/ueber-uns for more info
(German only).
21
The four described courses are ‘Specialist in Gifted Education’ (ECHA) at the Internationalen
Centrum für Begabungsforschung, and the Master programs ‘Psychology of Excellence in
Business and Education’ at LU München, ‘Bildungswissenschaft’ at Pädagogischen Hochschule
Karlsruhe and ‘Begabungsforschung und Kompetenzentwicklung’ at the University of Leipzig.
22
Ziegler et al. 2013 provide an overview of research initiatives and topics, although these are
mostly focused on gifted education in primary and secondary education.
23
See www.icbf.de/en/ for more information.
24
Their funding programs target German students as well as EU students and other international
students who are entitled to permanent residence in Germany. The rules are laid down in a docu-
ment by the federal ministry, BMBF 2013b.
At the end of secondary school, there are different possibilities for excellent
students to apply for grants to support their university studies. Through one website
(stipendiumplus.de) students can find all foundations offering scholarships and
choose where to apply. For most of these grants, applications can already be made
before entering the university.
Depending on the chosen foundation, a student accepted into the stipendium
program ‘either receives “only” scholarship, or he is granted a scholarship and a
special development opportunity. Generally, that involves studying in a group in
which the student is assisted by an older student mentor and familiarizes himself
with the educational institution, meets contemporaries with similar interests, and
attends various events and scientific conferences’ (Nagy and Györi 2011, p. 81; see
also Grosch 2013).25 Each year, around 25,000 students and 5,000 Ph.D. students
are supported by these foundations (BMBF 2013c). This amounts to approximately
2 % of all university students. From 1998 to 2012, the amounts involved in these
grants rose from around 50 million euros to 175 million euros per year.
In addition, there is also the public-private Germany Scholarship (Deutschland
Stipendium). This award, introduced in 2011, ‘provides financial and non-material
support to high-achieving and committed students from all over the world. Modeled
after the principle of public-private partnership, businesses, foundations or private
individuals sponsor young talent with a pledge of 150 euros per month. The Federal
Government matches this amount with another 150 euros’ (BMBF 2013a). These
scholarships are awarded by the universities, which also set the criteria. ‘In addition
to academic achievement, the criteria for selecting scholarship recipients include
social commitment and personal achievements, such as a student overcoming
challenges or obstacles in his or her social or family background’ (ibid). This grant
is thus not only used as talent development tool, but also as an emancipatory
measure. In 2012, almost 14,000 students were supported.
In addition to these government-supported or -coordinated programs, there are
many more grant opportunities available to excellent students, either from
other foundations or specific to a university or field of studies. In some cases, the
foundations supplying grants also present their students with extra courses, network
meetings and other forms of support, or the grants are specifically meant to follow
studies abroad (see for some examples Baumgartner 2014). In short, financially and
on an individual basis, talented students in Germany have many opportunities to
apply for (financial) support (Box 12.5). However, selection is competitive: out of
the approximately 1.7 million university students in Germany,26 around 40,000 (just
under 2.5 %) qualify for support from one of the organizations in StipendiumPlus or
the Deutschland Stipendium.
25
An example is the Max Weber program in Bavaria, which will be described under the Elite
Network of Bavaria below.
26
See Appendix 1 for a list of student numbers at all universities.

The main institutions involved in excellence in education are:
• The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural
Affairs (KMK)
• The individual ministries of education for the Bundesländer
• German Rector’s Conference (HRK)
• German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat)
• Bildung und Begabung, organizer of Deutsche SchülerAkademie and
Deutsche JuniorAkademie
• StipendiumPlus, private foundations supporting talents working together
• Elite Network of Bavaria (front runner in development of honors programs)
12.2.3 Excellence Initiative
The German culture towards excellence has also been influenced by another very rele-
vant development, the ‘Excellence Initiative’ (Exzellenzinitiative). In 2005, the federal
government decided to organize a competition ‘to sustainably strengthen research at
Germany’s universities and to raise the visibility of German science and research vis-à-
vis our international competitors’ (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 2014). This was a
radical turn of policy, which prompted a lot of discussion. According to DFG – the larg-
est independent research funding organization in Germany and one of the organizers of
the competition – it meant a departure ‘from a long-cherished – and fatally wrong – con-
ception that all universities are equal and hence should be treated equally. Instead, the
Excellence Initiative pursued a path of inequality and of funding elites’ (ibid).
In two rounds of competition, allocation of funds was made. Funding was in
three categories: for excellent Graduate Schools to promote young researchers,
Clusters of Excellence to promote top-level research and Institutional Strategies to
strengthen the institution and its research setting as a whole. The first and second
rounds in 2006 and 2007 resulted in the appointment of nine ‘excellent universities’.
This received a lot of attention in the media. In June 2012, funding decisions for
the third and final round of the Excellence Initiative were made. The committee
selected 45 graduate schools and 43 clusters of excellence, as well as 11 excellent
universities (partly the same universities as before) (BMBF 2012). The Excellence
Initiative has been very important for promoting a positive cultural shift towards
excellence in Germany. The Initiative has brought the concept of excellence to the
university system, generated a lot of attention, stimulated research and led to a
culture change of affirming excellence in the universities, which are now more
focused on competition (Wissenschaftsrat 2010, p. 12). According to the influential
German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat), this new focus
should also influence the overall university structure. In a 2010 report, the Council
recommended more flexibility in the university system.27
12.2.4 Excellence in Higher Education
We have now seen three developments that are relevant for the culture towards
excellence in German higher education. First, there is an extensive infrastructure for
children in primary and secondary school, mostly organized in academies and com-
petitions outside the school system. Second, a large number of individual stipends
or grants are available to talented students in higher education. Third, the Excellence
Initiative has brought the concept of excellence to the university system. What does
this mean for excellence in higher education?
In higher education, development of special programs for excellent students is
still limited. As said before, a regulation regarding honors programs was set in 2003,
stating that awarding bachelor qualifications with the addition ‘Honours’ is not pos-
sible (KMK 2010). The exact reason for this regulation is not known, but it might
be more related to practical reasons than to a specific view towards the development
of excellence programs.
The bachelor diploma was unknown in Germany until the start of the Bologna
Process. When the KMK made regulations about bachelor diplomas in 2003, it
wanted to avoid confusion. It is still unusual to enter the labor market with ‘just’ a
bachelor diploma, as the diploma is not very prestigious in general, and the addition
‘with honors’ might in fact only lead to confusion with the term ‘honorary’.28 This
has led some universities to be cautious with the development of special provisions
for talented students, and especially with calling them honors programs. However,
other universities did not see this as a problem and worked around the legal restric-
tions by awarding special additional diplomas for participation in such programs.
The fact that the term ‘honors’ is not easily used in Germany was also problematic
for us when searching for these programs (Box 12.6).

The term honors is used in Germany, but not very common (possibly due to
the legal restrictions). Local terms used for excellence programs include:
• Exzellenzprogramm (excellence program)
• Talenteprogramm (talent program)
• Elitestudiengang (elite study path)
• High Potential program
• Exzellenzförderung/Begabtenförderung (promotion of excellence/giftedness)
27
In the report, it explicitly names the Dutch University College Utrecht and the University of
Maastricht as examples of differentiation within the university system.
28
Personal communication from Stephan Bedke at Elite Network of Bavaria, April 2014. See
interview in Appendix 4 for more details.
It has become more common to talk about elite, excellence and talent in Germany
over the last few years. This has been institutionalized since the start of the
Excellence Initiative, which can be seen as a culture change. Also, individual finan-
cial support is made available widely, but the development of honors programs is
still limited. How this will develop in the coming years, is hard to say. An important
question is what will come after the Excellence Initiative, when this program fin-
ishes in 2017.
One other development deserves mentioning. In recent years, both companies
and students themselves have started to form online communities and organizations
focusing on providing opportunities to excellent students. An example is e-fellows.net,
which aims to ‘foster talented students by offering the first online scholarships in
Europe. Through these scholarships, e-fellows.net supports the highest qualified
and talented university students by offering services and creating a unique network
for their studies and career’.29 The network was founded in 2000 by three large
companies and is sponsored by many more. Recently, the Austrian students4excel-
lence program, which had a somewhat similar approach, was incorporated into
e-fellows.net. These networks may play an even larger role for excellent students in
the future, especially if initiatives are not taken by universities themselves.
Germany has a rich university landscape. In total, there are 110 research universities
with an added total of about 1.7 million students. A full list of all German research
universities that were contacted and their replies can be found in Appendix 1.
Eventually 107 out of 110 universities responded, three did not provide an answer.30
The resulting list of programs was then compared with preliminary findings for an
overview prepared by TU München master student Raphaela Baumgartner, who
kindly provided her findings to us (Baumgartner 2014). She managed to find more
programs and the extra programs were added to the list.31 In all, 17 universities with
29
See www.e-fellows.net/UeBER-UNS/About-us
30
Most of this work has been carried out by Utrecht University honors students Margit Ruis, Floris
van Rees, Nico Brinkel and Florian Sloots.
31
The different results from Baumgartner’s and our own research shows that in some cases, information
about programs for excellent students is not spread throughout the HEI, as at least one HEI where
Baumgartner managed to find an honors program answered ‘no’ on our question if they had a
program according to our definition. Possibly this is related to our use of the term ‘honors’, which is
not widely used in Germany and in fact might scare off HEIs who are aware of the KMK regulation
forbidding bachelor degrees with the addition ‘honours’. We would like to thank Raphaela Baumgartner
and her supervisor Dr. Jutta Möhringer for sharing information with us.
8684
Hamburg
TUHH
Oldenburg
Lüneburg
Niedersachsen Berlin
GERMANY
Paderborn
North Rhine-
Westphalia
Bonn
WHU
Rheinland-
Bayreuth
Pfalz Würzburg
Saarland Erlangen
Saarland Bavaria
Baden- Regensburg
Württemberg KU Eichstätt
Augsburg
Ulm TUM
Freiburg LMU
AUSTRIA
SWITZERLAND
Map 12.1 German universities with honors programs, 2014
honors programs according to the definition in Chap. 2 were identified, with some
running more than one program. They are shown on Map 12.1 and in Table 12.1.
The universities with honors programs are not distributed evenly over the country;
eight of them are in Bavaria. Here, universities have a joint program through the
Elite Network of Bavaria (Elitenetzwerk Bayern). This network and all of its
programs will be discussed together. Apart from the Elitenetzwerk, there are also
other provisions for excellent students in Bavaria, such as the Bayerische Elite
Akademie, which is organized outside the university system and takes place during
Table 12.1 Honors programs at German universities

No. of
students
(whole
University (state) institute)a Honors form Name of program
Niedersachsen
Leuphana University 8,151 Multidisciplinary Studium Individuale
Lüneburg
University of 12,269 Disciplinary Honours-Programm
Oldenburg Niederlandistik
Hamburg
TUHH 6,584 Disciplinary GES_Plus
Baden-Württemberg
University of Freiburg 24,157 Multidisciplinary University College
Freiburg
University of Ulm 9,846 Disciplinary/interdisciplinary Eliteförderung
Rheinland-Pfalz
WHU Otto Beisheim 990 Disciplinary Bachelor in International
School of Management BWL/Management
North Rhine-Westphalia
University of Bonn 31,878 Interdisciplinary Bonner Honors Program
University of 19,312 Disciplinary/interdisciplinary Exzellenzprogramm,
Paderborn Eliteförderprogramm
EIM
Saarland
Saarland University 17,800 Disciplinary Bachelor-
Förderprogramm
Bavaria
Ludwig Maximilians 47,959 Interdisciplinary Elite Network Bavaria
Universität München
University of 36,610 Interdisciplinary Elite Network Bavaria
Erlangen-Nürnberg
Technische Universität 35,761 Interdisciplinary Elite Network Bavaria,
München Junge Akademie, best.in.
tum
Würzburg
Regensburg (with bachelor entry)
University of Augsburg 19,096 Interdisciplinary Elite Network Bavaria
University of Bayreuth 12,520 Interdisciplinary Elite Network Bavaria
Katholische 5,171 Interdisciplinary Elite Network Bavaria
Universität
Eichstätt – Ingolstadt
a
Source: Statistisches Bundesamt (2014, pp. 31–33)
the semester breaks of three subsequent semesters.32 Generally speaking, the

promotion of talent development can differ per state, as the Bundesländer all set
their own rules and policies in education.
The programs that were found at the universities are very diverse, varying from
small disciplinary programs aimed at deepening knowledge, to large interdisciplin-
ary programs offered university-wide. There are also two full multidisciplinary
bachelor programs for selected students, in Lüneburg and Freiburg. While both are
based on the Liberal Arts and Sciences model, they each take a different approach.
In the relatively small Leuphana university Lüneburg focus is on the individual
student, who can choose his/her own program from existing courses, as is further
described below. In the larger university of Freiburg, the ‘Dutch University
College model’ is followed, bringing all students together in one multidisciplinary
environment and on one campus. The group focus (bringing excellent students
together) as found in Freiburg is rare in the German context, where focus is mostly
on the individual student. This is in line with the more general strategy of supporting
individual talented students with grants and stipends. More information about grant
and stipend programs for talented students, as well as a more detailed overview of
existing programs to support the more able ones can be found in Baumgartner’s
thesis (2014). She also shows a number of fast track promotion programs, aimed at
attracting the best students to a fast Ph.D. program, already starting the program in
their master phase.
Two situations illustrate our choices what to include and not to include as honors
education.
The first is the situation of a private (but state-recognized) university, which
operates a strict selection process for all its programs. An example is Jacobs
University in Bremen. Here, admission requirements set for all programs are very
high and include GPA, an essay, teacher recommendations and SAT scores.
However, the university offers regular programs and does not have special honors
tracks and is therefore not included on our list below.
The second situation concerns universities saying that they do have a special
educational offer for individual talented students, but no official program. For
example, the Ruhr University Bochum promotes study for ‘talented bachelor
students who wish to do more than the regular study programs, have the possibility
to achieve thirty additional credit points within the regular BA of 180 credit points
in order to get an additional certificate’.33 As this is not an official program, it is not
included on the list below.
32
More info can be found at www.eliteakademie.de
33
Personal communication from Monika Sprung, Director International Office Ruhr University
Bochum, April 2014. See also www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/universitaet/pdf/RUB-Hochschulentwick
lungsplan2014-2019.pdf (page 14).
Universities with honors programs according to our definition are shown in

Table 12.1, ordered by state. A full list of universities can be found in Appendix 1.
We now move to our discussion of individual honors programs that were found
in German universities, using the federal ministry’s list of 110 public and private
universities (see Appendix 1) as a basis.
12.4.1 Leuphana University Lüneburg
In October 2012, three directors of the Leuphana University Lüneburg decided to

create the Studium Individuale program, based on the American Liberal Arts and
Sciences system. It allows students to choose all the courses in their curriculum,
ignoring disciplinary borders. The main goal involves teaching students to look
at issues from different perspectives and find solutions to complex issues. The
program is meant for motivated students wishing to create their own profile for
the labour market. Every year 35 students are selected. Selection is based on
additional activities students have performed in the past (showing for example
leadership qualities or community service), a written test and an interview.
Accepted students follow courses at different majors based on their individual
objectives. During the first semester the students develop their knowledge on the
fundaments of science. In the second semester the students choose 1 of the 13
minors (the Studium Individuale program itself is considered their major). After
that, the students follow 15 modules, in which they can discover different disci-
plines. They end the program with a bachelor thesis and an oral exam. At the end
of their studies the students receive a Studium Individuale bachelor certificate.
This grants access to different master courses, based on the courses the student
has followed (Table 12.2).
Table 12.2 Leuphana University Lüneburg – Studium Individuale

Organizing Leuphana University Lüneburg
institution
Form Multidisciplinary full bachelor program
Admission Selection based on CV, test and interview
Description Individualised full bachelor program for selected excellent students, based on
Liberal Arts and Sciences model
Founded October 2012
Participants Maximum of 35 per year
Website www.leuphana.de/bachelor-studium-individuale.html
Table 12.3 University of Oldenburg – Honours-Programm der Niederlandistik

Organizing School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies at the University of
institution Oldenburg
Target group Second year bachelor students
Admission Invitation, based on grades
Description Top students get invited to a program where they deepen their
knowledge and improve their reflective and analytical skills
Founded Winter semester 2009/2010
Participants Maximum of 8 per year
Website None
12.4.2 University of Oldenburg
The goals of the Honours-Programm der Niederlandistik are to provide students a

deeper insight in the content of the bachelor program, to motivate the students
for the master program, to develop the student’s reflective and analytic skills and to
create a platform where motivated students can meet. Every year a maximum of
eight students are admitted into the program. Students with excellent grades in the
first year get invited in a personal letter. The students then decide if they want to
accept this invitation. The program takes two semesters. Several events are orga-
nized where students and teachers meet. After a kick-off event, students follow four
lectures per semester. Half of these focus on linguistics and half on literature. The
topic of a final lecture is based upon the wishes of the students. Besides, the students
get mentored by faculty to help them with their academic progress. The program
ends with an informal event, such as an excursion or a dinner, in which students
receive a certificate (Table 12.3). More info in the interview with student Laura
Peters in Box 12.7.34
12.4.3 Technical University Hamburg-Harburg
The GES_Plus program was started to promote the international image of the uni-
versity and the city of Hamburg. It is designed for top students interested in spend-
ing time at a university abroad and complete an internship during their bachelor
program. The regular General Engineering Science program has a large interdisci-
plinary aspect. Students participating in the GES_Plus program receive the oppor-
tunity to focus on a certain specialization during their stay abroad. The program
takes 4 years, 1 year longer than the regular program. Students can apply at the start
of their second bachelor year. Selection is made based on motivation, language
skills, grades and finally an interview.
34
This interview was conducted by Nico Brinkel.
Box 12.7: ‘Teachers Spend Extra Time on You’

Interview Laura Peters, student in Honours-Programm der Niederlandistik
since summer 2013.
Why did you decide to join the program after you received the invitation?
‘In the first place I felt honored I was invited and that they selected me.
Secondly (…) this seemed like a good opportunity to learn more about Dutch.
Also I find it interesting to learn more about the research the teachers conduct,
because during the regular program we do not really get an impression. I think
I have a much better overview now. It is very interesting.’
How do you like it so far?
‘It is really nice. The department of Dutch is already a small department
with much interaction, but with the honors program the teachers spend extra
time on you. There is also more room to talk with the teachers and get to know
them, and because of the honors program you start to realize the teachers are
personally interested in the students.’
Do you know any other honors programs?
‘No, I have never heard of other programs and I think this program is
unique in Germany. When our teacher told about it, this was new to everyone
and it immediately sounded very interesting. We do of course know study
programs with tough selection, but I know nothing similar to this.’
How do people in Germany look towards excellence? Do you think it is
undervalued?
‘I noticed that at my former school, the teachers always focussed on the
students that have problems. This is still mostly the case at the university, so I
think the German culture is mostly focussed on the weaker students. For the
good students there is less attention. This is also what the teacher of the hon-
ors program told me. She found it weird that this focus was always on the
weaker students, so to change this attitude she decided to start the honors
program.’
Before the selected students leave for their chosen destination, they complete
courses in language and the culture of their destination. Then they go to a partner
university abroad where they focus on their specialization. The second semester of
this year is spent on an industrial internship in a company in the same country.
Graduates receive a special diploma, besides their regular diploma. The program is
supposed to enable participants to choose a wider range of master programs and
qualify them for master programs at top universities abroad (Table 12.4).
Table 12.4 Technical University Hamburg-Harburg – GES_Plus

Organizing General Engineering Science bachelor program at Technical University
institution Hamburg-Harburg
Admission Based on grades, language skills, motivation and interview
Description Top students get the opportunity to study abroad and do an internship there
Founded 2012
Participants Around 7 per year
Website www.tuhh.de/alt/tuhh/education/degree-courses/bachelors-programs/
ges-plus.html
Table 12.5 University College Freiburg

Organizing institution University of Freiburg
Form Multidisciplinary full bachelor program
Admission Based on grades, language skills, motivation and interview
Description Full English-language bachelor program in Liberal Arts and Sciences
for selected excellent students
Founded 2012
Participants 160 (total in 2013/2014)
Website www.ucf.uni-freiburg.de
12.4.4 University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg started with a Liberal Arts and Sciences program
organized in a special College in October 2012, as the first of its kind in Germany.
Selection is competitive and based on grades, a study-orientation-test, CV, English
proficiency, a motivation letter and finally an interview.
The program in the University College Freiburg consists of courses in four study
areas: the Core, the Language, the Major and Electives. In the Core all students are
intensively trained in general academic skills. The Language part ensures that all
students can communicate on academic topics in excellent English and good German,
and ideally acquire a good grounding in a third language. In the Major students
specialize in a specific academic field. The program aims to provide sufficient depth
to make admission into disciplinary master programs possible. The Electives area
enables students to either pursue interdisciplinary studies of their choice, engage
in more practically oriented projects or undertake specific additional training
necessary for admission into their chosen master program (Table 12.5).
Table 12.6 University of Ulm – Eliteförderung

Organizing University of Ulm
institution
Form Mono- and interdisciplinary program
Admission Invitation plus selection based on grades and motivation
Description Individualised program which challenges students and gives them the
opportunity to develop themselves, to work interdisciplinary and get acquainted
with doing research
Founded 2011 (general), different per program with a specific subject
Website www.uni-ulm.de/studium/individuelle-studienmodelle/elitefoerderung.html
12.4.5 University of Ulm
The University of Ulm works according to a system of interdisciplinary and cooperative

working methods, taking shape in individual study models for all students. One of
the models, called “Eliteförderung”, focuses on students who want extra challenges.
The total number of students participating in the Eliteförderung was unavailable to
us, but in medicine, for example, 100 students take part. Educational forms, content
of the programs and selection criteria also differ per discipline.
The best students are offered individual possibilities to do courses at a more
advanced level. The starting point is disciplinary, but students are also encouraged
to gain interdisciplinary depth, for example by joining an interdisciplinary research
team for a specific project. The best 3 % of students are invited, but students can
also apply by sending their CV and a motivation letter. Selection mostly depends on
motivation and grades. When students successfully complete the program, they
receive a certificate (Table 12.6).
12.4.6 WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
The WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is a private university, offering

a study program in Business Administration. Besides, an intensive version of this
undergraduate program called Bachelor in International Business Administration
is also offered. In the 3-year program 210 credits instead of the regular 180 can be
earned. Students spend five semesters at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management,
one semester abroad and do two summer internships, at least one of which must be
completed abroad. To apply, students must send a motivation letter, CV, grades,
proof of very good English skills, two letters of recommendation and proof of an
apprenticeship of at least 6 weeks, or equivalent practical experience. The final
round of the application process consists of an interview, a presentation on a topic
Table 12.7 WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management – Bachelor in International Business
Administration
Organizing WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar
institution
Form Interdisciplinary bachelor program
Admission Selection based on grades, motivation and language skills
Description This honors program is a more challenging version of the regular bachelor, for
students with broad interests
Founded 1984
Participants 44 (total)
Website www.whu.edu/programme/bachelor-in-internationaler-bwl-management-bsc/
Table 12.8 Bonn University – Bonner Honors Program

Organizing Bonn University
institution
Target group Bachelor students, from third semester
Admission Selection made by faculties, based on grades
Description A special interdisciplinary program offered on top of the normal curriculum
for talented students, consisting of different elements
Founded 2013
Website www3.uni-bonn.de/research/portal-for-doctoral-and-postdoctoral-
researchers/doctoral-studies-in-bonn/
honors-program-for-ba-students-1?set_language=en
of choice given by the candidate, a group discussion and an analytical test. Students
successfully completing the program receive a bachelor degree and a certificate of
business law (Table 12.7).
12.4.7 Bonn University
The goal of the university-wide program at Bonn University, founded in 2013, is

early identification and individualized support for students who are especially
talented. All bachelor students can apply and are selected based on criteria set by
their major program of study. The Bonner Honors Program has four components: a
mandatory part for all honors students regardless of their major, including courses
on general scientific theory; an elective module at a different major; a 1-week summer
school; and participation and discussion at an honors lecture by an outstanding
scholar. Upon successful completion, students receive a special certificate, listing
classes and grades with a description of the program (Table 12.8).
12.4.8 University of Paderborn
Two departments at the University of Paderborn each offer a special program to

excellent students. The first is the Exzellenzprogram in the department of economic
sciences (Wirtschaftswissenschaft or WiWi). Focus in this program is on the ‘excellence
seminar’, an extra individual course a student can choose. Progress is discussed in
groups and in the ‘community of excellence’ network. The second program is in the
department of electrical engineering, computer science and mathematics and is
called the Eliteförderprogramm EIM. The focus here is on community, from which
several activities are organized including seminars and excursions. Participation in
research activities forms an important element (Tables 12.9 and 12.10).
12.4.9 Saarland University
The basic idea in this program, for both bachelor and master students, at Saarland
University is that each student has a professor who will guide her/him through the
course of study and will function as mentor and academic advisor. At least once a
Table 12.9 University of Paderborn – Exzellenzprogramm

Organizing University of Paderborn, Department of Economic Sciences
institution
Target group Bachelor students from second year
Admission Selection based on grades and motivation letter
Description Students form a community and choose their individual seminar, on which
they work during a semester. The program ends with a presentation
Founded Unknown
Website wiwi.uni-paderborn.de/studierende/erfolgreich-studieren/studium-individuell-
gestalten/exzellenzprogramm/
Table 12.10 University of Paderborn – Eliteförderprogramm EIM

Organizing University of Paderborn, Department of electrical engineering, computer
institution science and mathematics
Target group Bachelor students from second year and master students
Admission Invitation to make application sent to all students, target group is best 10 %.
Application followed by interview with two professors and presentation
Description Participants form a community undertaking various activities and participating in
departmental research projects. Successful participants receive a special certificate
Founded 2007
Website www.eim.uni-paderborn.de/lehre/elitefoerderung.html
Table 12.11 Saarland University – Bachelor-Förderprogramm and Master-Förderprogramm

Organizing Saarland University, Department of Computer Sciences
institution
Target group Bachelor students from second semester, master students
Admission Selection based on invitation and grades
Description Individual counselling by a professor and special tutorials for honours students
to enable networking
Founded Unknown
Website www.cs.uni-saarland.de/index.php?id=138&L=0 (master)
semester the professor and student meet to talk about the current status of the
individual student’s studies and the plans for the next semester. Each semester there will
also be at least one special tutorial for all students in the program, where advanced
topics are discussed. The aim is to enable participants of the program not only to
finish their studies more quickly with excellent results, but also to get to know other
excellent fellow students. After the first bachelor semester the students with best
grades are nominated by professors. Others can apply themselves. In the master
program, application is based on grades (Table 12.11).
12.4.10 University of Regensburg
The University of Regensburg takes part in the Elite Network of Bavaria (described
below) and offers an Elite Graduate Program. The situation at Regensburg University
is somewhat special, because an additional Honors Program is also offered to
bachelor students. They can take part in some of the courses, co-curricular projects
and lectures that are normally reserved to master students in the Elite Graduate
Program (although they will not get any degree credit). The bachelor Honors
Program consists of an Honors-Seminar, Honors-Project, mandatory internship and
excursions, lectures and workshops. Additionally, it offers courses in soft skills and
method training. Mentoring by professors and industry partners, also offered in the
Elite Graduate Program at master level (described under the Elite Network of
Bavaria below), is available to the bachelor students (Table 12.12).
12.4.11 Technical University Munich (TUM)
The Technical University Munich has a number of programs to promote excellence.

It participates in the Elite Network of Bavaria (see below), it cooperates with
secondary schools (TUMKolleg, see above) and it has two more programs aimed at
excellent students. The university-wide program Junge Akademie is built around
Table 12.12 University of Regensburg – Honors Elite Programme

Organizing University of Regensburg – Faculty of Business, Economics and Management
institution Information Systems
Target group Master students (but bachelor students can take part from fourth semester)
Admission Selection based on grades, motivation, CV and interview
Description Co-curricular program with different components, aimed to deepen students’
knowledge
Founded 2003
Website www.honors.de
Table 12.13 Technical University Munich (TUM) – Junge Akademie

Organizing Technical University Munich (TUM)
institution
Target group Bachelor and master students
Admission Students must be nominated by a dean and/or recommended by a professor.
Selection is then based on grades, letter of motivation, CV, project idea and
interview
Description Interdisciplinary network of students and faculty, where new members focus on
a 1-year group project and can later take on other tasks
Founded 2010
Website www.jungeakademie.tum.de
the concept of community. Students can join and in their first year they work in a
team on a self-chosen project. In later years they can take on other tasks. The best.
in.tum program is specific to the Department of Informatics and meant for the best
2 % of students. It includes special courses. In both cases, participation is by invita-
tion or recommendation from staff. More information can be found in Baumgartner
2014 (Tables 12.13 and 12.14).
12.4.12 Elite Network of Bavaria
The state of Bavaria has a long tradition of supporting excellent students.35 ‘In 1966,
the Bavarian state government started giving out state scholarships for the
highly gifted by passing the Bavarian Gifted Student Legislation’ (Elite Network
35
The current Elite Network of Bavaria even traces its beginnings back to 1852, ‘when King
Maximilian II of Bavaria founded the institution “Maximilianeum” which still exists today and
Table 12.14 Technical University Munich (TUM) – best.in.tum

Organizing Technical University Munich (TUM), Department of Informatics
institution
Target group Bachelor students, from third term
Admission By invitation, based on study performance or particular contributions to the
department
Description Extra support and assignment to chair, special courses called ‘pearls of
informatics’ and certificate which states that student belongs to the best two
percent of the department
Founded Unknown
Website www.in.tum.de/en/current-students/advising-and-support/mentoring-and-
support-programs/foerderprogrammen-der-tum/promotion-of-outstanding-
students-at-the-tum.html
of Bavaria 2014). In the early 2000s, Bavaria felt it had to act to keep its position in
the globalizing labor market. The current Elite Network of Bavaria started in 2002
as an initiative ‘to identify and support the most promising talents at the Bavarian
universities in the best way possible’ (ibid; see also Bayerisches Staatsministerium
für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst 2006). The overall aim is to get highly qual-
ified and motivated students and graduates from across the globe on board for
research projects in Bavaria. It consists of five complementary programs, starting at
secondary school examinations and continuing until post-doc level. Two programs
are relevant for bachelor and master students: The Max Weber-Program which is an
individual scholarship program for bachelor and master students, and the Elite
Graduate Program which offers full honors master programs to selected students.36
In the Max Weber-Program, two elements are central. First, the offering of academic
support and network and second, financial support.
For all participants, events are aimed at both deepening studies and promoting
interdisciplinary dialogue. The academic events are complemented by job-related
events. A second central element involves financial support: every member receives
an allowance of € 900 per semester and is entitled to financial aid for studies or
projects abroad. Students with the best grades can apply for the program around the
time of their secondary school examinations. They will then have to take an extra
exam. Those who pass may be accepted into the program. Otherwise, students can still
enter at later stages. Around 1,800 students per year take part in the program.37
which aims at enabling the highly-gifted Bavarian secondary school graduates to fully concentrate
on their academic work at a Munich university’ (Elite Network of Bavaria 2014).
36
The other three programs are International Doctorate Programs, Research Scholarships and
International Junior Research Groups. More information about the background and development
of the Elite Network Bavaria can be found in the interview with Stephan Bedke in Appendix 4.
37
Numbers for 2013/2014, taken from www.elitenetzwerk.bayern.de
For excellent master students, Elite Graduate Programs have been established at
eight Bavarian universities. These programs ‘are designed to stimulate top academic
performances of outstanding students, and simultaneously develop open-minded
and upright personalities who, after their graduation, are prepared to take on extraor-
dinary challenges in academic research or leading positions in the professional
world’ (Elite Network of Bavaria 2014). The programs are organized as full master
degree programs and are established as an alternative option to already existing
courses. Programs are funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Science
and the Arts for a maximum of two funding periods of 10 years altogether.
After that time, they may continue at their own expense, while the network still
guarantees the quality. Characteristics of all programs include an intensive tutoring
system (details vary per university), a high level of internationalization, special
extra-curricular courses towards personality development, targeted introduction of
the students to academic research and into a strong interdisciplinary network across
numerous universities.
In early 2014, there are 20 Elite Graduate programs. In total, around 1,000 students
are enrolled. Each program has its own admission procedure, but generally speaking
excellent marks in secondary school and in a bachelor program in a relevant field
are necessary as well as a motivation letter and CV. Below, the specifics of each
program are worked out in more detail. As most programs are run by more than one
university, descriptions below are ordered by fields of study and then alphabetically,
according to the title of the program in German.
12.4.12.1 Humanities, Social Sciences and Economics
(a) Art and Visual Culture Discourses from a Historical Perspective/Aisthesis

(Eichstätt, Augsburg, LMU Munich)
The program, founded in 2006, focuses on cultural and literary sciences in an
international and interdisciplinary way. It enables students to connect with universities,
research-institutions and museums. Admission is dependent upon knowledge of two
cultural languages and willingness to learn another and an admission test in the
form of an exercise. Fifteen students started in 2013–2014, and nine the year before.
See interview with student Alice Hatebur in Box 12.838 for more details.
(b) Ethics of Textual Cultures
(Augsburg, Erlangen)
This modular four-semester program is interdisciplinary, with the underlying
view that ethical judgments can be grasped only if they appear in the form of
concrete texts.
38
This interview was conducted by Florian Sloots.
Box 12.8: ‘A Great Opportunity’

Alice Hatebur studies in the Aisthesis Elite Master program at the University of
Eichstätt. She holds a Bachelor in History of Art and Italian, started the Elite
Master in September 2012 and spent one semester at the University of Florence.
What is the content of the program?
‘Every Monday we have three or four hours of theoretical lessons in history
of art, but also in literature. We have a professor for three weeks and then we
have an exam, and after that a new professor. (…) The Monday course is really
the core of the program. For this we have to read, read and read… But it is a very
nice thing, we have the opportunity to work together with amazing professors.’
Do you think this program gives you better opportunities for your career?
‘On the one hand, yes. The program is located in four different cities, we
have a group of 40 to 60 professors and we are just nine students. That is a great
opportunity. In my CV they can see that I have studied at five different universi-
ties during my master’s program, which is interesting. On the other hand, when
I was looking for a random student job, first I wrote all of these qualifications
on my CV, but no one hired me. Then someone gave me the advice; just don’t
write all the stuff about the elite program, because you are looking for a small
job. I shortened my CV and people started to accept my applications.’
How do other people in your direct environment look at the elite program?
‘In general they are very proud and positive. Or they make fun of it, like,
“here is the elite student”. Once I got into a hot discussion. One of my friends
has a sixteen-year old son. He told me that in his opinion it’s not fair that I
get all the advantages. (…) But in general I think most people are positive,
they are proud and happy for me.’
(c) Finance & Information Management

(Augsburg, TU Munich)
This program (founded in 2004) prepares for an international business career.
Education is based on an interdisciplinary approach. A social project is an inte-
grated part of the curriculum as well as workshops with business partners. Both an
individual research project and the master thesis are conducted with a professional
partner. Internships are offered between the semesters. Around 25–30 students
participate per year.
(d) Honors in Business, Economics, and Information Systems
(Regensburg)
This program, founded in 2003, has 68 participating students. It is also connected
to the honors bachelor program, described earlier under University of Regensburg
(Sect. 12.10). The master program includes a stay abroad. ‘Service to the community’
is explicitly mentioned as admission criterion.
(e) East European Studies
(LMU Munich, Regensburg)
The program is meant to give students competence in East European languages,
as well as key skills that will enable them to assume responsible positions in the
areas of politics and policy, economics, cultural affairs and academia. It includes
obligatory internships for students in companies and institutions dealing with
Eastern Europe and participation in a specially designed summer school in one of
the region’s countries. Admission includes language requirements for German,
English and at least one East European language.
12.4.12.2 Natural Sciences
(f) Advanced Materials Science

(TU Munich, LMU Munich, Augsburg)
This program will end and no longer accepts new applications.
(g) Fokus Physik
(Würzburg)
Since 2006, the university of Würzburg offers honors education under the name
FOKUS (Forschungs Orientierter Komprimierter UniversitätsStudiengang), a research
oriented compressed university degree program. Education occurs in small groups with
intense individual support as well as collaboration with internationally renowned
research teams. Several Max-Planck-Institutes are involved. The reduction of the
period of study is achieved by a reorganization and modularization of the curriculum.
(h) Global Change Ecology
(Bayreuth)
This program, founded in 2006, has around 45 participants. Admission includes
the successful passing of a specific aptitude assessment test.
(i) Macromolecular Science
(Bayreuth)
Founded in 2004, this is not a master program as such, but an accompanying elite
study program to different study programs. A special degree is awarded to a total
number of 57 participants. The admission procedure includes two selection
interviews. The program consists of advanced modules, interdisciplinary practical
courses, courses for research and writing publications, management training and
research abroad.
(j) Physics with Integrated Doctorate Program

(Erlangen-Nuremberg, Regensburg)
This program, founded in 2004, lasts 4.5 years and is different from most programs
in the Elite Graduate Program: it starts in the bachelor and leads to a Ph.D. (doctorate)
instead of (just) a master. The first three semesters are within the regular bachelor
physics program. The very research-oriented program starts in the fourth semester
and involves taking part in several research projects. During this phase, the students
spend 1 year together at the same university (one semester in Erlangen and one in
Regensburg). The internationally oriented doctorate part of the program covers the
lasts 3 years of the program. It includes a master thesis, an intense doctoral studies
program with lectures dedicated to special topics of modern physics, study days and
international workshops. Furthermore, each student spends several months abroad
for scientific research projects.
(k) TopMath – Mathematics with integrated Doctorate Program
(TU Munich, Augsburg)
TopMath aims at the top 3–5 % of all mathematics majors. TopMath aims to lead
talented students to a doctoral degree within a total of 6–7 years of studies. It
consists of an elite bachelor phase and the doctoral program with parallel honors
master. The first 2 years are within the general basic mathematics bachelor program.
An increasingly research-oriented phase begins in the third year, with intensive one-
to-one supported research sessions gradually replacing regular lectures. It is also
possible to directly enter the TopMath doctoral program.
(l) Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
(TU Munich, LMU Munich)
The program provides an interdisciplinary combination of maths and physics.
Focus is also on transdisciplinarity, i.e. the transfer of knowledge from one discipline
to a related one.
12.4.12.3 Engineering and Computer Sciences
(m) Advanced Materials and Processes

(Erlangen, Bayreuth, Würzburg)
This international study program, founded in 2005, delivers lectures in English,
so a language test is included in the admission requirements. The program consists
of three semesters of lectures, soft skills and research projects followed by an indus-
trial internship and a 6-month master project. In total, 145 students have joined
since this program began.
(n) Advanced Optical Technologies

(Erlangen)
This interdisciplinary master program, founded in 2007, involves institutions
from outside the university, like the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits and
the Bavarian Laser Centre in Erlangen, which offer additional expertise.
(o) Bavarian Graduate School of Computational Engineering
(TU Munich, Erlangen)
The Bavarian Graduate School of Computational Engineering (BGCE, founded in
2004) can be understood as an umbrella organization for three different master programs.39
All programs strive to involve the students directly in current research projects by
extending the project-oriented parts of the program. In addition, block tutorials and
summer schools advance the scientific and interpersonal skills of the students.
(p) Software Engineering
(Augsburg, TU Munich, LMU Munich)
The program, founded in 2006, is geared towards the top 2 % of students in
computer science and aims to educate an elite. Industrial partners take part and a
stay at a partner university abroad is included in the program.
(q) Technology Management
The program is carried out at the Center for Digital Technology and Management
(CDTM), a joint institution of TUM and LMU. The program exists in approxi-
mately the current form since 2004, but before there was already talent education at
CDTM. Around 20 people enroll in the program every semester. The program pre-
pares highly talented students for future leadership positions in the field of high-
technology management. Courses are supported by business partners. A stay abroad
is part of the program.
12.4.12.4 Life Sciences
(r) Experimental & Clinical Neurosciences

(Regensburg)
A number of international universities are involved in the program, which began
in 2006. The intense program leads to a master degree in 1.5 years. Admission
involves an entrance exam. Approximately 20 students enter the program annually.
39
Computational Engineering (CE), Computational Mechanics (COME), and Computational
Science and Engineering (CSE).
Literature 209
(s) Neuro-Cognitive Psychology

Founded in 2004, the main goal of this program is to provide a state-of-the-art
interdisciplinary education in this brain research-oriented discipline of psychology.
Cooperation is sought with universities in- and outside Germany for approximately
20 students per year who enter this program.
(t) Neurosciences
Approximately 15 master students per year enter this program, which was
founded in 2006. Cooperation is sought with Max-Planck-Institutes and Helmholtz
Centers. Admission includes proof of research experience and two separate recom-
mendation letters.
This description of all Elite Master programs in the Elite Network of Bavaria ends
our discussion of German honors programs. We have found an interesting variety:
from university-wide interdisciplinary programs to small-scale disciplinary pro-
grams and from the master programs in the Elite Network of Bavaria to a full
American-style honors college in Freiburg. We now move to Germany’s southern
neighbors, starting with Austria in the next chapter.
Literature40
Baumgartner, R. (2014). Begabtenförderprogramme für Studierende: Eine Bestandsaufnahme an

deutschen Universitäten. München: Masterarbeit.
Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst. (2006). Elitenetzwerk auf
einen Blick/Elite Network at a Glance. Retrieved from: www.elitenetzwerk.bayern.de/uploads/
media/ElitenetzwerkaufeinenBlick.pdf. 17 Mar 2014.
BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) [Germany]. (2012). Excellence Initiative
for cutting-edge research at institutions of higher education. Retrieved from: www.bmbf.de/
en/1321.php. 17 Mar 2014.
BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) [Germany]. (2013a). Germany
Scholarship: Best of both worlds for students. Retrieved from: www.deutschland-stipendium.
de/de/2319.php. 21 Dec 2013.
BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) [Germany]. (2013b). Zusätzliche
Nebenbestimmungen zur Förderung begabter Studierender sowie begabter
40
Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und –wissenschaftler in der Fassung vom Juli 2013. Retrieved

from: www.bmbf.de/pubRD/richtlinie_begabtenfoerderung.pdf. 17 Mar 2014.
BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) [Germany]. (2013c). Förderangebote für
begabte Studierende und Promovierende (10/6/2013). Retrieved from: www.bmbf.de/de/11869.
php?hilite=begabtenfoerderung. 17 Mar 2014.
BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) [Germany]. (2014). Higher education.
Retrieved from: www.bmbf.de/en/655.php. 6 Mar 2014.
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. (2014). What is the Excellence Initiative? Retrieved from:
www.excellence-initiative.com/excellence-initiative. 12 Feb 2014.
Deutsche JuniorAkademien. (2014). Seit 2003 erfolgreiche Talentförderung: die Deutschen
JuniorAkademien. Retrieved from: www.deutsche-juniorakademien.de/. 13 Mar 2014.
Deutsche SchülerAkademie. (2012). Deutsche SchülerAkademie. Last updated: 28/2/2012.
Retrieved from: www.deutsche-schuelerakademie.de. 13 Mar 2014.
Elite Network of Bavaria. (2014). Concept. Retrieved from: www.elitenetzwerk.bayern.de/elite-
network-home/elitefoerderung/?L=2. 12 Feb 2014.
from: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/eurydice/index.php. Data for different countries
gathered November 2013 – May 2014. Last checked 22 May 2014.
Freeman, J. (2002). Out-of-school provisions for the gifted and talented around the world. A report
for the Department of Education and Skills. Part one: The research. Retrieved from: www.
joanfreeman.com/pdf/Text_part_one.pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
Grosch, C. (2013). Begabungs- und Exzellenzförderung im Hochschulsystem. Presentation at
ÖZBF Kongress 2013. Retrieved from: www.oezbf.net/cms/tl_files/Fortbildung/OeZBF_
Ko n g r e s s e / Ko n g r e s s % 2 0 2 0 1 3 / P r a e s e n t a t i o n e n % 2 0 Ko n g r e s s / 6 b _ Fo e d e r u n g _
Hochschulsystem_Deutschland_Christiane_Grosch.pdf. 12 Dec 2013.
Györi, J. G., & Nagy, T. (2012). Summer talent support camp: Talent support programme of the
German student academy. In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support II. Best
practices within and without the European Union II (pp. 35–64). Budapest: Magyar
Tehetségsegítő Szervezetek Szövetsége/Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: www.talentcentrebu-
dapest.eu/sites/default/files/International-Horizons-of-Talent-Support-II.pdf. 9 Jan 2014.
HRK (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz). (2013). Higher Education Institutions in Figures 2013.
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pdf. 6 Jan 2014.
HRK (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz). (2014). Higher education in Germany. Retrieved from:
www.hrk.de/activities/higher-education-system/. 6 Jan 2014.
iPEGE (International Panel of Experts for Gifted Education). (2010). Professionelle begabtenför-
derung. Eine Dokumentation von Lehr- und Studiengängen. Salzburg: iPEGE. Retrieved from:
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19 Nov 2013.
KMK. (2010). Common structural guidelines of the Länder for the accreditation of Bachelor’s and
Master’s study courses. Resolution of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education
and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany of 10 October 2003 as
amended on 4 February 2010. Retrieved from: www.kmk.org/fileadmin/veroeffentlichungen_
beschluesse/2003/2003_10_10-Accredidation-Bachelors-Masters-study-courses.pdf. 10 Mar
2014.
KMK. (2012). Basic structure of the education system in the Federal Republic of Germany –
Diagram. Retrieved from: www.kmk.org/fileadmin/doc/Dokumentation/Bildungswesen_en_
pdfs/en-2012.pdf. 6 Jan 2014.
Max Planck Gesellschaft. (2014). A short portrait of the Max Planck Society. Retrieved from:
www.mpg.de/183251/portrait. 6 Jan 2014.
Nagy, T., & Györi, J. G. (2011). Talent support in Germany based on a talent development model.
In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support I. Best practices within and
without the European Union I (pp. 73–96). Budapest: Magyar Tehetségsegítő Szervezetek
Szövetsége/Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: https://www.pef.uni-lj.si/fileadmin/Datoteke/
CRSN/branje/International_Horizons_of_Talent_Support__I__2011_.pdf. 19 Dec 2013.
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keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-germany.pdf. 12 Dec 2013.
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Vorbericht. Fachserie 11 Reihe 4.1. Published 6 March 2014. Retrieved from: https://www.
destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/BildungForschungKultur/Hochschulen/
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Wissenschaftsrat. (2010). Empfehlungen zur Differenzierung der Hochschulen. Retrieved from:
www.wissenschaftsrat.de/download/archiv/10387-10.pdf. 12 Mar 2014.
Chapter 13
Austria: A Rapidly Expanding Higher
Education Sector
Between 2002 and 2011, the number of Austrians in tertiary education increased by 55 %.
(Eurostat 2014)1
Austrian universities receive more students each year. This is in line with govern-
ment policy to have a well-educated population, but it also leads to a high drop-out
rate and discussion about the future of the university system. In the last decade,
Austria’s tertiary education participation has gone from well below the EU-27 aver-
age to well above this average (Eurostat 2014; BMUKK 2013a) 2
One of the reactions to this development is the slow rise of honors programs in
higher education in recent years. This is a logical step in the Austrian context, after
the development of extensive programs and projects for talented and gifted children
in primary and secondary education in earlier years.
Austria – like Germany – is a federal republic consisting of Bundesländer (Box 13.1),
but educational matters are significantly more in federal hands than in Germany.
While primary and secondary education programs are administered by the
Bundesländer, tertiary education is the responsibility of the federal government.
The education system is quite stable, as federal legislation on education can only be
amended or introduced with a two-thirds majority in parliament (Box 13.2).
Differentiation is made early in the Austrian school system. Primary level is
4 years from age 6. Lower secondary school starts around age 10, also lasts 4 years,
and is divided in four different levels. Academic secondary school lower level (AHS
Unterstufe) is the one preparing students for university education. For students
1
This is the highest figure of all countries in this study with the exception of Luxembourg (56.1 %).
Figures are based on Eurostat 2014 and corrected for population growth.
2
While 2.77 % of Austrians were in tertiary education in 2002 (below average), this had risen to
4.30 % in 2011 (above average) (Eurostat 2014). In student numbers the growth is also clear. While
in 1955 there were fewer than 20,000 students in higher education, in 2012 this number had risen
to almost 318,000 (BMUKK 2013a).

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_13
214 13 Austria: A Rapidly Expanding Higher Education Sector
Box 13.1: Austria – The Basics

• Capital: Vienna
• Federal republic, nine Bundesländer
• Social-democratic/christian-democratic-conservative coalition in power
Box 13.2: Education in Austria

• Nine years compulsory from age 6
• Four years primary education
• Four types of lower secondary school
• Universities and Fachhochschulen provide main types of higher education
institutions
• Relatively open higher education admission, based on secondary school
exam
• Small annual fee for university education
• Ministry of Education and Women’s affairs responsible for primary, sec-
ondary and teacher education
• Ministry of Science, Research and Economy responsible for higher
education
entering upper secondary school,3 there are even more possibilities (see Fig. 13.1).
However, students aiming for university generally remain at the same school, now
at the upper level (AHS Oberstufe). This also lasts 4 years and ends with an exam.
Students can be ready for university after completing 12 years of education and
passing the exam, usually at the age of 18 (see Fig. 13.1). Weyringer (2013,
pp. 370–372) provides a more detailed overview (in English) about the Austrian
school system. A summary of the educational system flow from primary to tertiary
education is also shown in BMUKK (2013b), and with some more comments in
Institut für Bildungsforschung der Wirtschaft (2011).
There are different ways to get an entrance ticket to Austrian universities. The
most important is through Matura, the general high-school exit exam. In Austria,
this is officially known as the Reifeprüfung.4 The exams are not yet standardized
nationally, but are taken per school and administered by the candidates’ own teacher
and an examination board that includes one external examiner. Standardization is
foreseen for 2015.5 Historically, Austrian students who passed the Reifeprüfung
3
This includes the last year of compulsory education.
4
It consists of a number of written and oral exams. Compulsory subjects are German and mathe-
matics and one foreign language, usually English.
5
Details of government plans on this matter can be found at https://www.bmbf.gv.at/schulen/unter-
richt/ba/reifepruefungneu.html
13.1
Education System
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
KINDERGARTEN VOLKSSCHULE ALLGEMEINBILDENDE HÖHERE SCHULE UNIVERSITÄT
HAUPTSCHULE FACHHOCHSCHULE
OBERSTUFENREALGYMNASIUM
PÄDAGOGISCHE HOCHSCHULE
NEUE MITTELSCHULE
POLYTECHNISCHE SCHULE BERUFSSCHULE UND LEHRE
WERKMEISTER-, MEISTER-,
BAUHANDWERKERSCHULEN
BERUFSBILDENDE MITTLERE SCHULE
KOLLEGS
BERUFSBILDENDE HÖHERE SCHULE /
BILDUNGSANSTALT FÜR KINDERGARTENPÄDAGOGIK /
BILDUNGSANSTALT FÜR SOZIALPÄDAGOGIK UNIVERSITÄTS- / FACHHOCHSCHULLEHRGÄNGE
AUSBILDUNGEN DES GESUNDHEITSWESENS
Fig. 13.1 Structure of the Austrian education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
215
were free to go to any university and study any subject they wanted. Partly because
of the enormous increase in student numbers in recent years, in February 2013 a bill
was passed in parliament, requiring extra entrance examinations for some studies.
Included were popular studies such as medicine, dentistry, business administration,
psychology, biology and communication science. University education in Austria
was free until 2001, when a fee of around € 360 per semester was introduced.
Current legislation requires only students who study longer than the formal mini-
mum study period plus two tolerance semesters to pay the fee. Many exemptions to
this rule are in place.6
Austria has six ‘classic’ universities, offering a broad spectrum of opportunities.
The oldest and by far largest is the University of Vienna, which was founded in
1365, and has over 90,000 students. This is also the only Austrian university featur-
ing prominently on world rankings.7 There are also a number of specialized univer-
sities, which were in some cases ‘cut off’ the traditional universities.8 All the main
universities are state institutions. Since 1999 private universities are also allowed.
They are usually specialized in areas such as design and theology and cater for less
than 10 % of the student population (ÖPUK 2013).
Since the 1990s, Austria also has universities of applied sciences
(Fachhochschulen), where teaching is focused more on the acquisition of profes-
sional skills (FHGuide 2013; BMWF 2013a).9 In total, Austria has 73 higher educa-
tion institutions. To find honors programs, we focus on 22 public universities. See
Box 13.3 for more details.
Box 13.3: Austrian Higher Education Landscape

22 Public universities (6 general, others specialized);
21 Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen), offering profession-
ally oriented bachelor, master and postgraduate programs;
13 Private universities;
17 University Colleges of Teacher education
6
For example, in cases of illness, pregnancy, disability, child care and professional occupation fees
are waived. For more information, see https://www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/16/
Seite.160104.html
7
The University of Vienna is found at place no. 170 of the Times Higher Education World
University Rankings 2013–2014 and place 151–200 in the Shanghai ranking.
8
These include technical universities in Vienna and Graz, medicinal universities in Vienna, Graz
and Innsbruck, the University of Economics and Business in Vienna, University of Veterinary
Science in Vienna, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, University for
Continuing Education in Krems and the Montanuniversität Leoben (for mining etc.). There is also
a number of art universities, mostly in Vienna.
9
At the time of writing there are 21 Fachhochschulen, most of which offer a wide range of subjects,
but some offer just a restricted number of degree programs in specialized subjects.
In Austria, the meaning and acceptance of giftedness and gifted education can be
characterized as being ambivalent: On one hand, a great variety of supportive initiatives and
endeavors can be listed, and on the other hand strong reservations toward the label highly
gifted can be identified. (Weyringer 2013, p. 365)
According to University of Salzburg researcher Stephanie Weyringer, Austrians

do not like to use the term ‘gifted’, because it separates an individual from the
group. But while terminology use is difficult, provisions for talented children and
young people have developed nonetheless. The first steps on the road to promoting
excellence in Austrian education were set in the late 1980s.10 Until that time, it was
highly disputed. According to ÖZBF (Austrian Research and Support Center for the
Gifted and Talented) researcher Claudia Resch, this rested on three reasons: one,
the severely negative connotation of the term “elite” because of the Nazi past, two,
the commonly held belief that gifted children and adults do not need any further
support measures, and three, the differentiated school system (Resch 2014,
pp. 11–12). While these reasons are still sometimes mentioned, ‘it became increas-
ingly clear that special provisions for gifted children were a necessity’. Focusing on
higher education, the first excellence program at an Austrian university started in
1989: the Center of Excellence at Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien.11
The national institution ÖZBF was formed in 1999. Subsequently, excellence in
primary and secondary schools was well-established. In 2006, an extensive report
on ‘excellence in research’ (FWF 2006) was ordered by the government and subse-
quently debated in parliament. A next step was the creation of the Task Force for
Giftedness Research and Gifted Education, which consists of members from both
ministries concerned with education and the ÖZBF.12 At the request of the education
minister, this Task Force has written the White Paper ‘Promoting Talent and
Excellence’ (ÖZBF 2013a, published in English and German), providing an over-
view of talent/excellence programs at different levels of education in Austria. The
White Paper calls for the promotion of talents and excellence in every educational
institution, ranging from kindergartens, schools and universities, to adult education
facilities, communities, and companies. It describes how the promotion of talents
can be implemented in each of these areas of action. Furthermore the White Paper
discusses the importance of research, the creation of support and research networks,
10
In 1986, a local association for highly gifted children in the Salzburg area was founded. This later
resulted in the formation of the Österreichische Zentrum für Begabtenförderung und
Begabungsforschung (Austrian Research and Support Center for the Gifted and Talented; ÖZBF),
which is still based in Salzburg.
11
This highly successful program is described in more detail below. An overview of early initia-
tives throughout Austria at all levels can be found in Resch 2014.
12
One of the other results was that in 2009, the new Institute of Science and Technology Austria
(IST) was formed, with the ambition ‘to become a world-class research center. By 2026, up to
1,000 scientists and doctoral students will conduct research in an international state-of-the-art
environment’ (IST 2013).
and the relevant training for teachers and counsellors. Also, wishes for policy devel-
opment are formulated. Regarding tertiary education, three key aspects call for fur-
ther attention: ‘More targeted actions to identify particular abilities are needed, as
well as more specific programs to promote excellence. Furthermore, academic
instruction should take into greater account the needs of talented and highly moti-
vated university students’ (ÖZBF 2013a, p. 81). One of the wishes is fulfilled, as a
professor in giftedness research and support at the University of Graz was appointed.
Professor Roland Grabner started in autumn 2014 (Box 13.4).

The word ‘honors’ is rarely used in Austria. Instead, most policies and
programs have the word excellence in them.
Local terms to refer to (programs for) talented and gifted students include:
• Talenteprogramm (talent program)
• Exzellenz-Programm (excellence program)
• Begabtenförderung (gifted education)
• High Potential Programm
• Pluskurse (‘plus course’)
For talented and gifted primary and secondary school-aged children, there is a
wide range of programs available. In compulsory education, grade skipping has
been possible since 1974 and special additional programs can formally run since
legal changes in 1988 (Weyringer 2013, p. 374). In 2009, the ministry issued a
‘Decree for the Education of the Gifted’, firmly institutionalizing programs for this
group. There is also a school specifically targeting gifted students: the Sir Karl
Popper School in Vienna (ibid, pp. 376–377).13 In addition, many initiatives are
found outside the schools. National coordination rests in the hands of the
ÖZBF. Countrywide programs include Olympiads in different subjects, summer
academies and special children’s courses at universities (KinderUnis). Also, all of
the states have their own programs for gifted secondary school students. For some
this is relatively new, others have a longer experience.14 At different universities in
Austria, excellent high school students are able to follow classes for free. ÖZBF has
a program in place to support this, called Schüler/innen an die Hochschulen.15 After
13
See also www.popperschule.at
14
An overview of the programs by Bundesland (in German only) can be found in ÖZBF 2013b.
Some examples: In Niederösterreich, excellent students can apply for a place in a week-long inten-
sive course at the castle of Drosendorf. In Kärnten, there is a summer school (talente camp) for
gifted 10- to 14-year-old students, organized by Inizia, a local society for gifted children. In
Salzburg, there are Pluskurse for students of different primary and secondary school ages.
15
More information (German only) can be found on the ÖZBF website.
graduation from high school (Matura), students receive full credits for completed
courses when enrolling at a university.
The attention for gifted and talented children in primary and secondary educa-
tion has also found its way towards teacher training colleges. The Higher Education
Act (2005) established talent promotion at these colleges (ÖZBF 2013a, p. 40). This
is coordinated by the Federal Coordination Board for Gifted Education.16 There are
at least four programs to train teachers to become experts in gifted education (iPEGE
2010).17
While the Austrian government does not currently have a policy to support
honors programs in tertiary education, it does stimulate excellence on an individual
basis. At universities, applied sciences universities and teacher training colleges,
gifted and high-achieving students are usually supported by allowances such as
achievement-based scholarships or awards for masters or Ph.D. theses (ÖZBF
2013a, p. 87). This takes the form of grant programs (Stipendienprogramme) and
prizes. Grants are handed out by different organizations on the basis of excellent
study results and/or high motivation. These can be funded by the government, but
also by private organizations.18 The excellence grant (Exzellenzstipendium) is a
new initiative from the federal government. Excellent students wishing to obtain a
Ph.D. can apply for a one-time allowance of 9,000 euros (Galler 2013, p. 56)
(Box 13.5).19

In the White Paper, the following institutions are considered ‘the pillars for
developing talent and excellence in Austria’:
• the authorities concerned at both federal ministries
• the Austrian Research and Support Center for the Gifted and Talented
(ÖZBF)
• the Task Force for Giftedness Research and Gifted Education
• federal coordination office for the promotion of giftedness and talent at
teacher training colleges
• the provincial coordinators for gifted education
16
Bundeskoordinationsstelle für Begabungs- und Begabtenförderung. It is located at the Teacher
Education College in Vienna (Pädagogischen Hochschule Wien).
17
These four programs are: Lehrgang ‘Expert in Gifted Education – Begabungen erkennen und
fördern’ at the Kirchlichen Pädagogischen Hochschule in Wien/Krems; Akademielehrgang
‘Begabungs- und Begabtenförderung’ at the Pädagogischen Hochschule Oberösterreich in Linz;
Lehrgang ‘Begabungsförderung und Potenzialentwicklung’ at the Pädagogischen Hochschule
Steiermark in Graz; university Lehrgang ‘Gifted Education, MA’ at the Donau-Universität Krems.
18
For example, the organization ProScientia supports 120 talented students (ÖZBF 2013a, p. 88).
Local terminology used for these (financial) programs are: Leistungsstipendien,
Förderungsstipendien, Exzellenzstipendien.
19
This is in place since the study year 2012/2013.
Publication of the White Paper has certainly put the subject of excellence higher on
the political agenda. ÖZBF researcher Resch has made a SWOT-analysis of the
current national strategy, and sees a number of opportunities (Resch 2014). One
opportunity is formed by the new government program, published in December
2013. While the same coalition remained in power after the 2013 elections, the new
government restructured the tasks of ministries. The former ministry of Education,
Arts and Culture is now the ‘ministry of Education and Women’s Affairs’ and the
ministry for Science and Research has merged with the Economics ministry to the
new ministry of Science, Research and Economy. One of the objectives in the gov-
ernment’s work program is to ‘Foster talent and gifted pupils – discover and support
all gifted pupils and talents’ (Austrian Federal Chancellery 2013, p. 44). This still
needs to be worked out in concrete policy.
The Austria Science Board has been lobbying for more funding for excellent
research, similar to the German Excellence Initiative (Nimmervoll 2013), and this
has also found its way into the government program (Austrian Federal Chancellery
2013, p. 45) but, as of yet, not into explicit policy.
Overall, Resch (2014, p. 9) has an optimistic outlook: ‘While until the 2000s,
provision programmes predominantly focused on extracurricular activities for
pupils, gifted education now follows a systemic and inclusive approach, including
all (educational) institutions – kindergarten, school, college and university – as well
as the family, the economy, the working world and the community’.
In Austria, there is no standard program or procedure for talent and excellence

promotion at the university level. ‘Depending on their individual profiles and
performance agreements, universities differ strongly with regard to the degree to
which talent and excellence promotion is established’ (ÖZBF 2013a, p. 90). There
are no programs at the 22 universities that include the word ‘honors’ and projects
fitting the definition of a honors program are still quite rare.
ÖZBF has recently been commissioned by the ministry to conduct a survey of
excellence programs in higher education. A preliminary part of the resulting report,
focusing only on the 22 public universities, was kindly provided to us by ÖZBF. The
overview of excellence programs below draws from this overview, prepared by
ÖZBF researcher Dr. Astrid Fritz (2014). She contacted universities with a similar
question, which is why we have not contacted all universities ourselves, but just the
ones with an identified program. More information on other higher education insti-
tutions was not yet available through ÖZBF.
Higher education institutions were asked for concrete measures to support talent
on financial, structural and social level. The goal is to spread successful ‘best prac-
tices’ and to develop a comprehensive strategy for the promotion of talent and excel-
lence in tertiary education in Austria. In addition to the programs below, some
TU Wien
GERMANY WU Wien
Vienna
AUSTRIA
CoE Graz
8684
Map 13.1 Austrian universities with honors programs, 2014
measures for Ph.D. students and early-stage researchers employed at universities

were also found.20 The programs described below have some interesting aspects in
common: they are all organized in year groups, run by the participants themselves,
and have strong business involvement.
As in Germany, an important way to help talented students in Austria involves
providing financial support. At different universities, prizes, grants and stipends are
available. There are also nationwide or even international prizes. Showing the avail-
ability of these grants is also used to attract talented students. For example, the
University of Klagenfurt tries to attract talented high school students in economics
by offering them international opportunities. ‘We guarantee a well-financed study
place for your semester abroad’.21
In addition, a non-university based network was also found, called
Students4Excellence. In early 2014, this network merged with the German-based
e-fellows network and is therefore discussed in the chapter about Germany.
On Map 13.1, the honors education offer at the 22 public Austrian universities is
summarized. In Table 13.1, all universities are shown, ranked by size measured in
student numbers.
13.4.1 University of Graz and Technical University of Graz
13.4.1.1 Circle of Excellence Graz
The Circle of Excellence Graz was founded in 2001 by three students who met by
chance and concluded that although they were all top achievers with experience
abroad, there was no network allowing them to meet each other. Their goal was to
20
For example, the Medical University of Vienna runs several of these programs, including the MD
Ph.D. program aimed at acceleration of talented Ph.D. students and the ‘Schrittweise’ program for
talented young scientists.
21
For more information, see http://wiwi-studien.aau.at/index.php/starten/top-maturantinnen-gesucht
Table 13.1 Honors programs at universities in Austriaa

University Webpage 2012b education offerc
University of Vienna Univie.ac.at 92,426
University of Graz Kfunigraz.ac.at 29,127 Yes
Vienna University of Technology tuwien.ac.at 27,900 Yes
University of Innsbruck Uibk.ac.at 27,766
Vienna University of Economics Wu.ac.at 23,555 Yes
and Business
University of Linz Jku.at 18,834
University of Salzburg uni-salzburg.at 17,853
Graz University of Technology Tugraz.at 12,679 Yes
University of Natural Resources boku.ac.at 11,389
and Life Sciences, Vienna
Alpen-Adria University uni-klu.ac.at 10,891
Klagenfurt
Medical University of Vienna meduniwien.ac.at 7,465
Danube University for donau-uni.ac.at 6,894
Continuing Education Krems
Medical University of Graz meduni-graz.at 4,090
Leoben University of Mining unileoben.ac.at 3,338
and Metallurgy
University of Music and mdw.ac.at 3,242
Performing Arts in Vienna
Medical University of Innsbruck www.i-med.ac.at 2,781
University of Veterinary vetmeduni.ac.at 2,285
Medicine Vienna
Kunst Uni Graz kug.ac.at 1,950
University of Applied Arts dieangewandte.at 1,710
Vienna
Mozarteum University Salzburg uni-mozarteum.at 1,698
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna akbild.ac.at 1,434
University of Art and Design ufg.ac.at 1,156
Linz
Total 299,355
a
To compile this list, Fritz 2014 was used as a basis
b
Source: BMWF (2013b, p. 31)
c
In this table, we do not show the answer ‘no’ because not all HEIs were contacted by us, but we
relied on data from other sources (Fritz 2014)
‘improve the national and international competitiveness of the alumni of the five
universities in Graz’. Other goals were to build a useful network and to avoid the
anonymity of a big university. In their own words: ‘The CoE is formed by out-
standing students, companies and university professors. Every year, these three
elements create a unique group, united by the values of the CoE’ (Circle of
Excellence 2009).
Table 13.2 Circle of Excellence Graz

Organizing institution Independent association, supported by University of Graz and
Technical University of Graz
Target group Master students (or equivalent level)
Admission Selection based on motivation letter and CV
Description Each year a group of 20 students is formed which runs a year-long
program of career training, seminars and group activities
Founded 2001
Website www.coe-graz.at
The program is meant for students with career ambitions in trade and industry.
A number of international companies are partners of the program, providing work-
shops for the participants and often offering job training or internships. After the
selection process, a year-long program of seminars, training activities and team
activities starts. After the first meeting, organization of activities is in the hands of
the group itself, with university supervisors guiding the process. The Circle of
Excellence is supported by the universities, but not part of the university. It is run by
a board, which changes every year and consists of participants and alumni. Upon
completion, participants receive a certificate issued by the program. They also
remain members of the CoE and can be involved in, for example, the selection of
new participants (Table 13.2).
13.4.2 Vienna University of Economics and Business

(Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien)
13.4.2.1 General
This university focuses strongly on the education of talents and has different
programs to provide students with extra opportunities. The Centre of Excellence for
master students has been running since 1989 and is the oldest program found in
Austria. In 2004, the WU Top League was formed as a spin-off for bachelor stu-
dents. Apart from these two interdisciplinary programs, there is also the mentoring@
wu program, where talented students in later years of their program become men-
tors for starting students. To all students, the volunteering@wu program is avail-
able, where the students help children and young people in difficult situations to
learn.22
22
More information about all programs for bachelor students (German only) is available at www.
wu.ac.at/students/bachelorstudents/excellence
13.4.2.2 Specific Programs
The WU Top League for bachelor students was founded in 2004, as a spin-off to the
Centre of Excellence (described below), but has become a full program in its own
right. The program goal is ‘the motivation of participants to strive for top study
achievements’. Students from the whole (specialized) university can enter in their
first semester.23 Competition is fierce, there are generally about 300 applicants for
80–100 places. The six-semester program is divided in two phases, each lasting
three semesters. First, small groups are formed. The basis is a buddy system of
tutoring and mentoring, where senior students help Phase I students. Throughout
each semester, a number of events (excursions, lectures) are organized for the whole
group, as well as coaching sessions and opportunities for short internships at partner
organizations. In Phase II, focus is more on job training and sponsor meetings.
Moving to the master phase, the Center of Excellence (CoE) is Austria’s oldest,
largest and best-known program for excellent students. Its goal is clearly described:
‘the development and support of a student elite’. The program is organized in year
groups and involves a ‘triangle’ of participants: students, supporting university staff
and businesses. Each year, all of the approximately 900 new master students at WU
are invited to apply. Around 110 students will apply for 35–40 seats. After the selec-
tion process, the group starts with a kick-off weekend, where small groups are
formed. Each of these groups works to organize two or three special events. This
can be a seminar, an excursion, soft skills training, etcetera. In the following four
semesters many activities take place. At the end of the fourth semester the group
writes a final report, which is published on the website.
A special feature of both programs is the business involvement. Every year group
has its own sponsor, a company or non-profit organization. The sponsorship involves
a financial contribution, but also personal investment. Two or three company
employees will join the group in their events. In both the WU Top League and the
CoE, students who meet all the criteria receive a certificate after successful
completion. More information is provided in the interview with coordinator Susanne
Aigner in Box 13.6 (Tables 13.3 and 13.4).
Box 13.6: ‘Guiding the Best of the Best’

Interview with Susanne Aigner, program coordinator Top League/CoE at WU
Wien
What is the main motivation for students to join the program?
‘Students see it as a big chance to meet new people, get new opportunities
and challenge themselves. Also, participation definitely helps them in getting
a job. Often the group sponsors will offer traineeships. That can be a nice start
for a career.’
(continued)
23
A later start is also possible: students with excellent results in their first three semesters receive
an automatic invitation for phase II, others can also apply.
Box 13.6 (Continued)

What is the involvement of university faculty in the programs?
‘Every group has academic supervisors: usually a professor and his or her
assistant. They join the group and supervise the process. But we want the
group to manage itself. We organize a kick-off weekend where we tell the
students about the possibilities they have and divide them into smaller groups.
From then on, we want to just guide them, we want the group to do the work.’
Is your program well-known in Austria?
‘Yes. Many Austrian companies have been involved as a sponsor and we
have of course our alumni who have spread out throughout Austria and the
world. The Center of Excellence in particular has a good name. This is because
students come from our English-language master programs, for which the best
Bachelor students are selected. And for the Center of Excellence, we select the
best of those. So we can say we have “the best of the best”. Businesses like that.’
Table 13.3 WU Top League

Organizing institution Vienna University of Economics and Business
Admission Selection based on high school exam grades, CV,
motivation letter and essay
Description Each year a group of 80–100 students is formed which
runs activities over six semesters
Founded 2005
Participants 80–100 per year group (3 year groups active at same time)
Website www.wu.ac.at/wutopleague
Table 13.4 WU Centre of Excellence

Organizing institution Vienna University of Economics and Business
Target group Master students
Admission Selection based on grades, CV and motivation letter
Description Each year a group of 30–40 students is formed which runs
activities over four semesters
Founded 1989
Participants 30–40 per year group (two year groups active at the same time)
Website www.wu.ac.at/coe
Table 13.5 Technical University of Vienna – TUthetop

Organizing institution Technical University of Vienna
Target group All students
Admission Selection based on grades, CV, motivation letter and assessment
Description Each year a group of 60–70 students is formed which runs a
year-long program of training, seminars and group activities
Founded 2007
Participants 60–70 per year
Website tuthetop.at
13.4.3 Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien)
The excellence program TUthetop at the Technical University of Vienna is developed

in close cooperation with partner companies. Its goal is the promotion of employ-
ability and the obtaining of key skills that go beyond the study of theoretical
concepts. The best students (around 1,600 of the 27,000 in total at TU Wien) are
invited to apply for this co-curricular program. The admission procedure is then
based on an extensive application and an assessment. A year group of 60–70 students
is formed, which runs a large number of activities during the year. The basic idea
involves students designing their own program, in cooperation with partner compa-
nies and staff at the university. At the end of the year, the group produces a final
report (published on the website) and students receive a certificate (Table 13.5).
The honors programs found at Austrian universities are all centered on year groups
and all involve the private sector. Development is strongest at specialized universi-
ties. Will the same picture emerge when we look at neighboring Switzerland? We
will find out in the next chapter.
Literature24
Austrian Federal Chancellery. (2013). Work programme of the Austrian Federal Government
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axd?CobId=53588. 27 Apr 2014.
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Guide 2012 – Key facts and figures about schools and adult education in Austria. Retrieved
from: www.bmukk.gv.at/medienpool/24417/statisticalguide_2012.pdf. 15 Nov 2013.
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system. Retrieved from: www.bmukk.gv.at/medienpool/17684/bw2013_e_grafik.pdf. 15 Nov
2013.
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Fachhochschulsektors. Retrieved from: www.bmwf.gv.at/startseite/hochschulen/fachhochschulen/.
14 Nov 2013.
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Taschenbuch 2013. Retrieved from: https://oravm13.noc-science.at/apex/f?p=103:36:0::NO:::.
6 Mar 2014.
Circle of Excellence. (2009). Folder 2009. Retrieved from: www.coe-graz.at/www/downloads/
CoE%20Folder%202009%20E%20web.pdf. 25 Nov 2013.
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fachhochschulen.ac.at/. 15 Nov 2013.
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reichischen Hochschulen. Preliminary version of ÖZBF report provided by author by e-mail.
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bm:bwk. Retrieved from www.fwf.ac.at/de/downloads/pdf/exzellenzinitiative-wissenschaft.
pdf. 14 Nov 2013.
Galler, E. (2013). Universitäre Exzellenzförderung im Blickpunkt. Eine Übersicht für Österreich.
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www.oezbf.net/cms/tl_files/Publikationen/news_science/news_ausgaben/n+s%2035%20
web%20opt.pdf. 19 Nov 2013.
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from: www.bic.at/downloads/en/brftipps/0_1_bildungssystem_en.pdf. 12 Nov 2013.
iPEGE (International Panel of Experts for Gifted Education). (2010). Professionelle begabtenför-
derung. Eine Dokumentation von Lehr- und Studiengängen. Salzburg: iPEGE. Retrieved from:
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19 Nov 2013.
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http://ist.ac.at/about-ist-austria/. 14 Nov 2013.
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White Paper ‘Promoting Talent and Excellence’. On Behalf of the ‘Task Force for Giftedness
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365–383.
Chapter 14
Switzerland: A Patchwork, Not (Yet)
Including Honors
Switzerland spends an equivalent of around 11,000 euros per capita on education and
training each year. This is the highest amount of all European countries. (OECD 2013)1
Switzerland is a country with great diversity, multiple languages are spoken and
different cultures co-exist. The standard of living is high and, as a politically neutral
country which is not a member of the EU, it is an ideal location for international
organizations (Box 14.1).
Switzerland has quite a unique form of state and national government. It is a con-
federation of 26 cantons, a kind of autonomous provinces, where many powers are
decentralised. At the same time, Switzerland is known for its direct democracy. The
Swiss people regularly decide on political subjects through a referendum.
Multilingualism is an important subject in Switzerland. Four languages are officially
recognized, but almost a quarter of the population is foreign and a large part of this
group speaks yet another language at home. German is the main official language
spoken, with 64.9 % of the population stating it as their main language. This is
followed by French (22.6 %) and Italian (8.3 %) (Bundesamt für Statistik 20142).
Cantons take decisions about their own education system, which leads to regional
differences, for example in the types and duration of education and assessment
systems. There are many cooperative bodies in which the cantons, schools or
universities work together on education matters of policy and procedure. As a
1
The amount referred to is USD 14,922, this is calculated into euros using exchange rate on 9-7-
2014. See also SERI 2013, p. 10. Only the United States spends a higher amount. This relates to
5.2 % of GDP in 2010, or 15.9 % of total government expenditure.
2
Numbers are for 2012. People could indicate more languages as main language. The last official
language, Romansh, is main language for 0.5 % of the population. Several foreign languages,
including English at 4.6 %, are spoken as main language by more Swiss residents. See also Müller-
Oppliger 2014.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_14
230 14 Switzerland: A Patchwork, Not (Yet) Including Honors
Box 14.1: Switzerland – The Basics

• Capital: Bern
• Confederation, 26 cantons
• Four languages: German, French, Italian, Romansh
• Liberal/Conservative/Social-democratic/Christian-democratic coalition in
power
consequence, the Swiss education landscape is a complicated patchwork. The most

important institutions are the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education,3
which sets guidelines and addresses the harmonization of education throughout the
cantons; and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI),
which is the federal government’s specialised agency for national and international
matters concerning education, research and innovation policy. The cantons and the
national government cooperate on university matters in the Swiss University
Conference.4 The higher education institutions are united in the Swiss Conference
of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions, swissuniversities. (Box 14.2).5
Box 14.2: Education in Switzerland

• Administered mainly by cantons, each with own regulations
• Compulsory for at least 9 years (starting age differs per canton)
• Four to six years primary education, 3–5 years of lower secondary school
• Differentiation in academic and vocational education around age 15
• Universities and universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen)
provide main types of higher education institutions
• Open access to higher education for everyone holding relevant diploma
• One in four students is foreign national
• Tuition fees at universities ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 Swiss francs
(820–3,280 euros) per year
• Cantonal ministers responsible, Conference of Cantonal Ministers of
Education (with chairman) for central matters
3
Schweizerischen Konferenz der kantonalen Erziehungsdirektoren/Conférence suisse des
directeurs cantonaux de l’instruction publique, EDK/CDIP.
4
Schweizerischen Universitätskonferenz (SUK)/Conférence Universitaire Suisse (CUS).
5
Until 2014, there were three separate Rector’s Conferences: the Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss
Universities (CRUS), the Rectors’ Conference of the Universities of Applied Sciences Switzerland
(KFH) and the Swiss Conference of Rectors of Universities of Teacher Education (COHEP). At
1 January 2015, they have merged into the Swiss Conference of Rectors of Higher Education
Institutions, swissuniversities.
The organization of primary and secondary education differs per canton, but
differentiation is first made after lower secondary education, around the age of 15.
Children can then go to academic or vocational education. The upper level of
general secondary education is called baccalaureate school,6 ending with a bacca-
laureate giving access to university studies (Nuffic 2013).7 In Switzerland, a clear
majority of young people attend vocational education and training (VET). There are
dual-track VET programs of 3 or 4 years (apprenticeship) for some 230 professions.
The Federal Vocational Baccalaureate entitles students to continue on to a university
of applied sciences without sitting an examination. It can also give them access to a
(tier-one) university if they take the ‘Federal Vocational Baccalaureate – University’
examination, also known as the ‘University Aptitude Test’. The Federal Vocational
Baccalaureate can be obtained either on a part-time basis, i.e. during the apprenticeship,
or during an additional year of schooling after completion of the apprenticeship. It
is always acquired in addition to the VET qualification8 (see Fig. 14.1).
Higher education in Switzerland consists of academic education and higher
vocational education. In principle, everybody holding recognized upper-secondary
level qualifications can enroll in higher education in Switzerland (SERI 2013, p. 4),
although restricted entry numbers are set for some very popular studies such as
medicine. Swiss HEIs enjoy great autonomy. As a result, study programs, entry
level requirements and admission procedures vary a great deal (Nuffic 2013, p. 8).
The state secretariat distinguishes between tier-one universities and other insti-
tutes of higher education (SERI 2013; see Box 14.3). The tier-one universities are
ten general universities and two federal technical universities (Eidgenössische
Technische Hochschulen, ETHs). They stand in a long tradition (the first Swiss uni-
versity was founded in Basel in 1460) and their quality is high. Both federal insti-
tutes of technology, especially the one in Zürich, score high on international
rankings. ETH Zürich is in the top-20 of both the Times Higher Education World
University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2013. As in
Germany, academic research is not only carried out at universities but also at insti-
tutes. Examples include the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Swiss Federal Institute
for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Switzerland also has several interna-
tional research organizations within its borders, of which CERN (European
Organization for Nuclear Research) based in Geneva is the most famous.
The universities of applied sciences were founded in the 1990s, mostly bringing
existing institutes for higher vocational education in the cantons into a new, nationally
6
Gymnasiale Maturitätsschulen/Lycées/Ecoles de Maturité Gymnasiale.
7
Pupils take a final examination at different levels for different subjects: at Grundlage level for all
core subjects, at Schwerpunkt level for one subject and at Ergänzungs-level for one subject. The
final examination may also include an elective subject.
8
Universities of applied sciences generally admit ‘students with a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate
and with vocational education and training, related to the chosen field of study and students with a
federally recognised baccalaureate and at least one year’s professional experience in which practi-
cal and theoretical professional skills were taught in a profession related to the field of study
without additional conditions’ (Eurypedia 2014, chapter 7.2.1).
232
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(1) KINDERTAGESSTÄTTEN (2) KINDERGARTEN (3) PRIMARSCHULE (11) UNIVERSITÄRE HOCHSCHULEN
(1) CRÉCHES − NIDI D’INFANZIA (4) SCHULEN MIT GRUND- UND (5) BRÜCKENANGEBOTE
ERWEITERTEN ANSPRÜCHEN (12) FACHHOCHSCHULEN / PÄDAGOGISCHE HOCHSCHULEN
(2) ÉCOLE ENFANTINE − SCUOLA DELL’INFANZIA
(3) ÉCOLE PRIMAIRE − SCUOLA ELEMENTARE
14
(4) TYPES D’ENSEIGNEMENT Ä EXOGENCES ÉLÉMENTAIRES OU ÉLEVÉES − (6) GYMNASIALE MATURITÄTSSCHULEN (13)HÖHERE FACHSCHULEN
SCUOLA CON ESIGENZE ELEMENTARI O ELEVATE
(5) OFFRES TRANSITOIRE − FORMAZIONI TRANSITORIE ³2
(6) ÉCOLES DE MATURITÉ GÉNÉRALE − SCUOLE DI MATURITÄ (7) FACHMITTELSCHULEN (8) FACHMATURITÄT (14) HÖHERE FACH- UND BERUFSPRÜFUNGEN
(7) ÉCOLES DE CULTURE GÉNÉRAL − SCUOLE SPECIALIZZATE
(8) MATURITÉ SPÉCIALISÉE − MATURITÄ SPECIALIZZATA
(9) FORMATION PROFESSIONNELLE INITIALE − FORMAZIONE PROFESSIONALE DI BASE (9) BERUFLICHE GRUNDBILDUNG
(10) MATURITÉ PROFESSIONNELLE − MATURITÄ PROFESSIONALE
(11) HAUTES ÉCOLES UNIVERSITAIRES − UNIVERSITÄ
(12) HAUTES ÉCOLES SPÉCIALISÉÉS − SCUOLE UNIVERSITARIE PROFESSIONALI / (10) BERUFSMATURITÄT
HAUTES ÉCOLES PÉDAGOGIQUES − ALTE SCUOLE PEDAGOGICHE
(13) ÉCOLES SUPÉRIEURES − SCUOLE SPECIALIZZATE SUPERIORI
(14) EXAMENS PROFESSIONNELS SUPÉRIEURS − ESAMI DI PROFESSIONE E ESAMI PROFESSIONALI SUPERIORI
Fig. 14.1 Structure of the Swiss education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend
Switzerland: A Patchwork, Not (Yet) Including Honors

12 tier-one universities (10 general cantonal, 2 federal technical)
7 regional public universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen)
2 recognized private Fachhochschulen
14 teacher training institutes
A number of private universities operating outside Swiss education system
standardized system. They have established themselves relatively quickly as an

inherent part of the Swiss education system (Swiss Universities 2014).
There are also quite a few private universities that operate outside the Swiss
education system, for example Swiss campuses of American universities or specialized
institutes. They often charge very high tuition fees. As these institutes do not fall
under the Swiss system, we will not discuss them any further.
We don’t have reserves of oil or gold in the ground. What we have in Switzerland is our
knowledge. This is our economic capital. (…) Everyone is convinced that we have to have
expertise and excellence and that this is important for the future9
As Switzerland is such a patchwork of cultures, a general culture towards excellence

is hard to describe. While there is a tradition of focusing on egalitarianism and equality,
there is also a tradition of focusing on quality and individualism. So on the one hand
the egalitarian tradition translates into a focus on measures to guarantee equality (IBE
2008, p. 3), while on the other hand the need to do something extra for talented and
gifted children is felt quite strongly. Professor Müller-Oppliger describes this ‘double
view’ as follows: ‘What Swiss people don’t like is to separate. We really are obliged to
the idea of inclusive gifted education. Every school should have their program for
gifted children, but we should not have special elite gymnasiums or elite universities.
That is something that in Switzerland is refused mentally’.10
In primary and secondary school, incidental initiatives for gifted children date
back to the 1970s, while more structured attention goes back to the 1990s. Mostly
these first efforts were focused on giving extra opportunities within the classroom, or
extra courses outside school hours. Despite the words of professor Müller-Oppliger,
different special private schools were also founded, such as Talenta in Zürich which
has existed since 1998. Most of these schools charge high tuition fees.11
Since 2000, all 26 cantons ‘have adopted their own policies to identify giftedness
and to improve the support for high-end learners’ (Müller-Oppliger 2014, p. 94).
9
Personal communication Victor Müller-Oppliger, February 2014. See Appendix 4 for a full interview.
10
Personal communication Victor Müller-Oppliger, February 2014. See Appendix 4 for a full
interview.
11
A year at the Talenta primary school costs over 25,000 Swiss francs (more than 20,000 euros).
See www.talenta.ch for more details.
There are a number of nationwide and regional networks focusing on ‘gifted education’
and the offer of extra opportunities has become larger in recent years (Box 14.4).
One example is the private foundation Stiftung für hochbegabte Kinder. Among
other initiatives, it awards the LISSA prizes. This prize offers official recognition to
schools that offer good opportunities for talented and gifted children. So far, 43
schools at different levels have received this prize.12

The following institutions can be considered key players in the field of excel-
lence in education:
• State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI)
• Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education
• Swiss Universities (Rector’s conference)
• Network for gifted education (Netzwerk Begabungsförderung)
• Association for highly gifted children (Stiftung für hochbegabte Kinder)
• Swiss Study Foundation (Schweizerische Studienstiftung)
• SwissGifted, association for gifted education
Schools often work with private foundations and/or universities to organise extra
opportunities for talented children, as cantonal and confederational support is usually
very limited. One of the nationwide programs for these children is Schweizer Jugend
forscht (SJF), founded in 1970 and aimed at talented secondary school students. It
organises study weeks and competitions and hosts the biannual Swiss Talent Forum
(last held in January 2014). In this 4-day congress, 80 talented 17- to 22-year-olds meet
and brainstorm with leaders in business, science and politics. Every year, around 600
talents take part in SJF activities. It is sponsored by private donors and a large number
of companies (Schweizer Jugend forscht 2014). Another example is Curriculum Euler
in Western Switzerland, which offers mathematically gifted students aged 10–13 an
accelerated path in mathematics in secondary schools, followed by an early introduc-
tion to university mathematics. This program is sponsored by private donors and the
Federal Technical University of Lausanne (EPFL 2014). An honors experiential
learning program called ‘City as Text’ was also applied in Switzerland, for a group of
16- and 17-year-old international baccalaureate students (see Smith 2012).
Generally speaking, talented secondary school students often have the possibility
to get an early start at university level, as most universities have opened up to these
talents in recent years (Müller-Oppliger 2014). Talented students in vocational edu-
cation and training (VET) have the opportunity to participate in SwissSkills compe-
titions. The national foundation SwissSkills is supported by all professional
organizations and institutions of VET.13
12
See key links in Appendix 2 for details. Another example is parents’ association EHK, which
organises Kinderuni camps.
13
SwissSkills is also the national qualification organization for WorldSkills Europe and WorldSkills
International.

The word ‘honors’ is rarely used in Switzerland. Local terms used to refer to
(programs for) talented and gifted students include:
• Begabte/Begabtenförderung (gifted/gifted education)
• Enfants/étudiants surdoués (gifted children/students)
• Exzellenzprogramm (excellence program)
Experts in gifted education are united, since 1999, in the Netzwerk

Begabungsförderung, which tries to influence political decision makers and busi-
ness leaders to invest more in educating talents. The network has put forward its
ideas in a position paper, including a ‘wish list’ of instruments that could be imple-
mented at the school level, the teaching level or as support measure (Netzwerk
Begabungsförderung 2013). The needs of gifted children and youngsters are also
included in teacher training. For example, there is an international master program
to educate teachers in integrated gifted education and talent development at the
Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz. This is mainly aimed at primary and secondary
education teachers. Until 2014, 290 teachers graduated from this course (Müller-
Oppliger 2014, p. 98). Still, ‘Switzerland has a lack of research in gifted education
because there is no chair or institute of a university specifically signed for gifted
education and talent development’ (ibid).
Thus, quite an extensive infrastructure around ‘gifted children’ exists in Switzerland,
including different programs in which higher education institutions participate.
However, this has not yet developed towards provisions in higher education itself.
Current efforts for talented students are centred on financial support measures (Box 14.5).
The Swiss Study Foundation (Schweizerische Studienstiftung), founded in 1991, is the
most important body in this respect. It aims to support ‘excellent students and post-
graduates at universities and technical colleges who due to their personality, creativity
and intellectual skills, are in a position to contribute to science, business, culture and
politics. The Foundation offers the students and postgraduates learning opportunities
complementary to their studies, an individual mentoring and guidance scheme as well as
financial support’ (Schweizerische Studienstiftung 2014). In 2012, 659 bachelor, master
and Ph.D. students were in the program. Additional funding is available for talented
students who continue into a Ph.D. program. The Swiss National Science Foundation is
the most important organization supporting young scientists. It supports over 4,000
doctoral students and around 2,500 postdocs. The Swiss government also offers ‘excel-
lence scholarships’ to international students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in Switzerland.
As the Swiss political and education systems are such patchworks, it is hard to gen-
eralize about possible future developments. However, developments on the subject
of honors education can be expected. In September 2014, a large conference on
gifted education was held, organized through the Netzwerk Begabungsförderung.

All important actors in the field attended and provisions for talented students in
higher education was one of the main themes. According to organizer professor
Müller-Oppliger, ‘the last two or three years it came up, we have to do something
at universities. Something special, not only what students elect to do themselves.
We have to do some programs to really serve this elite group that could achieve
more. We hope we can bring a point in this discussion with the congress’.14 He adds
that he is working on a pilot project with the Federal Technical University in Zurich
and he expects programs will be developed soon: ‘In about three years we will have
programs. I am very positive of that.’
At the time of writing, Swiss public universities and universities of applied sciences
do not have honors programs. A recent overview of gifted education measures
throughout the Swiss education system (Müller-Oppliger 2014) did not find pro-
grams in higher education.15 Most of the public higher education institutions do
have some sort of scholarship program. This is very relevant, as tuition fees in
Switzerland can be quite high, as shown in Table 14.1. The ETH Zürich for example
offers an Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme, which covers the full
study and living costs during a student’s master degree program. One of the prereq-
uisites is that ‘students must belong to the best 10 percent’ of their bachelor program
(based on grades, see ETH Zürich 2014).
In Table 14.1, Swiss universities and universities of applied sciences are shown,
sorted by size measured in student numbers.
This concludes our overview of the situation in Switzerland and also of all the
German-speaking countries. We have found a variety of programs in Germany and
some programs that are similar in set-up in Austria. In Switzerland, chances are
honors education will be established soon.
In the German-speaking countries, a strong individual focus is found in its
approach towards excellence. The role of foundations and of the private sector are
interesting developments, not seen as strongly in the other clusters of countries.
This also concludes our individual country chapters. In the next part, we will
compare the countries systematically and make some concluding remarks.
14
Personal communication Victor Müller-Oppliger, February 2014. See Appendix 4 for a full
interview.
15
In addition to Müller-Oppliger’s findings, websites of all universities were searched with key-
words to find any honors programs and local researchers were asked if honors programs are pres-
ent. None were found. Most of this research was carried out by honors alumnus Annemarie van de
Vijsel.
Table 14.1 Universities and universities of applied sciences in Switzerland

Tuition
No of fee (Swiss
Higher education institution Language studentsa francs)b Webpage
Tier-one universities
University of Zürich German 26,400 1,538 Unizh.ch
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology German 17,800 1,288 Ethz.ch
Zürich (conf)
University of Bern German 17,000 1,568 Unibe.ch
University of Geneva French 16,200 1,000 Unige.ch
University of Lausanne French 13,000 1,160 Unil.ch
University of Basel German 12,500 1,400 Unibas.ch
University of Fribourg French/ 9,900 1,310 Unifr.ch
German
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de French 9,400 1,266 Epfl.ch
Lausanne (conf)
University of Sankt Gallen German 7,300 2,452 Unisg.ch
University of Neuchâtel French 4,400 1,030 Unine.ch
Università della Svizzera italiana Italian 2,900 4,000 Usi.ch
University of Lüzern German 2,400 1,620 Unilu.ch
Universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen)
HES-SO – University of Applied French 19,100 1,000 Hes-so.ch
Sciences of Western Switzerland
Zürich Universities of Applied German 16,800 1,440 Zfh.ch
Sciences and Arts
University of Applied Sciences and German 9,400 1,400– Fhnw.ch
Arts Northwestern Switzerland 1,600
Bern University of Applied Sciences German 6,700 1,500 Bfh.ch
University of Applied Sciences of German 6,600 1,000– Fho.ch
Eastern Switzerland 1,920
Lucerne University of Applied German 5,500 1,600 Hslu.ch
Sciences and Arts
University of Applied Sciences of Italian 4,000 3,200 Supsi.ch
Southern Switzerland
Kalaidos University of Applied German 1927 ? Kalaidos-fh.ch
Sciencesc
Les Roches-Gruyère University of French 437 ? Lrguas.ch
Applied Sciencesc
Total 209,664
a
Sources: CRUS (2013) and SERI (2013)
b
For Swiss students, in some cases the amount is higher for non-Swiss students (amount in Swiss
francs, 1 franc is approximately 0.82 euros)
c
Private institution, federally accredited. Student numbers from own website
Literature16
Bundesamt für Statistik [Switzerland]. (2014). Sprachen, Religionen – Als Hauptsprachen

genannte Sprachen, 2012. Retrieved from: www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/01/05/
blank/key/sprachen.html. 4 Sept 2014.
CRUS (Rektorenkonferenz der Schweizer Universitäten). (2013). Recognised or Accredited Swiss
Higher Education Institutions. Retrieved from: www.crus.ch/information-programme/recognition-
swiss-enic/recognised-or-accredited-swiss-higher-education-institutions.html?L=2. 28 Jan 2014.
EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne). (2014). Euler Courses for Gifted Students.
Retrieved from: http://partenariats.epfl.ch/page-76877-en.html. 10 Mar 2014.
ETH Zürich. (2014). Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme/Master Scholarship
Programme. Retrieved from: https://www.ethz.ch/en/studies/financial/scholarships/excel-
lencescholarship.html. 10 Mar 2014.
tries gathered November 2013 – May 2014. Last checked 22 May 2014.
IBE (International Bureau of Education). (2008). Suisse. Le développement de l’éducation. Rapport
national de la Suisse. Conférence international de l’éducation 2008. Conférence Suisse des
directeurs cantonaux de l’instruction publique (CDIP), Berne, Octobre 2008. Retrieved from:
www.ibe.unesco.org/National_Reports/ICE_2008/switzerland_NR08_fr.pdf. 8 Dec 2013.
Müller-Oppliger, V. (2014). Gifted Education in Switzerland. Widely acknowledged – But obstacles
still exist in the implementation. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 4(3), 89–110.
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Ein Positionspapier mit Reflexionscharakter. Aarau: Netzwerk Begabungsförderung. Retrieved from:
www.begabungsfoerderung.ch/pdf/positionspapier.pdf. 10 Mar 2014.
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ch/en/universities/. 9 Mar 2014.
16
Part V
Talent Development and Honors
in European Higher Education:
A Comparative Perspective
Chapter 15
A Comparative Perspective
Why and under what conditions are honors programs in higher education developed
in 11 northern European countries? And what is the current situation regarding
talent development in those countries? These were the central questions posed in the
introduction of this book. Eleven countries were studied. They were grouped into
the Benelux countries, the Nordic countries, and the German-speaking countries.
In this final part, consisting of three chapters, we provide answers and conclusions.
In this chapter, we compare the culture towards excellence and the development of
honors programs in the countries, before moving on to an analysis of the develop-
ment of programs in the next chapter. In the final chapter, we provide different
perspectives, a look into the future, and suggestions for further research. First, we
present our most important findings.
15.1 Countries Compared
We reviewed the special provisions for talented students at 303 higher education
institutions in 11 countries, with almost four million students altogether. All in all,
honors programs are found to be up and running at 72 HEIs in six countries (see
Table 15.1).
Over half of all institutions with honors programs are situated in the Netherlands.
Many of the Dutch HEIs run more than one program, so the Dutch share in the total
number of programs is probably even higher. Germany, which accounts for around
half of the total population of all countries in this book, has around a quarter of the
HEIs with honors programs. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Austria divide the
remaining quarter. The Finnish programs are all very small, so we qualify honors
development there as low. In the Netherlands, development is high and the other
countries with programs qualify as medium (see Map 15.1).

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_15
242 15 A Comparative Perspective
Table 15.1 Honors programs HEIs

at HEIs per country, overview HEIs with
2014 researched honors
Country in totala programs
Austria 22 3
Belgium 11 4
Denmark 16 6
Finland 14 3
Germany 110 17
Iceland 7 0
Luxembourg 1 0
Netherlands 52 39
Norway 18 0
Sweden 31 0
Switzerland 21 0
Total 303 72
a
Explanation of the number of researched HEIs
can be found in the methodology chapter and
the respective country chapters
We now put this result in broader context. It is important to note that in the table
and on the map showing honors programs in different countries, we focus on the
HEIs offering honors education. We do not have the exact comparable details about
the number of individual programs and student numbers nor about very important
factors such as the content of the programs or the program goals.
However, we do have information about the culture towards excellence in all
countries. We first summarize these results for the three clusters of countries. Then
we will compare the selectiveness of the education system in general and university
admission in particular throughout the 11 countries.
15.1.1 The Benelux Countries
Starting in the Benelux, we have seen that all Benelux countries share a system of
relatively unrestricted access to higher education. In the Netherlands, all research
universities and most universities of applied sciences have set up one or more hon-
ors programs for their students over the last 20 years. Government subsidies through
the national Sirius Programme have supported this development. This has led to a
rich landscape of honors programs, with different aims, objectives, and results.
Programs have established themselves firmly in most HEIs. Programs at 14 research
universities and 25 out of 37 universities of applied sciences were discussed.1 As
Sirius subsidies have ended in 2014, HEIs are now looking for new ways to finance
their honors education.
1
Note: The private Theological University of the Reformed Churches Kampen (TUK) was added
as 52nd Dutch HEI.
15.1 Countries Compared 243
Iceland
Finland
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Netherlands
Belgium Germany
Luxembourg
High
Medium
Austria
Switzerland Low
None
8684
Map 15.1 Honors programs in European higher education, 2014
In Belgium, the education system is not governed at the national level but by the
Flemish-, French-, and German-speaking communities. Our findings suggest that
focus on excellence is stronger in the Flemish community than in the French com-
munity. In both communities, it is hardly supported by policy or funding. Honors
education in Belgian HEIs has started to develop in recent years, mostly in Flanders,
where they have taken Dutch programs as an example. In total, we found six pro-
grams at four universities out of 11 Belgian universities in total.
Luxembourg is a small country with only one university, founded in 2003.
Education is shaped by multilingualism and an international focus. We found no
honors programs.
15.1.2 The Nordic Countries
Moving to the Nordic countries, we see a strong egalitarian tradition. Common

heritage, culture, and educational tradition lead to a comparable view towards excel-
lence. In all five countries, education is offered free at all levels, including higher
education; and compulsory education is organized in only one type of school
(single-structure education). In spite of the strong egalitarian culture, higher educa-
tion admission is usually restricted. Selection is based on grades or an entrance
exam, sometimes combined with other criteria.
In Denmark, the Nordic egalitarian tradition is strong, but attitudes towards
excellence have changed in recent years. In the early 2000s, the government started
to prioritize talent development. Focus has mostly been on creating provisions for
secondary school children, and for master students. There are also interesting pro-
grams linking secondary and higher education. Until recently, there was little devel-
opment for excellent undergraduate students. However, programs are now in place
at six HEIs (out of 16). A new law creates more legal room for talent development
at all levels. Finally, the Nordic Talent Network uniting researchers interested in
talent support and excellence in education was founded in Denmark in 2013.
In Norway, providing equal opportunities is a central thought in education policy.
This principle has led to a system where differentiation according to academic ability
is effectively prohibited by law, frowned upon by society, and thus virtually nonexis-
tent. No honors programs were found at the country’s 18 universities and specialized
university colleges. However, recent developments including a new government,
worrying PISA results, and changing opinions in the other Nordic countries might
lead to a change in this situation in the near future. Programs to support Centers of
Excellence in research and education are already in place. So far these programs
focus on the identification of excellent institutions and not on excellent students.
Sweden has a very egalitarian culture and this is reflected in its education policy.
There is hardly any differentiation, except in the system of private schools that
exists alongside the state education system. An important development is that
Swedish results in PISA have steadily declined. In the 2012 survey, Sweden reached
the lowest scores of all European OECD countries. These worrying results will
probably lead to change in the education system in the near future and might lead to
a more welcoming approach to excellence initiatives. Some experimental initiatives
in upper secondary education were found, but no honors programs at the 31 higher
education institutions.
Finland’s education system served as an example to many countries in the last
decade, because of its high scores in international reports such as PISA. Primary
and secondary education teachers are highly educated, and schools are well orga-
nized and include options for talented students. Entrance to higher education is very
selective. At HEIs, honors programs are still rare. We found three small-scale pro-
grams at 14 Finnish universities. Finland was surprised by relatively disappointing
results in the 2012 PISA report. This has led to a discussion about education policy,
but not to major changes yet.
15.1 Countries Compared 245
Finally, Iceland is still recovering from the massive blow in 2008, when the
banking system collapsed and economic and political unrest followed. Focus has
been on getting the country back on track. Education is deemed very important by
tradition, but especially in this situation. The small higher education sector with
seven institutions has recently been reformed. Special programs for talented stu-
dents have not (yet) been developed.
15.1.3 The German-Speaking Countries
The German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are federal

states. In the school system, children are streamed according to academic abilities
at an early age. Provisions for talented and gifted children in primary and secondary
education are present, sometimes inside the school system but mostly alongside.
These provisions are supported by nationwide organizations such as ÖZBF in
Austria. Another feature found throughout the German-speaking countries is the
role of private foundations in the sponsoring of individual talented youngsters.
Sometimes these foundations also organize programs for “their” talents as a group.
Germany has an extensive network for support of talented children and students.
This is mainly organized in individualized support. In higher education, it works
mostly through grant programs, which are at least partly financed by private
foundations. In recent years, both companies and students themselves have started to
form online communities and organizations focusing on providing opportunities to
excellent students. Another important development is the “Excellence Initiative” for
research, which started in 2005. This highly successful program has brought the
concept of excellence to the university system, generated a lot of attention, stimulated
research, and led to a culture change in the universities, which are now more focused
on competition. The development of honors programs differs regionally and is some-
what limited by legal restrictions, although some universities find creative solutions
for this problem. Among the 110 German universities, 17 universities with honors
programs were identified. The state of Bavaria is a front-runner, with the Elite
Network of Bavaria which includes eight universities running honors programs.
In Austria, excellence in education is a subject attracting much attention in recent
years. The influential Austrian Research and Support Center for the Gifted and
Talented (ÖZBF) has released different articles and reports aimed at a systemic and
inclusive approach towards education for the gifted and talented, and this has found
its way into politics. However, focus so far is mostly on children in primary and sec-
ondary schools. This includes a focus on giftedness in different teacher education
programs. Programs in higher education are still rare: we identified four programs at
three universities (out of 22). This might soon change, as different players involved in
honors-related subjects do see the need for the development of honors programs in
higher education. This process is influenced by the rapid growth of the higher
education sector: between 2002 and 2011, the number of Austrians in tertiary educa-
tion increased by 55 %.
Finally, the country of Switzerland is a patchwork: four languages are spoken, 26

cantons each have their own education system, and the government model is com-
plex. Provisions for talented and gifted students in primary and secondary education
are well developed and stand in a relatively long tradition. There is a focus on gift-
edness in research and in teacher education. Honors programs have not yet been
developed at the country’s 21 HEIs, but recent developments indicate this might
change in the near future.
15.2 Talent Provisions Throughout Education Systems
Having indicated how the culture towards excellence in all countries can be charac-
terized, we now compare two aspects that are relevant for the development of hon-
ors education in a certain country: first, the provisions for gifted and talented young
people throughout the education system and, second, the selectiveness of higher
education entry.
We see a relatively clear picture when we look at the development of special
schools or classes for talented pupils in compulsory education per country, as is
summarized in Table 15.2. Reading each country’s entry from left to right, we move
through the education system.
Table 15.2 Provisions for talented and gifted students and selectiveness of education system per
country, overview 2014
Compulsory Selectiveness
Compulsory education: of education Selectiveness of
education: special legislation system at age higher education
Country schools or classesa (2009)b 15c entry
Austria Yes Yes High Low
Belgium Yes Mixed High Low
Denmark Yes Yes Low Medium/high
Finland Yes No Low High
Germany Yes Yes High Medium
Iceland No No Low Low/medium
Luxembourg No ? High Low
Netherlands Yes Yes High Low
Norway No Yes Low Medium/high
Sweden Experimental No Low Medium/high
Switzerland Yes Yes High Low
a
This refers to special schools or classes within schools for talented or gifted students
b
This refers to special legislative measures for talented and/or gifted students. Source: European
Agency for Development in Special Needs Education (2009)
c
The age of 15 was chosen for this indicator because this is the highest age at which education is
compulsory in all countries in this book and also because the often-referred-to PISA report assesses
15-year-olds
15.3 Selectiveness of Higher Education Entry 247
In most countries, such schools or classes have developed, with the exception of
Norway (which forbids permanent differentiation according to academic ability by
law) and the small countries of Iceland and Luxembourg. Legislation for talented or
gifted students is in place in all countries except in some Nordic ones, with a strong
egalitarian tradition.
We see that countries differ in the degree and timing of selectiveness, but they all
select students at some point. In the Benelux countries, first selection takes place
early. For example, in the Netherlands, pupils are divided in three main types of
secondary education around the age of 12. Pupils then continue towards the national
exam at the end of secondary school. If they pass this exam at the vwo level, they
can enter most study programs at the university level. With some exceptions, pro-
grams only have general admission guidelines and no fixed number of students.
All the Nordic countries have a low level of selectivity at age 15, as they offer
single-structure compulsory education. In contrast, selectiveness of higher educa-
tion entry is medium or high in these countries.
15.3 Selectiveness of Higher Education Entry
We now move to the second aspect: the selectiveness of higher education entry. This
can be a very relevant factor for the development of honors programs and is there-
fore worth a closer look. We have chosen a number of indicators about the selective-
ness of higher education entry. Results are shown in Table 15.3.
Table 15.3 Selectiveness of higher education entry per country, overview 2014
No. of
studies Examples of
with restricted/most
Most used way restricted Restrictions Selection competitive
Country of entrya entry set by criteria study paths
Austria Secondary Few Ministry or Entrance Medicine,
school diploma HEI exam veterinary
medicine,
dentistry,
psychology,
journalism
Belgium Sec. school Few Community Admission Dent., med.,
diploma ministries test vet. med.,
physiotherapy
Denmark Sec. school All (in HEI + ministry Highest exam Med., psych.,
diploma practice, GPA qualifies business
most) administration
(continued)
Table 15.3 (continued)

No. of
studies Examples of
with restricted/most
Most used way restricted Restrictions Selection competitive
Country of entrya entry set by criteria study paths
Finland Entrance exam All HEI + ministry Entrance Psych.,
exam grades, education,
highest med, vet. med.
qualify
Germany Sec. school Most Federal Various (set Med., vet.
diploma (over ministry or by HEI), med., dent.,
half)b Länder often based pharmacy
ministries or on grades and
HEI waiting time
Iceland Sec. school Some HEI Set per study, Med., law,
diploma usually economics
entrance
exam
Luxembourg Sec. school Some HEI Depends on n/a
diploma study
(grades,
interview,
motivation)
Netherlands Sec. school Few Ministry or Exam GPA, Med., vet.
diploma HEI weighted med., dent.,
draw, criteria journalism
set by HEI
Norway Sec. school All (in HEI + ministry National Med., dent.,
diploma practice, point system, psych.
most) mostly based
on grades
Sweden Sec. school All (in HEI + ministry Grades, test, n/a
grades + national practice, criteria set by
admission test most) HEI
Switzerland Sec. school Few HEI Entrance Med., vet.
diploma exam med, dent.
Based on Eurydice (2014)
a
Alternative entry routes are available in most countries (e.g., age requirement plus entrance exam,
work experience plus entrance exam, etc.), but we focus on the “regular” path from secondary to
higher education. Arts and sports study courses are excluded. They have restricted entry in all
countries
b
Only applies to universities; for Fachhochschulen, different admission procedures apply
We see that student numbers are restricted to some extent in all countries.
However, in the Benelux and the German-speaking countries, the restrictions only
apply to a few study programs, usually including medicine and related disciplines.
The Nordic countries generally restrict entry to all programs by limiting the number
of student seats available. In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, not all student seats
Literature 249
in all programs are filled, but it can be very hard to get into popular programs.
Selection is coordinated nationally and based on exam GPA (Denmark), a point
system mostly based on grades (Norway) and a system based on grades, a national
test, and other criteria (Sweden). Finland is exceptional: here, a national entrance
exam is taken for every study program and admission is based on these exam results.
Competition for places in popular programs is fierce.
In this chapter, we compared the provision of honors programs at 303 higher educa-
tion institutions in eleven European countries. Overall, we see a trend of more pro-
visions for talented and motivated students. While there are many differences
between countries, there are also similarities within the clusters of countries, sug-
gesting that a similar language and/or culture produces a comparable view towards
excellence. In most countries, attitudes and culture become more supportive of
excellence. However, only a fraction of the four million students attending those
HEIs is participating in honors programs. So, more focus on talent development and
more provisions for honors education are needed if we want to educate those
talented and motivated students to their full potential. In the next chapter, we will
discuss our results and the implications of our findings.
Literature
pdf. 24 Jan 2014.
Chapter 16
Perspectives on Talent Development
in European Higher Education
The time has come for a sustainable and structural approach that leads to a change of culture
in education. I strive for an ambitious culture of learning, for a challenging education. We
cannot be satisfied with sufficient grades, always getting better is the norm. (Dutch Deputy
Minister of Education Sander Dekker in a letter to parliament; Rijksoverheid 2014, p. 11,
own translation)
In the Netherlands, where this study originates, quite an extensive infrastructure

exists to provide talented and motivated students with extra options to work on their
personal development. For the national government, talent development is a prior-
ity. Most Dutch HEIs have honors programs, and the nationwide Sirius Programme
specifically focuses on this subject. Moreover, scientific research on honors pro-
grams has been conducted in the Netherlands since the late 1990s and has influ-
enced the development and design of programs and their embeddedness in the wider
society. Research has focused – among other things – on the educational philosophy
behind honors programs, its effects on both the participants and on regular educa-
tion, the culture of honors education, the didactics of honors educators, and the
relationships between honors education and future professional development
(Wolfensberger and Pilot 2014).1 In the Netherlands, excelling as a student is no
longer an individual hobby; it has now become an institutionalized possibility (ibid).
Good honors education is dynamic and ongoing. Honors educators are usually
very open to new ideas and interested in trying out new things. Over the last few
years, Dutch honors educators and the Sirius Programme increasingly looked across
the Dutch borders for inspiration and cooperation. Questions came up about honors
programs and excellence policies in other countries. The main questions for this
book were: Why and under what conditions are honors programs in higher educa-
tion developed in 11 northern European countries? And what is the current situation
regarding talent development and excellence in those countries? To answer these
questions, we reviewed the special provisions for talented students at 303 higher
1
A short overview of Dutch research on honors education and honors programs is provided by
these authors.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_16
252 16 Perspectives on Talent Development in European Higher Education
education institutions in 11 countries, with almost four million students altogether.

We described the culture towards excellence in all countries, as well as government
policies on the subject of excellence in education. We identified key players in the
field of excellence and made an overview of local terminology. Interviews with key
persons completed the picture.
In this chapter, we discuss our conclusions. We explore the ideological and insti-
tutional factors that explain the development of honors programs. Finally, we dis-
cuss the implications of our findings. One thing is immediately clear: research on
provisions for excellent students in higher education in Europe is scarce and further
research is definitely needed to get a complete picture.
16.1 Five Basic Conclusions
Our main goal in this book was to explore the development of honors programs in
11 European countries. As this is a first structural inventory of such programs, we
did not quite know what to expect. We tried to find as many programs and as much
information on talent development as possible. Because of the enormous amount of
information that became available, we had to limit our search. We decided not to
include talent development programs in sports and arts education, as this type of
education deserves special attention for its specific focus on talent development in
curricula and pedagogies.
Looking at the general picture in the 11 countries in this book, we can draw five
basic conclusions about talent development in general and honors programs in
particular.
1. First, we can conclude that from the early 2000s, talent development has been
put higher on the agenda. The culture towards talent development has become
more positive and has received a place in most educational philosophies. A
growing number of honors programs now exist in the 11 European countries
studied in this book.
2. Second, the Netherlands clearly is the front-runner in the development of honors
programs. All Dutch research universities and all large universities of applied
sciences have developed honors education, although student participation highly
varies among HEIs and is still quite low overall. In all other countries in this
book, the number of programs is still limited. The Dutch experience also shows
that, generally speaking, research universities are the first HEIs that develop hon-
ors programs, later followed by universities of applied sciences. Of course, there
are innovators, early adapters, and late adapters in each type of institution.
3. Thirdly, if we move away from higher education and look at talent development
in general, we see that, in many countries, focus is on provisions for children in
primary and secondary education. In all countries, there are at least some mea-
sures or programs which give talented children opportunities to further develop
themselves. Often, these provisions are based on cognitive skills. For students in
higher education, these structures are not widely available. If talent development
16.1 Five Basic Conclusions 253
is recognized within higher education, it is usually in teacher education. This is

of course important but also very limited. From the Dutch experience, it seems
honors programs in higher education start to be developed some time after pro-
grams for gifted and talented students in primary and secondary education are
initiated. This may also – but does not need to – be the case in other countries.
4. Fourthly, we can conclude that structures to support honors education are mostly
lacking. Within countries, there is little organization. So far, the Netherlands is
the only country with a nationwide organization to bring honors programs from
different HEIs together.2 The Sirius Programme is also the only government-
funded program subsidizing the development of new forms of honors education.
Only in the German state of Bavaria a somewhat similar structure is found, in the
government-subsidized Excellence Network of Bavaria. Most other existing net-
works are focused on gifted education in general and do not specifically target
higher education.3 However, they may start to do so in the future. Promising
developments are the increased attention for higher education in Austria’s ÖZBF,
while in the Nordic countries, the Nordic Talent Network is in development. A
stronger support structure and network for honors education in Europe would
certainly help its further development. At the moment, programs are very nation-
ally oriented and there is no international network in honors education.
5. Finally, a common terminology is lacking. Giftedness, talents, excellence, high
ability, honors: a myriad of terms is possible to refer to the people and programs in
this book. All terms have slightly different implications, depending on the context,
culture, and tradition in which they are used (see also Laine 2010 on this issue). In
addition, there are also many local terms with their own meanings and political
implications. Scientists do not agree on terminology either, nor on the question if
talent should be defined in terms of outstanding performances or in terms of poten-
tial. This is problematic for everyone involved. In a 2006 working document about
giftedness in 30 European countries, this problem was also recognized. The offi-
cial terminology was even mapped, with most terms referring to variations on the
words gifted and talented or combinations (Eurydice 2006). In three Nordic coun-
tries, no official definition was found whatsoever (ibid, p. 8). This is a reflection of
the local culture, and it implies that terminology is politically charged. For exam-
ple, in Sweden, you cannot talk about talents, and in Norway, the word elite is
taboo. For research purposes, this means that programs can be hard to find. To put
it positively, it provides a challenge, and gains can be made if agreement is reached
on the use of terminology among researchers and/or policy makers.
While the last two conclusions indicate that there are great challenges for the
further development of honors education, we are positive about the future. This
positive outlook is partly a result of the creation process of this book. Although
2
Outside Europe, the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) is a strong and well-established
network in the USA.
3
International networks focused on gifted education, such as ECHA, are present in all countries in
this book, although their influence differs.
developments are sometimes still very limited, enthusiasm for honors education has
spread over the Benelux, Nordic and German-speaking countries. In all countries,
contacts were very willing to help the researchers and learn from “honors experi-
ences” in other countries. Almost all HEIs we approached gave us information
about their provisions for talented students. We found many individuals who clearly
recognize the need to provide talented students with the best possible education and
are willing to put a lot of effort into the realization of their vision. Such pioneering
individuals are central to the development of honors education. At the same time,
policy makers in HEIs and governments in many countries have also started to focus
on talent development and they see the possibilities of honors education. Among all
groups, widespread interest in the results of this explorative and comparative
research project was shown. We think this book clearly fulfills the need for a struc-
tured overview of provisions for talented students in different countries.
Keeping our basic conclusions in mind, we now analyze the current development
of honors programs throughout the Benelux, Nordic and German-speaking countries
in more depth. We also look at what we can expect for the future. Before starting our
main analysis at the national level, we first need to make some remarks about scale
and the supranational context.
16.2 Scale and the Supranational Context
Geographical questions of scale and networks turn out to be very relevant for the
development and characteristics of honors programs. This is especially clear if we
look “up” from the national scale to the supranational context in which these pro-
grams are developed. Four elements are important: research and rankings at the
global level and the Bologna Process and Horizon 2020 at the European level.
16.2.1 Research
First, HEIs and especially research universities operate in the global field of scien-
tific research. This is a field with its own rules about the appreciation of excellence.
Basically, the best research is published in the most-cited journals. Countries wish-
ing to score well in this international playing field have to abide by the system rules.
Some countries develop programs to improve their relative position. Examples are
the German Excellence Initiative and the Norwegian Center of Excellence program.
These programs can have spin-off effects into the education side of HEIs. Both in
Germany and in Norway, this has been the case: a few years after the introduction
of an excellence program on the research side, a similar program focusing on educa-
tion was introduced. At the same time, the international “rat race” in scientific
research can also lead to less focus on education among top scientists. These top
scientists only have limited time and have to choose how to spend this. Their choice
is influenced by what their employers, the HEIs, appreciate. If emphasis is on
research, they might see education as less important.
16.2 Scale and the Supranational Context 255
16.2.2 Rankings
A second element from the global context influencing the development of honors
programs at the national level are educational achievements in international rank-
ings. Unsatisfactory results on such rankings can be a strong incentive for making
structural changes in the education system, including the development of programs
focusing on excellence.
University rankings, such as the Shanghai Ranking (ARWU 2013) or the Times
Higher Education World University Rankings (2014), are mostly focused on
research achievements (and therefore subject of much debate). The rankings are not
directly related to the development of honors programs, but indirectly, there can be
a link. Again, we refer to the German and Norwegian programs as examples. In
Germany, one of the official aims of the Excellence Initiative was the creation of
“globally competitive universities.” In Norway, the Center of Excellence in research
program was developed first, and subsequently, a Center of Excellence in education
program was developed as a spin-off. One of the “side effects” of both initiatives is
that talking about excellence has become more common throughout the university
system. This discussion can take many directions, not necessarily leading to devel-
opment of honors education.
Another relevant international ranking is the PISA report, recording 15-year-
olds’ achievements. Earlier reports have been an incentive for major changes in the
education system in, for example, Norway, where teacher education was restruc-
tured. The PISA 2012 report, published in late 2013, has come as a shock to a num-
ber of countries. Sweden scored particularly low and the call for change is very loud
there. More focus on differentiation and the development of excellence programs
could be a way forward.
16.2.3 Bologna Process and Horizon 2020
Thirdly, a major development throughout higher education in Europe is the Bologna

Process. This process to harmonize higher education standards has led to changes in
the educational structures in many European countries since 1999. Sometimes the
opportunity was seized to really “shake up” the system, while in other countries,
changes were limited. National traditions remain strong and relevant to understand
national higher education systems. The relationship between research universities
and universities of applied sciences is still very different among the countries in this
study. For example, in Iceland, there is no difference made at all. On the other hand,
Norway has a complicated system including university colleges, specialized univer-
sity colleges, and full universities. Language can also lead to confusion. In Sweden,
for example, many HEIs call themselves högskola in Swedish but university on their
international webpage.
Although the impact differs, the Bologna Process is important in all 11 countries.
Among other things, it has facilitated an easier flow of students between European
countries, for example, by the introduction of the uniform ECTS credit system.
Many study programs now have an international appeal. However, HEIs offering
honors programs do not seem to fully use the possibilities in the Bologna Process.
Offering honors programs could be one way for HEIs to distinguish themselves on
the international student “market,” but this is hardly done. Most honors programs
explicitly focus on “local” students and are conducted in the local language. In
many cases, an English-language webpage is not available or very limited.4
Some programs explicitly mention their international focus, for example, the
“Liberal Arts” style honors colleges in the Netherlands and Freiburg (Germany),
which offer their study programs in English. Another example is the University of
Southern Denmark’s Research in Corporate Communication program. We also
found that certain fields are very international in nature, such as business-related
studies. Programs are usually conducted in English and many foreign students are
enrolled, either as full-time or exchange student. National borders are not very
important for such study programs, which is also shown in the development of the
international CEMS-MIM program (discussed in Chap. 3).
Such examples show that the national scale is not automatically the only relevant
scale for analysis of honors education. Instead, developments at different scales can
play their roles simultaneously.
Another development at the European level is the increasing importance of EU
programs for research funding. In the new Horizon 2020 program, around 80 billion
euros is available for the period 2014–2020. Institutions that have clear strategies to
operate in an international playing field have better chances to attract funds from
this program. Horizon 2020 focuses strongly on rewarding excellent research. Great
opportunities to connect this to excellent teaching and involve excellent students in
international networks are present here.
16.3 Factors at the National Scale
Still, every talented student starts in a certain national education system. For the
moment, this remains the most important context in which honors education takes
place and therefore a logical starting point for analysis. So to analyze the develop-
ment of honors programs, we now return to the factors that influence this in specific
national contexts, as identified in Chap. 2 (see Box 16.1). These factors could be
identified as either more ideological (factors 1–3) or more institutional in nature
(factors 4–6). The importance of international rankings (factor 7) has already been
discussed above, and we will discuss the role of innovators and pioneers in the next
chapter.
4
See list of key links and contact details for honors programs in Appendixes 2 and 3.
16.4 Ideological Factors 257
Box 16.1: Factors Influencing the Development of Honors Programs

in a Specific National Context
Ideological factors:
1. Culture towards excellence
2. Political views towards excellence
3. Educational philosophy
Institutional factors:
4. Structure and selectiveness of education system
5. Competition between institutions
6. Labor market conditions
7. National results in comparative research
Other factor:
8. Innovators and pioneers
16.4 Ideological Factors
Approaches towards excellence are very dependent upon national culture. An atmo-
sphere where people involved in these programs are proud of their achievements
and do not feel the need to downplay their involvement in order to “fit in” is crucial
for long-term positive outcomes. As Hungarian researcher Janos Györi concluded
from two volumes of studies of talent support programs throughout the world: “the
best talent education method is to provide a talent-friendly social space” (2012,
p. 227). A culture where talent is valued and appreciated is very important for the
success of talent development programs.
For the European countries in this book, this is not obvious. We have seen that
they all have an egalitarian tradition to a certain extent, although its origins and its
current strength are very different. In some countries, culture towards excellence is
ambivalent and developments may seem contradictory at first sight. We discuss the
ideological factors per cluster of countries to make this clear.
16.4.1 The Nordic Countries
The egalitarian tradition is especially strong in the Nordic countries (Denmark,

Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland). It is expressed in the Law of Jante with its
basic saying “you are not to think you are special or that you are any better than us.”
People from the Nordic countries referred to this “law” so often and so spontane-
ously that its importance should not be underestimated. It implicates that the
individual cannot stand out from the group and therefore any reference to excellence
has to be institutionalized as a group measure. There are exceptions of course: areas
where it is unavoidable to distinguish individual talents. Appreciating excellence in
sports and arts is well accepted in all countries presented in this book. Even in very
egalitarian countries such as Sweden and Norway, entry to study programs in the
arts is based on a very individual-based admission procedure.
While the selectiveness of higher education also extends to other study programs
in Nordic countries, the individual approach is restricted to the arts. For other pro-
grams, a strict selection on the basis of exam results is made. This seems contradic-
tory to the egalitarian culture at first sight but can be understood when approached
from an institutional point of view. Only a limited number of student seats are avail-
able in the institutions, and therefore, a way has to be found to find the right group
to fill the seats. Selection is thus an institutional measure. Using grades is seen as
the most honest way, giving equal opportunities to all. The institutionality of this
approach is also shown by the fact that, generally speaking, selection is not left to
the HEI’s discretion, but coordinated nationally through a special agency.
While the egalitarian tradition is strong, slow changes in the culture are present
and were also referred to by the interviewees, especially in Denmark. In this coun-
try, honors programs have developed in recent years. Several interviewees have sug-
gested that the other Nordic countries are slowly following the Danish example in
this respect. They point to different outside developments that cause this slow cul-
ture change, like the impact of globalization, competition from other countries for
the best researchers, and achievements on international rankings, as discussed
above.
16.4.2 The Benelux
While an egalitarian philosophy is dominant in the Nordic countries, the Benelux

countries tend more towards an equal opportunity philosophy. This implies that
more emphasis is placed on meeting the individual needs of different students.
Development of provisions for talents is more likely.
In the Netherlands, political support for talent development in education has
become broad and stable in recent years. This could be seen as the result of a culture
change, which has been set in motion around the time of the development of the first
honors programs in the 1990s. One explanation for the early development of honors
education in the Netherlands might be that ties between the Netherlands and the
USA are traditionally strong. Detailed research about how exactly honors education
has spread from the USA to the Netherlands and throughout Europe could shed
more light on the relevant networks that have enabled this trend.
In any case, talent development has established itself as a stable theme in Dutch
government policy in recent years. The Sirius Programme with subsidies available
to start honors programs ended in 2014, but it has always been clear that this
16.4 Ideological Factors 259
program was a temporary measure. The main goal was to stimulate honors educa-
tion to take a structural place in the Dutch higher education landscape. How this will
take shape exactly is still subject of debate. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education
remains focused on excellence. It has announced new measures to foster talent in
compulsory education (Rijksoverheid 2014).
Belgium is slowly following the Dutch example in the development of honors
education. Here, the initiative is mostly with the individual HEIs, and in contrast
with the Netherlands, there is hardly any government support. This may be caused
by the political organization, with education in the hands of the Flemish- and
French-speaking communities. These governments do not take a clear leading role
in the development of new educational policies towards excellence. However, cul-
ture change is set in motion within HEIs, and more programs may follow soon.
16.4.3 The German-Speaking Countries
In the German-speaking countries, culture towards excellence is ambivalent. It is

also politically sensitive because references to very problematic historical events
are easily made: both to the Nazi era, with its Übermensch ideas, and to the GDR,
with its extensive doping-based talent development programs in sports. Such his-
torical events have led to such sensitivity around the subject that, generally speak-
ing, support measures have to remain at the individual level.
Throughout the German-speaking countries, individual talent support programs
through private foundations are well accepted. There is a certain culture of excel-
lence appreciation, but this is not institutionalized very strongly in the development
of programs for groups of talents at HEIs.
However, this culture is also changing. In recent years, focus on excellence has
also been given a significant boost because of the successful “Excellence Initiative”
in German research. Talking about excellence has become more common and has
also spread towards the education side of universities. This applies to both Germany
and Austria. Specifically for Germany, the leading role of foundations supporting
talents is strongly embedded in the culture, leading to a very specific set of actors
around the concept of excellence. In Austria, the role of foundations is also impor-
tant, but not as strong. Here, it is worth noting that a certain role for the private sec-
tor in honors education seems acceptable within the culture. In addition, the general
climate towards excellence seems positive, with the national foundation ÖZBF
playing an important role.
In Switzerland, developments are slightly different. The sensitivity around the
concept of excellence is not felt as strong. Talent development programs are well
accepted in compulsory education.
Interestingly, this does not necessarily spread to the higher education sector.
There are no HEIs with honors programs yet.
16.4.4 Countries Compared
Overall, we can conclude that while there are significant differences between the
countries, the ideological trend is towards less egalitarianism and more focus on
excellence. These two trends are related, but they do not form the two sides of the
same coin. The move away from the egalitarian philosophy is accompanied by a
move towards an equal opportunity philosophy. In this philosophy, there is more
room for the individual needs of students and therefore also for talent
development.
The increased focus on excellence at the national level can thus be seen as one of
the consequences of the move towards an equal opportunity philosophy. At the
same time, there are more developments that can explain the increased focus on
excellence. For example, this has often been linked to developments at the suprana-
tional level, such as globalization and the need to distinguish oneself in an increas-
ingly open labor market. This has led political parties with different ideologies to
realize that many talent development measures are in fact – in the words of Danish
talent development expert Stefan Hermann – “generally speaking good things to do
if you want to improve the quality of education.”
It is tempting to conclude that the process of slow culture change and the accom-
panying development of honors programs in the Netherlands from the early 1990s
is a blueprint for the other countries in this book. Some developments suggest it is
true. For example, in Denmark, the first development of honors education started
around a decade later than in the Netherlands, and Denmark now seems to be where
the Netherlands was a decade ago. Other Nordic countries are a number of years
“behind” Denmark in this respect. However, the situation is not that simple.
Institutional factors (discussed below) are also relevant, and development is also
very dependent upon local culture, tradition, politics, and the attitude towards out-
side influences. Development also depends on the specific local relationship between
research and education within HEIs. Moreover, honors education was also “used” in
the Netherlands to change the culture towards appreciation of outstanding perfor-
mances and excellence within higher education.
In general, focus on excellence might also be related to the political coalition in
power: roughly speaking, social-democratic politicians are more likely to focus on
equality and less likely to approve of measures to promote excellence or elite pro-
grams. This is not always the case however, as in the Netherlands, the Sirius
Programme was introduced under a social-democratic Minister of Education.5
Countries differ with respect to how politicians act and how stable their views of
excellence and support for accompanying programs are. Honors programs can reach
stability once their existence is welcomed by most or all major political parties and
they have taken a stable place in the educational structures of a country.
This brings us to the institutional factors influencing the development of honors
programs.
5
Minister Ronald Plasterk (PvdA, social-democrats) awarded the first Sirius subsidies in 2009.
16.5 Institutional Factors 261
16.5 Institutional Factors
The level of differentiation in primary and secondary education, the selectiveness of

higher education in general, and admission requirements in particular are all rele-
vant factors for the development of honors programs. But there is no simple rela-
tionship between these institutional factors and the development of programs. We
already showed this in Chap. 15, when we discussed the differences in university
admission and the selectiveness of the education system in general in relation to the
development of honors programs. The discussion of three examples of simple –
seemingly logical – statements will further illustrate this.
1. Countries with an educational structure where differentiation is common might
be more inclined towards the development of honors programs. Do countries
with early differentiation between children in secondary school have more hon-
ors programs than countries with a single-structure compulsory education sys-
tem? Not necessarily so: there are many programs in the Netherlands (with early
differentiation), but also quite a few in Denmark (with single structure). And in
Switzerland (early differentiation), there are none.
2. Growth in student numbers makes the student population more heterogeneous
and might be one incentive for the increasingly felt need among HEIs to sort out
the most talented and motivated students for honors programs. Do countries that
experience quick growth in the number of students in higher education develop
more programs? Not clearly so. The Netherlands and Austria are two countries
with high increase in tertiary education participation (over 40 % in the last
decade). Indeed, these countries both have programs. But in Finland, where
student numbers have hardly grown (although applications have gone up) and
thus university entry has become even more selective, some programs have also
developed. And in Iceland, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, with high growth
percentages, there are no programs.
3. A strict selection for a regular study program could decrease the “need” for an
honors program, as – put bluntly – the elite has already been selected. If anything,
evidence suggests the opposite. In Denmark, the admission requirement for a
B.Sc. in International Business at Copenhagen Business School is extremely
high (GPA of 11.9, where 12 is the maximum). But at this particular study
program, two honors programs have been developed specifically to further sort
out “the best of the best.” The same is true for the Center of Excellence program
at the WU in Vienna (Austria). For the general master program, the best students
are selected. Then the best of those are selected for the honors program. The
Finnish university system poses most restrictions to university entry among the
11 countries studied. Here, being in a university might be seen as “sufficiently
selective.” While development of honors programs is indeed very limited in
Finland, there are some programs available.
These examples show that the relationship between the organization of the edu-
cation system in general and the development of honors education is complicated.
However, these institutional factors do set the margins within which honors
education can develop. Besides, there are also other institutional factors that can
have a direct or indirect influence on talent development in general and honors
education in particular. We discuss four factors in more detail: progression in educa-
tion, recruitment, economy, and politics.
16.5.1 Progression in Education
The need to develop honors programs might also be related to the national system
of progression in education. We have seen that in the countries where the progres-
sion rate of bachelor graduates into master programs is highest (Denmark, Austria),
the development of honors programs is also strong in recent years. Further research
into a possible relationship between these two facts could be very valuable. One
possible explanation could be that in countries where continuing into a master pro-
gram is “normal,” the bachelor program might be a bit more general and less
focused. Honors programs could then fill the “gap” that exists for students who want
to deepen their knowledge. Possibly, students also feel more need to distinguish
themselves.
We have found honors programs in both the bachelor and master phases of
education. In the Dutch experience, the first programs were developed in the
bachelor phase, later followed by the master phase. Other countries have different
experiences. In Denmark, government support facilitated the development of elite
master programs, before bachelor programs were present. In the German Excellence
Network of Bavaria, programs for groups of students are focused on the master
phase. The first Austrian honors program, the Center of Excellence at WU Wien, is
also for the master phase. However, most other programs are for bachelor students.
The picture is thus varied and calls for more research. What are the differences in
aims and content of programs in the bachelor and the master, and why are they
developed first at a certain level in a specific national context?
Another interesting research topic would be the possible relationship between
the average age of students at HEIs and the development of honors education. In
some Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland), students traditionally enter higher
education at a relatively high age. They have more “life experience” before they
start their studies, and this may influence their choice to enter honors education.
16.5.2 Recruitment
Both the system of university recruitment and the relevant scale of recruitment seem
relevant for the development of honors programs. Some study programs have a clear
international focus, are conducted in English, and explicitly recruit students interna-
tionally. In such internationally oriented programs, development of honors pro-
grams might be more likely. For example, in international business studies, a kind
of international honors network has been set up in the CEMS-MIM program. More
research into such programs could shed valuable light on the different scales of
recruitment that can be relevant for honors education.
At the national level, funding of education institutions is based on student num-
bers, which means there is an incentive to attract more students. Such competition
can be an incentive to develop honors programs. HEIs can distinguish themselves
by offering an honors program and some institutions explicitly name this as a reason
for doing so. On the other hand, most Nordic countries have a national system coor-
dinating the admission of students to higher education. Students can apply for the
program of their choice, but, for example, in Norway, they can also be placed at
other universities. This high level of national coordination and limited number of
student seats implies less competition between institutions.
Some programs are also explicitly set up with a focus on recruitment for an aca-
demic career: participants are obvious candidates to become Ph.D. students. This is
especially strong in Germany, where a number of programs in the Elite Network of
Bavaria explicitly mention these intentions. In the Netherlands, the picture is varied
between HEIs. Some honors programs explicitly focus on research, but in many
universities, there are also (regular) research master programs to identify future
Ph.D. students. In some of these cases, the corresponding “non-research” master
programs have an honors program in place to offer the most talented students extra
opportunities. Often these programs are focused on leadership.
Apart from the recruitment process of the HEI in general, there is also the recruit-
ment process of the honors program in particular. Many different selection methods
are used here. Often, grades play a certain role, but motivation is also included in
many admission schemes, in the form of motivation letters and/or interviews.
Sometimes other factors such as commitment or community service are also taken
into account, and a lot of programs include a possibility of “self-selection”: moti-
vated students who are not invited to the program can still apply. These procedures
are often well considered, intensive, and intricate. Labor-intensive admission
schemes can come under pressure in times of budget cuts, which leads to a risk of
selection based just on grades.
16.5.3 Economy, Business, and Financing
Economic developments in general and labor market conditions in particular also

influence the development of honors programs by HEIs. In addition, they influence
the choices that students make. The link between the labor market and HEIs is
strong in the German-speaking countries. This also shows in honors programs: dif-
ferent HEIs have developed programs that explicitly focus on the careers of the
students involved.
However, HEIs are not the only institutions focusing on talent development for
economic reasons. Private foundations and companies and also students themselves
increasingly take their own initiatives. Three striking examples are the
StipendiumPlus association in Germany, uniting 12 foundations offering financial
and other support to talented students; the Videncenter in Denmark, a building

financed by a private investor, where talent development programs are coordinated
and talented students can be received; and the sponsors who have a prominent place
in Austrian programs, such as WU Top League and Center of Excellence. In addi-
tion, students from Germany and Austria have set up their own online “talent net-
works” or have become members of networks sponsored by private companies.
The growth in student numbers in recent years, especially in countries like
Austria and the Netherlands, also has implications for the labor market. Competition
is fiercer, and in these circumstances, it is very important for students to show some-
thing extra on their CV. One way of doing so is by participating in an honors
program.
Private companies see the need to recruit the most talented students in an early
stage of their career. This process has been called the “war for talent” in the early
2000s. While there is less reference to “war” since the economic crisis broke out,
many companies still see the need to put a lot of effort in talent recruitment. Actual
participation of companies in education (including honors education) is subject of
debate. Some people want to protect the education process from commercial influ-
ences, while others stress the added value of business involvement in preparing
students for “real-world” careers. We have seen that discussions around this issue
are especially fierce in Sweden, where “free schools” run by companies have come
under fire in the media and politics after some cases of bankruptcy of schools. In
Austria, there are examples of programs with explicit business involvement, also in
the content of honors education. Especially in the current context of government
budgets under pressure, we expect that more HEIs will start to look to the private
sector if they want to set up an honors program.
The cost of the development of honors education, in relation to its added value,
is of course also very relevant for HEIs. Added value can be defined in different
ways. We have not included this monetary factor in this project but recommend to
investigate it further in a more in-depth research.
Another important factor related to finance is the financial cost and/or support for
excellent students in honors programs. Here, we see different countries taking dif-
ferent directions. In Germany and Austria, there are very low tuition fees, and in
addition, special grants and stipends are available to talented students. Particularly
in Germany, these can be substantial amounts of money, enabling students to con-
centrate on their (honors) education. A contrasting situation is found in the
Netherlands, where the government has launched a plan to ask a double tuition fee
for honors education (compared to regular education) in a situation where regular
tuition fees amount to almost 2,000 euros per year. The effect of financial measures
on student’s willingness to participate in honors programs is unclear.
16.5.4 Politics
We have discussed political views above in our review of ideological factors, but
there is more to politics. The political organization of the education system is also
very relevant for the development of honors programs.
One example showing this relevance is the question “where” in politics the issue
of talent development in higher education is put. A strategy for talent development
can be part of general education policy, part of special or special needs education
policy, or a separate education policy area in itself. It can also become part of
another, noneducational policy area, for example, equal opportunity, anti-
discrimination, or emancipation. The “location” of a policy issue is often related to
financial questions. For example, the Dutch Deputy Minister of Education recently
wrote a letter clearly situating talent development in primary and secondary educa-
tion as part of “special education” policy (Rijksoverheid 2014). From now on, this
is therefore also the policy area where financing for these programs must be sought.
The organization of the political system can also influence the possibilities of
developing a coherent view on talent development throughout the education system.
For example, countries differ with regard to which ministry is responsible for higher
education. In some countries, one ministry is responsible for the complete education
system (the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland), while in others,
higher education is governed in a separate ministry, often combined with research
(Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg). In federal countries, the situation is often even
more complicated. Powers are concentrated at the levels of individual states, can-
tons, or communities, and there is little (Germany, Switzerland) or no (Belgium)
national coordination. We have seen that in Austria, there is an extensive infrastruc-
ture around gifted education in primary and secondary education, but development
of honors programs in higher education is just starting. In federal Germany, we see
huge differences between the Länder, with Bavaria having the clearest focus on
excellence. In Belgium, HEIs are taking initiatives themselves as little is done by
the different governments.
Organizational changes can occur due to political developments. Sometimes
there is a sudden change of ministers or even of ministries: in Austria, the Ministry
of Education, Arts, and Culture suddenly became the “Ministry of Education and
Women’s Affairs” in late 2013. Political developments or changing governments
can also lead to sudden policy change. This was, for example, the case in Denmark,
where the financing of Elite Mater programs stopped after a government change. In
Norway, the recently installed new government decided to focus explicitly on qual-
ity and promised new policy on provisions for gifted children.
16.5.5 Selection and Flexibility
We conclude this review of institutional factors with a seemingly obvious statement:

you get what you select for. We have seen that in all countries, there is a moment of
selection in the education process. Children are streamed according to academic
ability. Often this is based on grades. The ways in which pupils are graded vary but
are often based on tests that benefit students who are good at reproducing informa-
tion and analyzing within the framework set by their teacher. The most creative
minds do not necessarily score well. They need flexibility to fully explore their
creativity. Honors programs can offer them the challenges they need. Often this
does indeed happen, but the specific institutionalization of the education system in
a national context can also leave little room for this creativity and flexibility. It is
then up to creative HEIs and individuals to find the room they need and attract the
“right” students, according to the mission of the honors program.
16.6 Concluding Remarks
For the first time, an overview of honors education in northern Europe has been
presented. We have found many interesting, striking, and unexpected results. The
ten results the research team found most striking are summarized in Box 16.2.
Generally speaking, the results from this book can be of interest for politicians
and policy makers, as honors education appears to be a good outlet for talent. In
addition, (honors) students looking for comparable honors courses around Europe
to obtain an international experience get insight in the opportunities at various
institutions.
However, this first overview also demonstrates that we are only at the beginning
of an important silent revolution towards excellence. It is obvious that there are
many things we still don’t know. Therefore, we offer some alternative perspectives
and do some suggestions for further research in the next, final, chapter.
Box 16.2: Ten Most Striking Findings

1. The focus on talent development. This has become a priority in many
countries and a lot of honors programs now exist in the 11 countries stud-
ied in this book. However, political volatility can still be high. A “momen-
tum” can suddenly arise but can also quickly disappear.
2. The surprising directions programs can take. Programs can develop in
unexpected settings and directions: examples range from a unique inter-
university approach in Belgium and students running their own program
in Denmark to the strong regional focus on excellence in Bavaria.
3. The strength of private sector involvement. Many foundations and com-
panies support talent development. Often, they explicitly connect the pro-
gram to the labor market.
4. The focus on community building. Informal gatherings of honors students
and teachers have great added value. The importance of “community” is
recognized in many programs, but focus remains within the program or
HEI and its surroundings.
(continued)
Literature 267
Box 16.2 (continued)

5. The lack of framework. While there is community building within pro-
grams, there is little networking between programs. There is no interna-
tional network, and the Netherlands is the only country with a national
framework of HEIs offering honors programs (the Sirius Programme).
6. The importance of culture. Cultural ideas about excellence can be very
strong. In the Nordic countries, the “Law of Jante” is effectively a cul-
tural imperative forbidding people to stand out from the crowd. Changing
a culture is a slow process.
7. The focus on primary and secondary education. In many countries, talent
development is now focused on compulsory education, but of course, it
does not stop at age 18. Interesting examples of programs linking second-
ary and higher education could prove inspirational.
8. The difficulties of terminology. A myriad of terms is possible to refer to
the people and programs in this book. Terminology is often politically
charged and scientists do not agree either. Discussion about terminology
distracts from what honors education is really about. Practically, it can
also make networking difficult and make programs hard to find for
students.
9. Successful examples paving the way. To initiate an honors program, great
obstacles need to be overcome. Successful examples offer both inspira-
tion and possibilities to attract support. The efforts of pioneering indi-
viduals are crucial for program development.
10. The need for flexibility. In talent development, flexibility is a basic need.
Teachers and students need freedom to design their own program. This
gives room to their creativity, but it also prepares students for “the real
world,” which awaits them after they finish their studies.
Literature6
ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities). (2013). World University rankings 2013.
Retrieved from: http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2013.html. 7 Dec 2013.
Europe (Working document). Retrieved from: http://www.indire.it/lucabas/lkmw_file/
eurydice/Specific_measures_giftedness_EN.pdf. 21 May 2014.
6
Györi, J. G. (2012). Best practices in international talent nurturing and support – Reflections,
lessons and questions. In J. G. Györi (Ed.), International horizons of talent support II. Best
practices within and without the European Union II (pp. 215–227). Budapest: Magyar
Tehetségsegítő Szervezetek Szövetsége/Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: www.talentcentrebu-
dapest.eu/sites/default/files/International-Horizons-of-Talent-Support-II.pdf. 9 Jan 2014.
Studies, 21(1), 63–76.
Rijksoverheid [Netherlands]. (2014). Plan van aanpak toptalenten 2014–2018. Retrieved from:
Times Higher Education World University Rankings. (2014). World University rankings 2013–
2014, top-200 (part). Retrieved from: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-univer-
sity-rankings/2013-14/world-ranking/range/001-200/order/country. 28 Jan 2014.
Wolfensberger, M., & Pilot, A. (2014). Uitdagingen voor onderzoek naar honoursonderwijs.
Tijdschrift voor Hoger Onderwijs, 31/32 (1), pp. 124–136.
Chapter 17
Breaking the Academic Lock Step
It should not be forgotten that one of the purposes of democracy is to provide each
individual with the opportunity that is best for him (…) The ideal for democratic education
good enough to meet the needs of the post-war world must not be security but excellence.
(Aydelotte 1944)
These words were written by American honors education pioneer Frank Aydelotte
in his 1944 book Breaking the Academic Lock Step. He explicitly links excellence
to democracy, as this gives men “freedom to be individuals.” Aydelotte developed
his own honors program at Swarthmore College and then helped establish honors
programs on about 100 campuses (see Wolfensberger 2012, p. 13).
The views of Aydelotte have now also reached northern Europe. In the last two
decades, talent development in higher education has been set in motion here. Many
interesting initiatives are now being taken in the Benelux, Nordic and German-
speaking countries. This opens up fascinating new opportunities for students, edu-
cators, and policy makers, but it also poses challenges. In this short final chapter, we share
our final thoughts and propose some directions for further research. First, we argue
why in our view the promotion of excellence is valuable.
17.1 The Value of Promotion of Excellence
The European countries studied in this book all have an egalitarian

tradition to some extent. Providing extra opportunities to talented students is not
obvious in such a climate. However, promotion of excellence in education is
valuable for many reasons. It has benefits for all parties involved: higher education
institutions, policy makers, teaching staff, the participating students themselves,
and even the country as a whole.
All countries have felt the impact of globalization over the last decades. This has
many consequences. Countries feel the need to distinguish themselves and focus
on areas in which they excel, in order to be strong in international competition.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8_17
270 17 Breaking the Academic Lock Step
Having a well-educated population in general, and in these areas in particular, is

very important. The importance of evoking excellence in higher education for the
market and knowledge economy is stressed by politicians and government advisory
bodies. Talent development programs fit well into this picture.
Focusing on higher education, there is an increasing international orientation in
HEIs. This often starts from the research side, which in many fields operates in a
globally competitive environment. This international focus also spreads to the
recruitment side: many HEIs attract students at the international level, offering
study programs with international appeal. This already implies a focus on excel-
lence in order to stand out from the crowd. But there are more benefits for HEIs in
linking the focus on excellence in research to excellence in education. It provides
opportunities to educate the next generation of excellent researchers, to use their
ideas to remain at the top, and to attract the generation coming afterwards to come
to this HEI. Fortunately, honors education reaches further than research-oriented
programs. HEIs can design honors to educate their students in such a way that they
can become excellent professionals. Conceptions of honors education then include
persistence, ethical judgments, leaving a legacy, and risk-taking.
However, the conversation about the importance of equal access to honors
programs for students from various social and economic contexts and different
ethnical backgrounds is just starting. Questions of effects of elitism and spending
energy and money on the lucky few are important to raise. Expanding the horizon
of students and teachers is important to all parties involved.
This brings us to the “why” of honors education and the purpose of talent devel-
opment, especially in higher education. Depending on the mission of each honors
program, different answers may be given. One could say that every student needs
education that meets his or her needs every day. Also the talented and motivated
students that are able and willing to do more than the regular program can offer
should get education that brings them a step further in their academic, professional,
and personal development. It is also in the national interest to have a well-functioning
education system. From our overview, it has become clear that in all countries, there
is differentiation in the education system at some point. Recruitment of students for
arts and sports programs is very selective, and this is well accepted everywhere.
It makes sense to organize the differentiation in the wider education system as well
as possible, and base it on proven methods. Excellence programs may serve as a
laboratory in this respect. Honors education asks for honors pedagogies and specific
teacher approach. Faculty development for honors is getting increasingly important.
Honors as laboratory of innovation with changeovers to regular education point out
the possible positive effects of this kind of selective education for a whole institu-
tion. The efforts towards improvement in programming to promote excellence may
enhance all curricula.
There are more benefits from having such laboratories of innovation in the form
of honors programs. In many countries, there are heavy discussions about private
sector involvement in education. This is of course partly an ethical discussion, but
honors programs can offer input in this discussion by their practical examples of
such involvement.
17.2 A Long-Term View 271
Honors programs can prepare students to become “citizens of the world,” socially
engaged people willing to contribute to the solution of global issues. In our diverse
and networked world, it becomes more important to teach students that they can
become tomorrow’s global leaders. Developing the academic as well as intercultural
competences and moral sensitivity of students becomes essential. Talented students
with their above-average abilities and motivation can contribute to solutions for
worldwide problems we face today, like climate change, terrorism, or contagious
illnesses. International exchange regarding honors can improve education in inter-
cultural skills, inquiry methods, and the engagement in learning endeavor.
Many companies have an interest in recruiting the best students. Many govern-
ments have strategies focusing on top sectors. Many institutions want to invest in
talent. In this situation, there are opportunities for cooperation. Talent development
programs seem a logical choice.
One problem in this respect is that there is still little research available about the
results of honors programs for all involved. In fact, there is a lack of research about
talent development programs in higher education in general. Questions on why,
who, how, and how well around talent development and honors will improve the
educational endeavor. In the next sections, we propose some possible approaches on
this issue and identify a number of perspectives and urgent research questions.
17.2 A Long-Term View
First, we propose to use a long-term approach to analyze the development of honors

programs. As this is a first overview, there is no comparative research available for
the development of honors programs in higher education in Europe. Only for the
Netherlands such research is available, for example, in Van Eijl et al. (2004, 2005).
However, there are some data about gifted education that may explain something
about the institutional context in which development takes place. In the year 2000,
Persson et al. gathered data about the development of legislation and special schools
or classes in compulsory education (p. 725). Results are presented and compared to
the 2014 situation in Table 17.1.
From this table, it becomes clear that there are more provisions for talented and
gifted students in 2014 than there were in 2000. Special legislation about gifted and
talented students has been introduced throughout Germany, Denmark, Belgium,
Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Special schools and/or classes are now in place in
Denmark and Finland. On the contrary, in Norway, it is still difficult to have any
formal differentiation. The Netherlands has also seen legislation introduced and
combines this with the highest development of honors programs.
For all the programs in this book, we tried to establish the starting date. In the
Netherlands, around 12 programs were already developed in 2000 (see Van Eijl
et al. 2004 for an overview). From the other countries, there are only two examples
of programs that started before the year 2000: the Center of Excellence program at
WU Vienna (Austria) and the Bachelor in International Business Administration
Table 17.1 Provisions for talented and gifted students in compulsory education per countrya,
development 2000–2014
Development of
honors programs
Legislation, Legislation, Special schools Special schools in higher
Countrya 2000b 2014 or classes, 2000b or classes, 2014 education, 2014
Austria Yes Yes Yes Yes Medium
Belgium No Mixed Yes Yes Medium
Denmark No Yes No Yes Medium
Finland No No No Yes Low
Germany Few states Yes Yes Yes Medium
Netherlands No Yes Yes Yes High
Norway No No No No None
Sweden No No Experimental Experimental None
Switzerland No Yes Yes Yes None
a
Iceland and Luxembourg were not in the 2000 survey and are therefore excluded here
b
Source 2000 data: Persson et al. (2000, p. 725)
program at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management (Germany). Of course

there may have been other programs in 2000 that have since disappeared, but deve-
lopment was certainly very limited. We hope that in the future, this book can be of
use to make comparisons about the development of honors education and the
changes in climate towards excellence and talent development in higher education.
In addition, we hope that similar explorative research will be carried out in other
countries throughout Europe, completing the picture of honors education in at least
all European countries. However, we think a global view will be of real interest as
well. More insight in honors didactics and honors programs in, for example, Asia,
Arab countries, Australia, or Latin America can be inspiring for all the parties
involved.
17.3 Other Perspectives
We started this book by developing our own working definition of an honors

program: Honors programs are selective study programs linked to higher education
institutions. They are designed for motivated and gifted students who want to do
more than the regular program offers. These programs have clear admission crite-
ria and clear goals and offer educational opportunities that are more challenging
and demanding than regular programs.
The choice to use this definition has had a number of implications, as it shaped
our perspective on the programs. In general this definition worked out well.
Interviewees from different countries could work with this definition and could
17.3 Other Perspectives 273
point out various programs offered at their institutions, even though a common
language is still lacking. However, it should be mentioned that the descriptions of
clear goals is often lacking. Connections between mission statement, performance
indicators, assessments, and selection are important and are not yet strongly devel-
oped. Research on those connections could evoke excellence among the honors
programs. In this section, we discuss some alternative avenues that could be taken
in research projects.
17.3.1 Students and Teachers
Our approach has focused mostly on institutions. This shows in the definition: we
focus on selective study programs linked to higher education institutions. This
implicates that we have focused on what HEIs do and what they offer: the “supply
side” of honors education. However, it is also possible to start research from a different
angle: what possibilities are present for individual talented students? This would
also change the perspective on what governments and HEIs do and what instru-
ments they use.
A focus on a student point of view leads to different questions. What do students
themselves consider “honors”? And what do they see as part of talent development?
Another important question is: what are the reasons for students to join honors
education? We have touched upon this subject, but mostly in relation to economic
factors and the need for students to stand out from the crowd. However, students
also have more ideological or practical reasons to join a program. Also, do they see
themselves as participants or as cocreators of a program? More detailed research
among students could yield valuable insights in these questions. Also, it would be
valuable to investigate the effects of honors teaching on students’ outcome and on
their working lives as (excellent) professional, their perceived well-being, and
mindset. Research on honors alumni should then be included.
A student-based approach would also place more focus on grant programs and
the possibilities they present for excellent students. In addition, more would be said
about the possibilities for individual students to start studying at prestigious HEIs in
other countries as a way to challenge themselves and fully explore their potential.
One element that could also be researched from this approach is the role of student
associations within honors programs. This is starting to develop in the Netherlands
in recent years. Of course, this has implications for community building.
In short, we think a student-based approach would be a very helpful change of
perspective.
In addition, we also think more focus should be placed on the role of teachers in
honors education. The role of teachers is pivotal; however, faculty development for
honors is in its initial phase. Also teacher education should include courses on
honors education. This study gave insights that, especially in the German-speaking
countries, master programs for gifted education were developed. However, honors
educators may need a broader perspective.
17.3.2 A Broader Vision on Talent
In this research project, we have paid little attention to the definition of talent and
we have largely ignored sports and arts (including music) education programs.
The definition of talent involves a choice laden with moral, political, and scien-
tific arguments and is also very dependent upon the local context. We are aware of
this, but we think that at this point, it was necessary to limit our study to description
of talent development as found and focus on our exploration of honors programs
throughout the countries. We have made inventories of admission procedures used by
HEIs in different countries and for specific honors programs. Often, these selection
and admission procedures are based on a limited view on talent, for example, only
focusing on cognition and expressed in grades. More research into talent development
in arts, music, design, and sports programs could lead to interesting new insights into
teaching strategies fostering talent and its relationship to creativity and citizenship.
New insights on how to challenge students and to evoke excellence could also be
reached by delving deeper into the details of existing honors programs: what are the
exact visions and missions that underlie these programs? How are those programs
improving students’ cognitive capacity while strengthening their interpersonal and
intrapersonality abilities? Looking in more detail at honors education may give
insight in the ways deeper, more meaningful, and transformative learning experi-
ences are reached for gifted and motivated students. What is the climate towards
excellence within the HEIs? But also: what are the experiences of students in the
honors programs; in what way are their talents better recognized and/or developed?
What are the perceptions of the working field receiving these students? Those
perspectives could be of great use to people interested in the development of their
own honors program.
17.4 Future Developments and Research
We hope we have already made clear that we think this research project practically
screams for follow-ups: more insights are necessary and therefore more research
is needed.
The most basic recommendations for further research follow from the paragraphs
above. First, it is necessary to broaden views by including other countries in Europe
or indeed the world in a research project. Second, we recommend to use various
perspectives by including students and educators in the research. This can both
provide a full overview of possibilities for talented students internationally and
broaden opportunities for sharing knowledge among HEIs and policy makers.
Apart from this, we think that our findings within the 11 countries in this book
have provided many possible starting points for new research projects. To inspire
such further research, we have made a list of 12 possible central questions for
follow-up projects. This can be found in Box 17.1. Of course, many more questions
can be formulated.
17.4 Future Developments and Research 275
Box 17.1: Possible Central Questions for Further Research

1. What are the goals of honors education and how do these relate to the
official aims of regular education in different countries?
2. What teaching strategies are chosen for honors programs, why are they
chosen, and how and why do they differ from regular education?
3. How are educational strategies in honors education evaluated and subse-
quently transferred to regular education?
4. What is the added value of honors education (measured in different ways)?
5. Who are the key persons and what are the key events or publications
facilitating the diffusion of honors education between and within
countries?
6. What is the result of honors education for organizing HEIs: do they attract
or retain better students, teachers, and researchers? Does it influence the
level of education at the HEI in general?
7. What do students ask for and need in honors education and why?
8. What is the added value of network formation within an honors program
(community formation) and between different honors programs?
9. What are the results of private sector involvement in honors programs,
both in content and output?
10. What is the long-term impact of community building within and between
honors programs for both the programs in general and their (former)
participants?
11. What is the relation between the national tradition of progression in edu-
cation and the development of special provisions for talented students?
12. At what level (regional, national, international) do honors programs
operate and how does this relate to its area for recruitment?
As the list shows, we think an important focus point for future research is the
theme of networks within and around honors education. This network approach has
several dimensions.
First is the institutional dimension. While in our definition honors education is
connected to HEIs, we have seen some examples of initiatives that are not or only
loosely tied to universities. Also, we have seen international programs, such as
CEMS-MIM. Within HEIs, we see some signs of a link between the level of special-
ization and the development of honors education. In both Denmark and Austria,
most honors programs are found at specialized universities, either technical or
economical: the Copenhagen Business School and Vienna University of Economics
and Business on the one hand and the Technical University of Denmark and the
Technical University of Vienna on the other hand. It would be very valuable to
discover trends in this institutionalization of talent development.
A second and related dimension is the contextual dimension. To what elements

in the wider context are honors programs linked? We see roles of the private sector
and of politics. Focused research on private sector involvement could shed more
light on its consequences for both the contents of honors programs and the labor
market position of honors program graduates. Further research among politicians
could shed light on the question why the subject of excellence is politically
contested in some countries and less in others.
Thirdly, we see the community dimension. This is an important element in many
programs. In Austria, students form year-groups, while in the Netherlands, honors
communities are set up with both online and “real-world” locations. In Finland,
examples are from secondary school but still very relevant: students involved in
activities such as Päivölä boarding school and the Millennium Youth Camp often
become friends for life. The long-term impact of “honors community building” is
not yet known, but this could provide another powerful argument for the develop-
ment of honors programs.
All the dimensions above can also be expressed in the setup of programs and
their mission statements. More detailed research into these statements and the
elements expressed in them will also give greater insight in the motives behind the
development of honors education.
Finally, there is the practical dimension. The more we know about networks, the
more the experiences can be of use to others. The American and Dutch experiences
with the NCHC and the Sirius Programme could serve as examples for other countries
wishing to establish a framework around honors education. Further research comparing
student-run programs to HEI-organized programs could also be very valuable.
As Danish talent coordinator Lene Krøl Andersen puts it: “I think talent develop-
ment is all about making it on your own. In the old days we pointed at the students
and they got it all served. I believe that was completely wrong. They have to create
their own careers and fight for it.”
In the end, staff and students make honors education together. Hopefully, this
insight inspires students to seek cooperation and exchange with honors programs
abroad and (further) develop their own programs.
17.5 Concluding Remarks
Since the introduction of the first honors programs in the Benelux, Nordic and
German-speaking countries, a lot of lessons have been learned. Many of the pro-
grams have gone through major changes before they found their current form and
will keep on changing, continuously adapting new knowledge and new challenges.
Luckily, the people involved in honors education are usually very willing to share
17.5 Concluding Remarks 277
their knowledge and learn from each other. This constructive attitude can be benefi-
cial for people thinking of developing their own honors program. Researchers can
contribute to this by describing both successful good practices and failures.
Here we also reach the last factor influencing the development of honors pro-
grams: individual efforts. Persons are needed who like pioneering and really want to
put a lot of effort into their dream of having a successful program for talented stu-
dents. Many examples of such persons have come up in this book: among others, the
teacher setting up the honors programs in Niederlandistik in Oldenburg (Germany);
the rectorate at the University of Freiburg, who supported the development of a
Liberal Arts and Sciences program in a new University College; the researcher in
Danish Roskilde intent on making the “language profiles” available as an honors
program. The value of such people cannot be overestimated, and more research into
their exact roles is very relevant.
The countries in this book all have egalitarian traditions. However, there are
many signs that the culture is slowly changing towards more focus on excellence.
We have identified the factors relevant to the development of honors programs:
ideology, the institutionalization of the education system, the political and economic
context, and individual efforts.
We have seen that not only governments and HEIs but also private foundations,
companies, and students themselves are taking initiatives in honors education and
networks. Talent development has gained a higher place on the agenda of policy
makers and educators in many countries over the last decade. We are optimistic
about the development of honors programs in the years to come.
Still, more can be done. Agreement on the use of common language to describe
programs would certainly help. In addition, we have seen that international net-
works and national frameworks for honors education are mostly lacking. Focus in
education for talented and motivated students is still on compulsory education in
many countries. The setup of an international honors network in Europe could give
a great boost to education for talented students.
Honors programs challenge talents to strive for the best. The honors students of
today are likely to become the global leaders of tomorrow. It is crucial that honors
education provides them with a chance to fully explore their talents. Directly and
indirectly, society as a whole also profits from having excellent education available
also for the best students. We hope this book helps to connect the people involved –
and hopefully also new adapters – to continue to offer the best education for all stu-
dents, including the ones who are able and willing to break the academic lock step.
Literature
Aydelotte, F. (1944). Breaking the academic lock step. The development of honors work in
American colleges & universities. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Van Eijl, P. J., Wolfensberger, M. V. C., Cadee, M., Pilot, A., Siesling, S., Schreve-Brinkman, E. J.,
Beer, W. M., Faber, G., & Pilot, A. (2004). Plusprogramma’s als proeftuin, met als bijlage een
inventarisatie van plusprogramma’s in Nederland (Mededeling 69). Utrecht: IVLOS. Retrieved
from: www.uu.nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/IVLOS/Mededelingenreeks/Mededeling69.pdf. 2
June 2014.
Waxmann.
Appendices
Appendix 1: List of All Universities in Germany
For all countries in this research project, a full list of universities and their hon-
ors programs is shown in the main text. For Germany, this list is too long.
Therefore only the universities with programs are shown in the main text and the
full list of universities is presented here. To compile the list, a list of research
universities on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
was used, pulled from www.bmbf.de/en/6574.php?LANG=ENG&T=8 in
November 2013. First the websites of all universities were searched with
keywords to find honors programs. Then all universities were contacted by
e-mail. If they did not reply, they received a second e-mail and finally at least
one phone call. The list was then crosschecked with the list of 106 universities
in Statistisches Bundesamt 2014. Due to the fact that some private institutes
were left out at the ministry’s site and in some Bundesländer theological and
pedagogical institutes are counted as universities while they are not in
other Bundesländer, these lists differ slightly. The ministry’s list was used as a
basis, but the International Graduate School Zittau was left out, because it
does not take undergraduate students, and the Charité medical university in
Berlin was added from the list of the Statistisches Bundesamt 2014. The result-
ing list of 110 universities, ordered by state and student numbers, is shown
below.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8
280 Appendices
University (state*) No. of students** Honors?

Niedersachsen
University of Göttingen, Göttingen 26,508 No
Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover 23,125 No
Technical University Braunschweig, Braunschweig 17,028 No
University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg 12,269 Yes
University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück 11,790 No
Leuphana College Lüneburg, Lüneburg 8,151 Yes
University Hildesheim, Hildesheim 6,404 No
Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 4,534 No
University of Vechta, Vechta 4,047 No
Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover 3,212 No
University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover 2,412 No
Bremen
University of Bremen, Bremen 18,504 No
Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen 1,290 No
Hamburg
University of Hamburg, Hamburg 41,019 No
TUHH, Hamburg 6,584 Yes
HafenCity University Hamburg, Hamburg 2,432 No
Helmut Schmidt University of the Federal Armed Forces 2,224 No
Hamburg, Hamburg
Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Hamburg 954 No
Schleswig-Holstein
University of Kiel, Kiel 24,396 No
University of Flensburg, Flensburg 4,810 No
University of Lübeck, Lübeck 3,471 No
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
University of Rostock, Rostock 14,390 No
Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, Greifswald 11,477 No
Brandenburg
University of Potsdam, Potsdam 20,051 No
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus 9,559 No
(BTU), Cottbus
European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder) 6,646 No
Berlin
FU Berlin 32,742 No
Humboldt University Berlin 31,413 No
TU Berlin 31,013 No
Berlin Charité 6,803 No
Steinbeis, Berlin 6,202 No
International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Berlin 485 No
ESCP Europe, Berlin 179 No
(continued)
Appendices 281

Baden-Württemberg
University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 30,334 No
University of Tübingen, Tübingen 27,437 No
University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart 26,052 No
University of Freiburg, Freiburg 24,157 Yes
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 23,946 No
University of Mannheim, Mannheim 11,735 No
University of Konstanz, Konstanz 11,410 No
University of Ulm, Ulm 9,846 Yes
University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart 9,679 No
University of Education Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg 5,610 No
University of Education Freiburg, Freiburg 4,973 No
University of Education Heidelberg, Heidelberg 4,527 No
University of Education Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe 3,849 No
University of Education Weingarten, Weingarten 3,281 No
University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, 2,659 No
Schwäbisch Gmünd
HfJS Heidelberg, Heidelberg 100 ?
Rheinland-Pfalz
Johannes Gutenburg University Mainz, Mainz 35,759 No
University of Koblenz and Landau, Mainz 14,806 No
University of Trier, Trier 14,668 No
University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern 14,003 No
WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar 990 Yes
German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Speyer 382 No
Theological Faculty of Trier, Trier 352 No
Vallendar University of Philosophy and Theology, Vallendar 242 No
Saarland
Saarland University, Saarbrücken 17,800 Yes
Hessen
Frankfurt University, Frankfurt am Main 44,496 No
Giessen University, Gießen 26,780 No
Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg 24,978 No
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt 24,969 No
University of Kassel, Kassel 22,876 No
EBS Business School, Oestrich-Winkel 2,019 No
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Frankfurt 1,402 No
Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy 383 No
and Theology, Frankfurt
Fulda Theology Faculty, Fulda 37 No
(continued)
282 Appendices

North Rhine-Westphalia
FernUniversität in Hagen, Hagen 80,464 No
University of Cologne, Köln 52,315 No
WWU Münster, Münster 41,993 No
Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum 41,496 No
TH Aachen University, Aachen 40,536 No
University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Essen 39,184 No
University of Bonn, Bonn 31,878 Yes
TU Dortmund University, Dortmund 31,095 No
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 27,777 No
Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld 21,552 No
University of Paderborn, Paderborn 19,312 Yes
University of Siegen, Siegen 18,760 No
University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal 18,755 No
German Sport University Cologne, Köln 5,104 No
Witten/Herdecke University, Witten 1,688 No
Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel, Wuppertal 129 No
Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule SVD St. 98 No
Augustin, Sankt Augustin
Faculty of Theology in Paderborn, Paderborn 94 No
Bavaria
Ludwig Maximilians Universität München 47,959 Yes
University of Erlangen-Nürnberg 36,610 Yes
Technische Universität München 35,761 Yes
University of Würzburg 26,577 Yes
University of Regensburg 20,482 Yes
University of Augsburg 19,096 Yes
University of Bayreuth 12,520 Yes
Otto Friedrich Universität Bamberg 12,499 No
University of Passau 11,294 No
Katholische Universität Eichstätt – Ingolstadt 5,171 Yes
Universität der Bundeswehr München 2,806 No
Munich School of Philosophy, Munich 385 ?
Augustana Hochschule Neuendettelsau 152 No
Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule der 19 No
Salesianer Don Boscos Benediktbeuern
Saxony
Technische Universität Dresden 34,007 No
Universität Leipzig 25,751 No
Chemnitz University of Technology 10,733 No
TU Bergakademie Freiberg 5,380 No
Leipzig Graduate School of Management 554 No
(continued)
Appendices 283

Saxony-Anhalt
Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg 19,711 ?
Otto von Guericke Universität Magdeburg 14,104 No
Thüringen
Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena 19,002 No
Technische Universität Ilmenau 6,703 No
Universität Erfurt 5,732 No
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar 4,337 No
TOTAL 1,692,236
*In some states, church schools or pedagogical schools are officially designated universities, in
other states not
**Source: Statistisches Bundesamt (2014, pp. 31–33)
Literature
Statistisches Bundesamt [Germany]. (2014). Bildung und Kultur – Studierende an Hochschulen

–Vorbericht. Fachserie 11 Reihe 4.1. Published 6 March 2014. Retrieved from: https://www.
destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/BildungForschungKultur/Hochschulen/
StudierendeHochschulenVorb2110410148004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile. 28 Mar 2014.
284 Appendices
Appendix 2: Key Links
These key links have proven to be useful information sources or gateways regarding
talent development in general and honors education in particular. They are grouped
in government links, general higher education institution links (links to individual
HEIs can be found in the respective tables in the country chapters) and other links.
Links to specific honors programs can be found in Appendix 3.
The links have last been checked and found to be working on 22 September
2014.
Benelux Overall
– The Benelux, intergovernmental cooperation
www.benelux.int
– Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Nederlands-
Vlaamse Accreditatieorganisatie, NVAO)
www.nvao.com
The Netherlands
Government
– Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, special website ‘talent at school’

www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/talent-op-school (Dutch only)
– Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, general website
www.government.nl/ministries/ocw (English)
Higher Education Institutions
– Sirius Program, government-supported program to promote excellence in Dutch

higher education, also giving out starting subsidies until end of 2014
www.siriusprogramma.nl (mostly in Dutch)
– List of links to all HEIs participating in Sirius Programme and their English
websites www.siriusprogramma.nl/english
– Association of universities (Vereniging van Universiteiten, VSNU)
www.vsnu.nl/home-english.html
– Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (Vereniging
Hogescholen)
www.vereniginghogescholen.nl (mostly Dutch)
– Research Centre for Talent Development in Higher Education and Society at
Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen
www.hanze.nl/excellentie (Dutch only)
Appendices 285
– Center for the Study of Giftedness (CBO) at Radboud University Nijmegen

www.ru.nl/its/cbo/ (Dutch only)
Other
– List of initiatives around giftedness and talent development in primary and sec-
ondary education, monitored by the SLO (http://www.slo.nl/National Expertise
Centre Curriculum Development)
www.talentstimuleren.nl (Dutch only)
– National Honors Conference, organized by and for Dutch honors students from
different HEIs
www.honoursconference.nl
– Socrates international honours society – international network of honors students
– socrateshonours.org
Belgium
Government
– Flemish community (Vlaamse gemeenschap)

flanders.be
– Education ministry of the Flemish Community
onderwijs.vlaanderen.be
– French community (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles)
cfwb.be
– Education portal for the French community
www.enseignement.be
– German Community Belgium (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens)
www.dglive.be
– VLHORA – umbrella organization of the Flemish University Colleges

www.vlhora.be
– Flemish Interuniversity Council (Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad/VLIR)
www.vlir.be
– Flemish Education Council (Vlaamse Onderwijsraad)
www.vlor.be
– Rector’s conference of French community (Conseil des Recteurs)
www.cref.be
– Interuniversity council of French community
www.ciuf.be
286 Appendices
Other
– Information about French community’s higher education landscape (in English)

studyinbelgium.be
– Information about Flanders higher education landscape (in English)
highereducation.be
– Exentra, formerly known as Centre for giftedness research Antwerp (Centrum
voor Begaafdheidsonderzoek)
www.exentra.be (Dutch only)
– Hoogbegaafd Vlaanderen, parents’ associations focusing on spreading information
www.hoogbegaafdvlaanderen.be (Dutch only)
– Bekina – Association for gifted children and parents, organizing activities
(Flemish community)
www.bekina.org (Dutch only)
– Mensa Belgium, international association for gifted people
www.mensa.be (Dutch, French and English)
– EHP-Belgique (Elèves á haut potential), parents’ association for gifted children
(French community)
www.ehpbelgique.org (French only)
– List of information links about gifted children (French community)
enseignement.be/index.php?page=25001&navi=308&rank_page=25001
(French only)
Luxembourg
Government
– Ministry for Education and Youth

www.men.public.lu/fr/index.html
– Ministry for Higher Education and Research
www.mesr.public.lu/
– Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education
www.cedies.public.lu/fr/index.html
– University of Luxembourg:
wwwen.uni.lu
– Institut Universitaire International Luxembourg (IUIL)
www.iuil.lu
Appendices 287
Other
– Mensa Luxemburg (association for gifted persons), includes activities for kids
www.mensa.lu
The Nordic Countries
– Nordic cooperation, including Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers

www.norden.org
– Nordic Talent Network
www.sciencetalenter.dk/da/partnerskab/nordisk-talentnetvaerk/ (mostly Danish)
Denmark
Government
– Ministry of Education
eng.uvm.dk
– Ministry of Higher Education and Science
ufm.dk/en
– Higher Education Admission Service (Optagelse)
www.optagelse.dk
– Association of Danish Universities (Danske Universiteter):

www.dkuni.dk/english
– Association of Danish University Colleges (Danske Professionshøjskoler)
www.uc-dk.dk/da/
Other
– University of Copenhagen Junior Researchers Project

forskerspirer.ku.dk/english/what
– Academy for Talented Youngsters (Akademiet for Talentfulde Unge)
ungetalenter.dk (Danish only)
– Science Talenter, program for gifted secondary school students (12–20 years)
www.sciencetalenter.dk/en
– Mentiqa schools for gifted students in primary and lower secondary education
www.mentiqa.com, www.mentiqa-odense.dk (Danish only)
– Gifted Children, nationwide organization for (parents of) gifted children
288 Appendices
https://www.giftedchildren.dk/content.php?r=762-in-english (mostly Danish)

– Mensa Denmark (association for gifted people)
www.mensa.dk (Danish only)
– Young Scientists Program (Unge Forskere)
ungeforskere.danishsciencefactory.dk (Danish only)
Norway
Government
– Ministry of Education and Research

www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kd.html?id=586
– Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service (Samordna Opptak)
www.samordnaopptak.no/info/english/
– NOKUT – Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education
www.nokut.no
– Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU)
www.siu.no/eng
– List of all institutions:

www.studyinnorway.no/Where-can-I-study/List-of-institutions
– Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions
www.uhr.no/om_uhr/about_uhr
Other
– Centres of Excellence in Higher Education

w w w. n o k u t . n o / e n / U n i v e r s i t i e s - a n d - u n i v e r s i t y - c o l l e g e s /
Centres-of-Excellence-in-Higher-Education/
– Association of Parents of gifted children (Norwegian only)
www.lykkeligebarn.no
– Blog about gifted children and gifted education (Norwegian only)
krumelurebloggen.no
– Termbase for translation of education terms Norwegian-English
termbase.uhr.no
Appendices 289
Sweden
Government
– Ministry of Education and Research

www.government.se/sb/d/2063
– The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket)
www.skolverket.se
– Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet)
www.uhr.se
– Swedish Higher Education Authority (Universitetskanslersämbetet)
english.uk-ambetet.se
– List of all institutions:

english.uk-ambetet.se/highereducation/highereducationinstitutions.4.4149f5571
3bbd917563800011041.html
– List of universities including contact information
https://www.universityadmissions.se/en/All-you-need-to-know1/Studying-in-
Sweden/Swedish-universities/Contact-information-for-Swedish-universities/
Other
– Swedish-English dictionary for higher education terminology www.hsv.se/dens-

venskahogskolan/svenskengelskordbok.4.47873ee11827f812de8000359.html
– Association of top programs in secondary education (Spetsutbildningar)
www.spetsutbildningar.se/start (Swedish only)
– Gifted Children Program of Mensa, association of highly gifted people
https://www.mensa.se/_/vad-vi-gor/gcp (Swedish only)
Finland
Government
– Ministry of Education and Culture

www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en
– Finnish National Board of Education
www.oph.fi/english
290 Appendices
– List of universities and other Higher Education Institutions

www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/yliopistokoulutus/yliopistot/?lang=en
Other
– Päivölä boarding school

www.paivola.fi (Finnish only)
– Millennium Youth Camp
www.technologyacademy.fi/events/millennium-youth-camp/
Iceland
Government
– The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture

eng.menntamalaraduneyti.is
– The Network of Public Universities in Iceland

samstarf.hi.is/node/28
– Rannis, Icelandic Centre for Research
en.rannis.is
– University of Iceland
english.hi.is
Other
– The Icelandic education system explained

https://www.island.is/en/education/educational_structure/structure_of_the_
education_system/
German-Speaking Countries
– International Panel of Experts on Gifted Education (iPEGE)

www.ipege.net
Appendices 291
Germany
Government
– Federal Ministry of Education and Research

www.bmbf.de/en/index.php
– Ministry’s homepage on ‘supporting the highly talented’:
www.bmbf.de/en/762.php
– The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs
(KMK)
www.kmk.org
– German rector’s Conference (Hochschulrekotorenkonferenz, HRK), the associa-

tion of German higher education institutions
www.hrk.de
– Higher education Compass (Hochschulkompass), online portal providing a com-
plete overview of all institutions and study programmes in Germany (mostly in
German)
www.hochschulkompass.de/en/higher-education-institutions.html
Other
– Bildung und Begabung e.V., organizer of Deutsche SchülerAkademie and

Deutsche JuniorAkademie
www.bildung-und-begabung.de
– Parents’ association for gifted children (Deutsche Gesellschaft für das hochbega-
bte Kind):
www.dghk.de
– Information about Excellence Initiative (in research)
www.exzellenz-initiative.de
Austria
Government
– Ministry of Education and Women’s affairs – Bundesministerium Bildung und

Frauen
www.bmukk.gv.at
– Ministry of Economy, Science and Research – Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft,
Wissenschaft und Forschung
www.bmwfw.gv.at
292 Appendices
– Austrian Research and Support Center for the Gifted and Talented (Österreichische
Zentrum für Begabtenförderung und Begabungsforschung; ÖZBF)
www.oezbf.net
– List of all universities and universities of applied sciences

– wissenschaft.bmwfw.gv.at/bmwfw/studium/studieren-in-oesterreich/
unis-privatunis-fhs-uebersicht/
– Austrian Academy of Sciences
www.oeaw.ac.at
Other
– ECHA Austria (European Council for High Ability)

www.echa-oesterreich.at
Switzerland
Government
– Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (Schweizerischen

Konferenz der kantonalen Erziehungsdirektoren/Conférence suisse des directeurs
cantonaux de l’instruction publique, EDK/CDIP)
www.edk.ch
– State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) – federal
government’s specialised agency for national and international matters concern-
ing education, research and innovation policy
www.sbfi.admin.ch
– Swiss University conference

www.cus.ch
– Swissuniversities, uniting the rector’s conferences
www.swissuniversities.ch
Other
– Network for gifted education (Netzwerk Begabungsförderung)

www.begabungsfoerderung.ch
Appendices 293
– Association for highly gifted children (Stiftung für Hochbegabte Kinder)

www.hochbegabt.ch
– Parents’ association of gifted children (Elternverein für hochbegabte Kinder)
www.ehk.ch
– Swiss Study Foundation (Schweizerische studienstiftung)
www.studienstiftung.ch
– SwissGifted, association for gifted education
www.swissgifted.ch
294 Appendices
Appendix 3: Contact Details Honors Programs
These contact details and contact persons are as published on the program’s website
or as found through personal communication. Links have last been checked on 22
September 2014.
The Netherlands
For the Netherlands, links to HEIs’ general websites are not included in the main
text due to lack of space. Therefore they are presented here. Contact persons come
from the Sirius Programme website or have been provided by the Sirius Programme.
Links to Dutch government-supported research universities and their honors programs
University General website Specific honors website Coordinator/contact E-mail

Appendices
University of Amsterdam Uva.nl www.uva.nl/onderwijs/bachelor/ – –

(UvA) waarom-de-uva/talentprogramma-s/
honoursprogramma-s/
honoursprogramma-s.html
Utrecht University (UU) uu.nl www.uu.nl/bachelors/honoursonderwijs/ Mirjam Bok [email protected]
University of Groningen Rug.nl www.rug.nl/education/honours-college A. van Arragon [email protected]
(RUG)
VU University Amsterdam Vu.nl www.vu.nl/honours Caroline Holleman [email protected]
(VU)
Leiden University Leiden.edu onderwijs.leidenuniv.nl/honoursacademy Marieke van Haaren info@honoursacademy.
(LU) leidenuniv.nl
Erasmus University Eur.nl www.eur.nl/onderwijs/honours/ Awee Prins [email protected]
Rotterdam (EUR)
Technical University Tudelft.nl www.honours.tudelft.nl S. Walsarie Wolff [email protected]
Delft (TUD)
Radboud University ru.nl www.ru.nl/honoursacademy/ Han Rouwenhorst [email protected]
Nijmegen (RU)
Maastricht University Maastrichtuniversity.nl www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Main/ Ellen Bastiaens ellen.bastiaens@
(MU) ExcellenceProgrammes.htm maastrichtuniversity.nl
Tilburg University Tilburguniversity.edu www.tilburguniversity.edu/students/ Kim van Geijn outreaching@
(TilU) broaden/outreaching tilburguniversity.edu
University of Twente Uva.nl www.utwente.nl/excellentie/en Miko Elwenspoek [email protected]
(UT)
TU/Eindhoven Tue.nl w3.tue.nl/nl/onderwijs/tue_bachelor_ Diana Vinke [email protected]
(TUE) college/tue_honors_academy
Wageningen UR Wageningenur.nl www.wageningenur.nl/nl/Onderwijs- Ingrid Hijman [email protected]
(WUR) Opleidingen/Studiekiezers-bachelor/
295
Honours-Programme.htm
296
Private university
University General website Specific honors website Coordinator/contact E-mail

Theological University of the Reformed tukampen.nl n/a Elizabeth Blokland [email protected]
Churches Kampen (TUK)
Links to Dutch universities of applied sciences and their honors programs (if applicable)
University of applied sciences General website Specific honors website Coordinator/contact E-mail
Amsterdam University of Hva.nl www.excellentieprogramma.hva.nl Marieke Janssen [email protected]
Applied Sciences (HvA)a
Fontys University Fontys.edu hpusa2013.wordpress.com/tag/ Ricardo Abdoel
of Applied Sciences fontys/
HU University of Applied Hu.nl www.excellent.hu.nl Suzanne Unck [email protected]
Sciences Utrecht (HU)a
Rotterdam University Hr.nl http://www.orionprogramma.nl/ Ron Weerheijm [email protected]
of Applied Sciences (HR)a docs/Sirius_info2013/hogeschool-
rotterdam-honours-
werkdocumentfeb2012.pdf
HAN University Han.nl blog.han.nl/honourslab/ Frank Verhoeven [email protected]
of Applied Sciences
InHolland University Inholland.nl www.inholland.nl/Content/News/ – –
of Applied Sciencesa Nieuws2011/201110/
Honoursprogramma.htm
Avans University Avans.nl www.avans.nl/opleidingen/ Lidwien Jacobs [email protected]
of Applied Sciences opleidingzoeker/leraar-
basisonderwijs-breda-voltijd-
bachelor/opbouw?tab=specialisaties
Appendices
Hanze University Hanze.nl www.hanze.nl/home/Schools/ Lammert Tiesinga [email protected]
of Applied Sciences Groningena hanze-honours-college/
Saxion University Saxion.nl saxion.nl/site/index/ Marike Lammers [email protected]
Appendices
of Applied Sciencesa toptalentprogramma

The Hague University Hhs.nl www.dehaagsehogeschool.nl/ Ans Netjes [email protected]
of Applied Sciences (HH) bachelorstudies/aanbodopleidingen/
bedrijfskunde-mer-voltijd/studie/
major-minor
Windesheim University Windesheim.nl windesheimhonourscollege.nl and Tineke Kingma [email protected]
of Applied Sciences www.windesheim.nl/bedrijven-en-
instellingen/stage-en-praktijk/
praktijkopdrachten/
honours-programme/
Zuyd University Zuyd.nl international.zuyd.nl/studying/ Annelies Gielgens [email protected]
of Applied Sciences degree-programmes/advanced-
health-care/programme
NHL University Nhl.nl www.nhl.nl/nhl/5774/kennis-en- M.C. Kat [email protected]
of Applied Sciencesa bedrijf/excellentieprogramma.html
Stenden University Stenden.com www.stenden.com/nl/bedrijven/ Herman Blom herman.blom@stenden.
of Applied Sciences lectoraten/projectbureau- com
academisering-Stenden-Hogeschool/
Paginas/default.aspx
University of Applied Hsleiden.nl www.hsleiden.nl/honoursprogramma Lea Hermsen [email protected]
Sciences Leiden
Breda University of Applied Nhtv.nl https://insight.nhtv.nl/wp-content/ Maarten Meeuwis [email protected]
Sciences (NHTV) uploads/2013/09/Information-leaflet-
honours-program.pdf
(continued)
297
298
(continued)
HZ University Hz.nl Not available Edwin Torn Broers [email protected]
of Applied Sciences
Christelijke Hogeschool Ede Che.nl –
VHL University vhluniversity.com –
of Applied Sciences
HKU University Hku.nl –
of the Arts Utrecht
ArtEZ Institute of the Artsa Artez.nl www.artez.nl/Kennis-en-onderzoek/ Marlies van Hak honoursprogramme@artez.
Honours-Programme nl
Amsterdam School ahk.nl www.nationaleballetacademie.nl Klaas Backx [email protected]
of the Arts (AHK)a
HAS University Hashogeschool.nl Not available Frederike Praasterink [email protected]
of Applied Sciences
Vilentum University vilentum.com –
of Applied Sciences
Hotelschool The Hague Hotelschool.nl –
VIAA/Gereformeerde viaa.nl –
Hogeschool
Marnix Academie Nhtv.nl www.marnixacademie.nl/voltijd/ – –
academische-lerarenopleiding.aspx
University of the Arts kabk.nl/hk –
The Hague
Driestar Educatiefa driestar-educatief.nl http://www.driestar-educatief.nl/ Annelies Kraaiveld a.kraaiveld@driestar-
getattachment/Studeren/Hbo- educatief.nl
opleidingen/Pabo-voltijd/
Studie-info/Pabo-1-en-2/
Honoursprogramma.pdf
Appendices
Codarts Rotterdam Codarts.nl –
Hogeschool iPabo hs-ipabo.edu –
Gerrit Rietveld Academie gerritrietveldacademie.nl www.artandresearch.nl/ Cato Cramer [email protected]
Appendices
De Kempel Kempel.nl kempel.nl/Opleidingen/ Marcel Lemmen [email protected]

ChallengeProgram/Pages/
Challenge-Program-Nieuw.aspx
Design Academy Eindhoven designacademy.nl –
Katholieke Pabo Zwolle Kpz.nl –
Thomas More Hogeschool thomasmorehs.nl
Iselinge Hogeschool www.iselingehogeschool.nl/ www.iselinge.nl/ih_nl/ih_pabo.php Gerdo Velthorst [email protected]
a
Indicates member Sirius Programme
299
Belgium
300
Contact details for honors programs at Belgian universities
University Program name Url Coordinator/contact E-mail

University Honours College https://www.uantwerp.be/en/ Dr. Marleen Eyckmans [email protected]
of Antwerp faculties/fbd/education/
honours-college/
Katholieke Honoursprogramma www.law.kuleuven.be/home/ Prof. Dr. Steven Lierman [email protected]
Universiteit Leuven onderzoek/nieuws-onderzoek/
honoursprogramma_2013
Universiteit Gent Quetelet Colleges www.ugent.be/student/nl/ Debora van Durme [email protected]
studeren/honoursprogramma/
universiteitsbreed-programma
Universiteit Gent Honors Program www.ugent.be/fw/nl/onderwijs/ Tom Coenye [email protected]
in Life Sciences honoursprogramme
Universiteit Gent Honors Award www.ugent.be/we/nl/ Anja Sandrap [email protected]
in Sciences program onderwijs/has
Université Honours College www.metropolitanuniversity.eu Karla Biebouw, [email protected],
Métropolitaine Lydie Lejuste [email protected]
Appendices
Denmark
Contact details for honors programs at Danish higher education institutions (HEIs)
Appendices
HEI Program name Url Coordinator/contact E-mail

University of Aarhus Talentforløb Physics – Allan Hvidkjær Sørensen [email protected]
and Astronomy
University of Southern Denmark Research in Corporate www.sdu.dk/Uddannelse/Kandidat/ Tine Jambang [email protected]
Communication IVK_elite
Technical University of Denmark Biotech Academy www.biotechacademy.dk Lene Krøl Andersen [email protected]
Technical University of Denmark Honors Masters www.dtu.dk/english/Education/msc/ Trylle Arnfred [email protected]
Honours-Programmes
Copenhagen Business School GLOBE program www.cbs.dk/globe Tine Løvig Simonsen [email protected]
Copenhagen Business School EngAGE program www.cbs.dk/en/study/bachelor/ Eileen Dyer [email protected]
bsc-in-international-business/engage
Roskilde University Language profile www.ruc.dk/uddannelse/bachelor/ Petra Daryai-Hansen [email protected]
bachelor-med-saerlig-sprogprofil/
University College Lillebaelt Physiotherapy Talent Palette – Anne Marie Højvang [email protected]
Finland
Contact details for honors programs at Finnish universities
University Program name Url Coordinator/contact E-mail

Aalto University Honours Programme in Information ics.aalto.fi/en/studies/honours_programme/ Stefan Ehrstedt [email protected]
and Computer Science
University of Turku Fast Track Physics www.utu.fi/fi/yksikot/sci/yksikot/fysiikka/ Jaani Tuura [email protected]
opiskelu/fasttrack/Sivut/home.aspx
University of Oulu Language honors program www.oulu.fi/kielikoulutus/node/10235 Anne Viherkari [email protected]
301
Germany
302
Contact details for honors programs at German universities
University Program name Url Coordinator/contact Contact

Leuphana University Studium Individuale www.leuphana.de/bachelor- Dr Volker Balli [email protected]
Lüneburg studium-individuale.html
University of Oldenburg Honours-Programm der – Prof. Dr. Esther [email protected]
Niederlandistik Ruigendijk
Technical University GES_Plus https://www.tuhh.de/alt/tuhh/ Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard [email protected]
Hamburg-Harburg education/degree-courses/ Schmitz
bachelors-programs/ges-plus.
html
University of Freiburg University College www.ucf.uni-freiburg.de Natascha Gimbel [email protected]
Freiburg
University of Ulm Eliteförderung www.uni-ulm.de/studium/ Claudia Grab [email protected]
individuelle-studienmodelle/
elitefoerderung.html
WHU – Otto Beisheim Bachelor in www.whu.edu/programme/ Wolfgang Staus [email protected]
School of Management International Business bachelor-in-internationaler-
Administration bwl-management-bsc/
Bonn University Honors Program http://www3.uni-bonn.de/ Dr. Kai Sicks [email protected]
for BA Students research/portal-for-doctoral-
and-postdoctoral-researchers/
doctoral-studies-in-bonn/
honors-program-for-ba-
students-1
Saarland University Bachelor- https://www.cs.uni-saarland.de/ Prof. Markus Bläser [email protected]
Förderprogramm and index.php?id=138 and Prof. Reinhard
Master- Wilhelm
Förderprogramm
Appendices
University of Regensburg Honors Elite www-wiwi.uni-regensburg.de/ Prof. Dr. Michael [email protected]
Programme (Bachelor) Honors/%C3%9Cber_Honors/ Dowling regensburg.de
Bachelor/index.html.en
Appendices
Technical University Junge Akademie www.jungeakademie.tum.de – [email protected]

Munich
Technical University Best.in.tum www.in.tum.de/en/current- Prof. Eike Jessen [email protected]
Munich students/advising-and-support/
mentoring-and-support-
programs/foerderprogrammen-
der-tum/promotion-of-
outstanding-students-at-the-
tum.html
University of Paderborn Exzellenzprogramm http://wiwi.uni-paderborn.de/ Anne Eickhoff [email protected]
studierende/erfolgreich-studieren/
studium-individuell-gestalten/
exzellenzprogramm/
University of Paderborn Eliteförderprogramm www.eim.uni-paderborn.de/ Prof. J. Blömer [email protected]
EIM lehre/elitefoerderung.html
303
304 Appendices
Elite Network of Bavaria
Contact Coordination Office at Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Bildung und

Kultus, Wissenschaft und Kunst (Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Science and
the Arts)
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact details of individual programs within the network can be found at https://
www.elitenetzwerk.bayern.de/elitestudiengaenge/elite-graduate-programs-according-
to-fields-of-study/?L=2
Austria
Contact details for honors programs at Austrian universities
University Program name Url Coordinator Contact

Vienna University Center of www.wu.ac.at/ Mag. Susanne [email protected]
of Economics Excellence coe Aigner
and Business
Vienna University WU Top League www.wu.ac.at/ Mag. Susanne wutopleague@
of Economics wutopleague Aigner wu.ac.at
and Business
Universities Circle of www.coe-graz.at Heinz Hoesch [email protected]
in Graz Excellence Graz
Technical University Tuthetop tuthetop.at Birgit Hauck tuthetop@
of Vienna tucareer.com
Appendices 305
Appendix 4: Interviews with Key Persons
For this book, key persons from different countries were interviewed, as decribed in
Chap 3. Excerpts from some of these interviews are shown in the main text. For all
interviews, a summary is presented in this appendix. These interviews have been
held in the period November 2013 – April 2014 and texts have been checked by the
interviewees in April/May 2014.
‘Policy weighs so much heavier than does fact’
Roland S. Persson, Psychology professor at Jönköping University (Sweden), found-

ing ECHA member and expert on gifted education1
Ideology
‘You have to realize that notions such as high achievement or giftedness have been
completely absent in the educational system since the 1940s. Such terms were not
in use at all; as a behavioral phenomenon it was hoped of course that if there is high
achievement or giftedness then this is a quality that everyone has. Any other sce-
nario would be unthinkable and “undemocratic”. It is only with the EU 2020 Agenda
and its ratification in 2004 that this very strange ideological notion has started to
change. Presumably I was the first amongst scholars who brought giftedness into
the public eye by publications and numerous interviews in the daily press starting in
1997. However, it was all considered strange and inappropriate until 2004, when
Swedish politicians were made brusquely aware of the fact that there was such a
thing as “gifted education” in the rest of Europe.’
‘With the conservative cabinet came also some sort of “gifted education”. The
most senior education official in Stockholm: Jan Björklund (Liberal), had pursued
6 classes of advanced placement, in different areas of Stockholm, for what he char-
acterized as “high achieving pupils”. Once he became minister in 2006 he expanded
this local project of advanced placement to become national, and this is
“Spetsutbildning”. […] It should be noted though that this effort is experimental: it
is not ratified as being a normal part of the education system. It is a political and no
doubt an economic experiment which runs over a determined period of time after
which the experience will be evaluated. There are also now annual evaluations of
course, and a colleague of mine at Gothenburg University has assessed these evalu-
ations and concluded that so far these advanced placement classes are not a great
success. Presumably the reason for this is that this political intervention in educa-
tion was, like so much else in modern society, done with no regard to previous
research and international experience. The teachers of these classes have not been
trained and they had no idea what a gifted child was. Also, admittance to these pro-
grammes are based on pupils’ interest and their grades. The grading system in
1
This interview was in the form of an e-mail conversation, this is an abridged version.
306 Appendices
Swedish schools however is a very very weak one with hardly any predictable
power (in my assessment). So, gifted education of sorts does now exist in Sweden,
although as an experiment, and one that has been poorly prepared. However, national
awareness of giftedness has gained enormous momentum. Everyone knows what it
is and parents demand action [But] the education system itself lacks both recogni-
tion and knowledge.’
Language
‘It might be good to know that the terms giftedness or talent are almost never used.
In connection with the Advanced Placement, pupils are not even referred to as high
achieving. They are referred to as “Pupils who like to be challenged” – this is a very
political and intentional choice of word.
Nomenclature has been a problem for virtually all countries with some interest
in gifted education, and I think for two reasons: different understandings of theory,
function and purpose of high ability, but also the matter of political strategy: want-
ing to have but not showing that one has! […] The politicians of the knowledge
economy desperately want high ability in terms of innovation potential, but they
cannot term it “giftedness”. The only reason is that “giftedness” is a word signify-
ing the segregation of ability and potential. No politician would gain any public
confidence if they promoted policies for special groups and discussed them as in
any way better or different than other groups no matter how factually correct the
issue at hand. So fact stands against strategy. This is presumably the case every-
where in Europe and elsewhere, but it is particularly sensitive in egalitarian cul-
tures such as the Scandinavian. […] In Sweden, by choice of government agencies,
the term is “they who like to be challenged”. An awkward term to use, blunt in
terms of definition, but often not wrong in regard to the population it supposedly
describes’.
‘We don’t talk about gifted or talented’
Elisabet Mellroth – Swedish contact person for Nordic Talent Network, mathemat-
ics teacher and Ph.D. student
There is not many people involved in education of talented children in Sweden.
What do you think is the cause of this?
‘This is my private opinion. First of all, in Swedish society, we haven’t talked about
gifted, or talented or even high achievers. It’s not a tradition to talk about them. The
politicians, the teachers, the whole society has thought before that those who are
gifted, they can manage on their own.’
What do you see changing in this respect?
‘First of all, the last two years, the media have written about highly gifted children.
The psychologist Anita Kullander in Rättvik and Roland Persson have been in the
media. So we have started to talk about them. […] I was recently visiting in
Appendices 307
Hamburg, and there I got the question: what do parents in Sweden do if they have a
child in elementary school and the child is gifted? And until a few years ago, the
answer is: nothing. But now people have gotten to know about it. And we have a
new school law in Sweden, it says that students who easily reach the goals that have
to be reached, they have to be given support and stimulated to reach further in their
knowledge development. This is a demand that every school has to follow.’
So now you can offer something special and then these children might come to you.
‘Yes. In Sweden, I don’t think people will use the word gifted, because of the
Jantelagen. (…) That is a very hard rule in Swedish society. You can’t say here that
you are better than anyone else. I think using the word talent is better. Gifted is genetic,
some people think. But what do we mean? We mean children who need and demand
more than the traditional curriculum can give them. (…) If we continue like this [not
using words like talented or gifted], segregation will get higher. The gifted child with
parents who are low educated or maybe immigrant, they will not apply to go to that
school [with a special program on offer, because they cannot find it]. So I think it is
really important that municipality schools do something for these children.’
There are big discussions about the PISA 2012 results, where Sweden is not doing
very well. […] Part of the blame is put on the system with the friskolor.
‘I have been working at friskolor a lot and I think that those schools I have been
working at and the teachers I have worked with, work really hard to support stu-
dents. Because they have to fight for every pupil, they become more of a team. But
that is my personal opinion. And then there is the others that are looking at friskolor
as a system. And there are friskolor that are not even owned by Swedish companies
(…) their only goal is to make money. In this city where I live there was a school
that could not make the economy. And then they could not survive as a company
anymore. So they sent the students home. It is really bad. And then the municipality
has to find a solution for the students. So of course that is not a perfect system. But
that is not the ordinary way these schools are driven. My personal opinion that this
[system with friskolor] is not the reason for the PISA result.’
Do you think some dramatic change will be made as a result of the PISA report?
‘No, not a dramatic change. I think Sweden is a country that doesn’t change dramati-
cally. But for the gifted children maybe the report can do more than awake the ques-
tion that we have to do something about that we do not have many high-achieving
students. We have to find ways to… we need mathematicians, we need scientists, we
need technology and so on, and then we have to do something for the high achievers.
And then I believe it is closely connected to the talented and giftedness.’
‘They just gave you another book’
Linda Mattsson – researcher at Blekinge Institute of Technology and mathematics

teacher, recently wrote (English-language) dissertation about gifted education in
mathematics in Sweden
308 Appendices
How did you come up with the idea of writing about this subject?
‘To be honest, you know Sweden is a very egalitarian society. I had very much ease
in mathematics in school when I was younger. (…) But no one really cared about
you, about the development of extra abilities or critical thinking. They never chal-
lenged you. (…) They just gave you another book or they could also leave you
outside the classroom to work on your own. That is very typical for Sweden. (…)
That was my experience. Then I went to teacher education myself and they never
ever mentioned students that had an ease with certain subjects. Instead, they always
mentioned that we should keep track of the ones that have a hard time reaching the
goals in education. (…) So for me, I had this hunger to find ways to support gifted
students. It was personal interest in the field. And there was not very much done.’
What kind of research was there?
‘In the early 2000s, there had been a project going on in Linnaeus University –
which I write about. They had support from the government to do some research
about giftedness in mathematics. (…) They had only just started out. (…) The only
one that had actually had done something was Roland Persson. But he had been
more concerned about social or emotional feelings that come if you don’t get your
cognitive needs met. He was the first, I’d say. But his work was not accepted by the
time he did it in Sweden. He wrote a very good book in Swedish about giftedness in
general. About who they are, how to talk to them and label them, how to identify
and problems. He wrote it in 1997, published it, but it was not spread very much. It
was not accepted, while it was very good.
But somehow with this project in Linnaeus University, five to seven years later,
Sweden was a little bit more prepared for this. But when the newspaper heard about
the funding of a research project about giftedness it was on the first page of the big-
gest newspaper in Sweden. Oh, now this government is funding elitist programs. We
have very much this Jantelagen. Immediately the professor who was the coordinator
of this research program had to explain herself. Because immediately they think
about something bad in Sweden. Or at least the media tried to put in that way. (…)
Things have changed now, they have now started the spetsutbildningar in the upper
secondary school and also cutting edge programs in compulsory school. But they
are in the pilot phase, so they have not said it will continue. We see how it turns out.’
What do you think will happen with regard to this subject in the next few years?
‘Well, I can’t talk for all the subject. I mostly talk to the ones who develop mathe-
matics programs. I think it will continue and it will develop. But it is a hard situation
to work in. [Teachers] don’t get any financial support to develop their teaching or
teaching material. They work with all their heart, prepare in leisure times and during
holidays. They are very much alone. If they retire or quit, then the whole program
might just fall. It often hangs on one or a few persons, it is very vulnerable so far.
But I am hopeful.’
Appendices 309
Challenges, Advice and Gathering
Interview Nynne Afzelius, Secretary at Akademiet for Talentfulde Unge (academy

that organizes programs for talented students in upper secondary education) in
Denmark
How did the program start?
‘We started with the first students in 2008. For a couple of years we received gov-
ernment funding, but now we are based on funding for the schools. The schools pay
for students who go into the program and that is how we keep things running.
Basically we have three aims:
1. We challenge them in an academic way. Too many have been sitting in their
ordinary classes not working hard, not stretching, not trying. In our program they
have to stretch, to try, to work hard and do things that are difficult.
2. We focus on career advice. We try to give them insight into what education they
should choose. Many of them have many talents, they can choose a lot of differ-
ent things and often that makes it even more complicated to choose. We make
sure that they meet interesting role models, so that they think: I want to be like
him, how do I do that?
3. Social gathering, making new friends, meeting somebody like themselves basi-
cally. Many 17 year-olds think they are the only person in the world thinking the
way they do. But a lot of our students are a bit more right when they feel they are
the only ones. We try to match them with people like themselves who want to do
something and are motivated for making a career.’
What is the content of the program?
‘We are a broad talent project, meaning that you have to be talented in basically
every academic field. You have to be good in mathematics, in science and in lan-
guage. They stay in their ordinary schools and continue education there and do our
project as extracurricular activities. Because of that we try to make the program
after school. A typical seminar would be from 4 pm to 8 or 9 pm, or a complete
Saturday, or a week during the summer holidays. We start in January for a two-year
program. We have four semesters, focusing on different things. In the first semester,
the headline is thinking academically. How do you think, what an academic argu-
ment is. In the second semester, we are working with the headline how to commu-
nicate academically, how do you present verbal and written, what is academic
language like, etcetera. In the third semester we are working with: how do you work
in more depth with academic challenges. They get to choose a bit more, so it is: how
do I immerse myself academically in a field. And the fourth semester, we are work-
ing with: how do I work academically, what does an academic project look like, and
an academic career. There are possibilities to visit companies and universities.
That is mainly the mandatory program, but we have a whole list of elective
arrangements on top of that. They can choose a wide range of workshops, seminars,
lectures, arrangements of any kind basically, choosing what suits them or what they
think is interesting. What we see is that around half of the students do the mandatory
310 Appendices
seminars and not much more. A quarter takes one or two extras per semester. And
then the last quarter they participate in a lot of activities.’
What would be the ideal scenario for your program?
‘It would be best if it were possible for the students to make this program count in
some way. As it is now, they do get a diploma. The minister of Education shows up
and shakes hands and it is all very nice, but it doesn’t count in any way. And I think
it would be very fair to the students if in some ways it counts if they go on in educa-
tion. You don’t take education for fun. It’s okay if it is fun along the way but it is not
for fun.’
‘They really flourish’
Uffe Sveegaard is not only coordinator of the Nordic Talent Network (see chapter
Nordic countries), he is also project coordinator at ScienceTalenter, an extracur-
ricular program for talented 12–20 year-olds interested in science. The program
was set up after TalentCamp05 and is based in the Science Center building in Sørø
(Southern Sealand). This building was donated in 2009 by the private A.P. Møller
fund. Pupils can take classes here and stay overnight.
‘In our Science Talent College project, we take about 60 people from high school
and give them a period of two years in which they can leave their school and come
here for three or four days and work in science camps, where you have special top-
ics, like for instance: how do you feed nine billion people in 2050? Or how do you
make renewable energy? And also astronomy, black holes. The students are so
happy with this challenge, they really love it.’
How do you select the students for the project for high school students?
‘We have a network of elementary schools and high schools. Whenever we have a
camp, let’s say an astro camp lasting for three days, we send out a paper to the high
schools saying we have this camp, we have room for 60 young people who are very
interested in astronomy. Each elementary or high school that is a member of our
network must appoint a coordinator to facilitate the personal contact between us and
the school, and this coordinator will also be responsible for finding the adequate
talent to join this camp. So actually we are not selecting them but the schools as part
of our network select them. It is very seldom that we receive some youngsters who
should not really have been there. Most of them they really flourish, they really feel
that they are in their right element.’
Do you give them a diploma?
‘Yes, in the Science Talent College we give them a diploma. And we are also work-
ing with universities so that when they have taken a course at our camp, they can be
taken off some of the obligatory courses at the university. In that sense we are work-
ing with universities being part of the education. They are also very interested in
working with us, because they would like to get hold of those talents, of course.’
Appendices 311
‘Talent development is unequally distributed’
Interview Stefan Hermann – Headmaster at Metropolitan University College

Copenhagen, former head Talent Working Group (talentarbejdsgruppe) of Danish
government
How did you get involved in the subject of talent development?
‘The former government, the liberal government, announced with prime minister
approval, to set out a working group, that should on the one hand evaluate current
initiatives in talent development in all levels of the educational system and on the
other hand propose a long-term strategy for the strengthening of talent develop-
ment. The background was of course political but could also be seen as a tool to
enforce a new professional culture in the Danish educational system. (…) We con-
ducted our work and delivered the report two and a half years ago [in 2011]. Since
then the agenda has grown politically and not least institutionally.’
Does the working group still exist in some form or is there something new?
‘No, the working group was dissolved after delivering the report. And the liberal
government set out a plan for reforming the Danish primary school which had a
chapter on talent development. (…) But the government did not get reelected, a new
centre left government was formed in the fall of 2011. And they proposed a number
of initiatives in higher education. They have not yet proposed a specified initiative
in terms of youth or primary school education. But in many ways they tried to fol-
low the recommendations. Not least because most of the recommendations were
generally speaking good things to do if you want to improve the quality of educa-
tion. (…) At the moment there is quite some stress on the quality agenda, which of
course partly is a talent agenda.’
What do you think will happen in the next few years?
‘I think we will see a bit more of those structural initiatives in terms of giving
students more opportunities to choose, you will see a greater supply of talent
courses at all levels of the educational system, driven by the institutions to attract
resources. I hope we will see much stronger research and development in terms of
how do we teach everyone to improve the standards and not just in terms of creat-
ing greater equity. We do have hardly any tradition in Denmark in terms of nurtur-
ing talented students.’
Is this very dependent upon the political context?
‘I think it will go on irrespective of government change. There is a national con-
sensus in the parliament and among the traditional governing parties that this
agenda is important. (…) Why this is so important is that the public sector, the
government, finances all education in Denmark. Because education is open and
free for everybody. That means you can’t just make a private university focused
on talent and elite in Denmark. So political action is important, but there are also
political actions that can put down a frame that has to be filled out and developed
by the institutions. In that respect, I think the culture has changed and there is
312 Appendices
much greater stress on these issues in higher education, but it is unequally distrib-
uted. It is very easy for a wealthy traditionally very strong university to develop
such programs, but for a university college where you do not have a long tradition
or consensus it is difficult.’
In general in Denmark education has a bit of an egalitarian tradition.
‘The egalitarian tradition in Denmark is maybe not in DNA, but it is extremely
strong. It’s a tacit assumption of everything. But it is being challenged nowadays.
One of our strongest points in the talentarbejdsgruppe was that the best ways generi-
cally to change culture is to stress the quality issue. (…) It is changing, but we are
on a long road here.’
‘The new generation is kind of laid-back’
Interview Dr. Ella Cosmovici Idsøe, associate professor at Stavanger University,

co-author of 2011 book ‘Våre evnerike barn – en utfordring for skolen’ (Our gifted
children – a challenge for the school)2
What do you think the culture towards excellence is like in Norway?
‘Success in sports and music is promoted and applauded, but not academic success.
Also, it is in people’s spines that if you say one child is better in a subject than
another, it implies somehow that you say that child has more value than another. So
they very much avoid labelling and categorizing, and some do not agree with screen-
ing and testing. It is not allowed by law to group children permanently according to
their intellectual or knowledge level.’
Do you have an idea where this culture comes from?
‘Something happened politically in the 1960s. The inclusive educational model was
adopted by that time. But actually, this system is not so successfully implemented
in practice and this is supported by our PISA results and the critics from
OECD. Teachers are trained to teach to the middle group of children and the manu-
als are written for the middle group. The extremes, both the gifted and the disabled,
are kind of neglected. Maybe I am not the best person to ask about this background,
because I emigrated to Norway ten years ago. But the effect is that generally the
society thinks that children with gifts can manage by themselves and it is a luxury
problem. There is so much focus on equality, but it is misunderstood equality. I
agree with equal opportunities, but we are not equal human beings, we have differ-
ent needs, educational ones included.’
Can you tell me what this culture means in practice?
‘In the Norwegian educational policy there is no definition or normative identifica-
tion criteria for gifted learners, there is no focus on the needs of these children in
schools or teacher training programs and there is a lack of research on this topic in
2
This interview is a mix of answers by e-mail and by phone.
Appendices 313
the Norwegian context. (…) Also, there is nothing about this subject included in
teacher education. (…) There are some forms of acceleration practiced and also
topic choice in upper secondary school is offered. We just got a new government
that is hopefully more positive towards the gifted.’
Does that mean there is a momentum for change now?
‘The new minister wants to do something. Also because the PISA report was disap-
pointing. There is a big discussion now, for example about the after education of
teachers. (…) It is very hard to recruit teachers. One of the reasons I guess is that
economically we are doing very fine. Really, it is a very demotivating factor. Why
should I strive for a demanding job as teacher when I can get the exact or even
higher salary with a less demanding job? I think this economical factor is also
important for children studying at school or in higher education. There is not big
unemployment, there is no hard competition, and they can get a job. The new gen-
eration is kind of laid back. But I just got a meeting with the minister of Education
and he seems to understand the needs of these children. He already announced that
there will be 10,000 places for teachers to get more specialized/trained in maths and
science. Because this was another problem. How can you teach the gifted when as a
teacher you are not specialized? We discussed about the possibility of introducing
the gifted topic in general teacher training across the country. And also about pro-
ducing digital enriching resources for the gifted. They already started a virtual
mathematics school. So the future is promising.’
‘We don’t have that tradition in Norway’
Interview Helen Bråten, Project Manager SFU (Centres for Excellence in Higher
Education) at NOKUT (Norwegian Accreditation Agency).
Why was the SFU program developed?
‘The Norwegian ministry of Education and the sector had seen that there was a big
focus on incentives and on quality in research, but this was not equally emphasized
and developed in higher education. By implementing the SFU program we got
incentives for stimulating excellence in teaching and learning. The ministry wanted
to highlight the fact that education and research are equally important activities for
higher education institutions, hence they wanted universities and colleges to focus
more on education.’
How could this focus on research happen?
‘I think funding and rewarding mechanisms is one factor that can explain this.
Research has higher status and there is a longer tradition for stimulating and reward-
ing excellence in research. In Norway there were no systems for recognition and
rewarding excellence when it comes to education and teaching. Now we have the
SFU-program and we have an educational quality prize, both managed by NOKUT.’
SFU is aimed at institutions and not at individual students. Was this a deliberate
choice?
314 Appendices
‘The SFU program is directed towards institutions and study programs at bachelor
and master level. The SFUs must provide excellent and innovative education and
have plans for further development. At the same time they must have good plans for
dissemination of good practices and knowledge about educational methods that are
conducive to learning. In this perspective excellence is related to the academic com-
munity and provision and in what way they are able to facilitate students’ learning.
We do assess the SFU applicants in a number of areas and aspects; having excellent
students at entrance level might be one factor, grades and learning outcomes are
others, but we also focus on the process: what do the academic communities do to
facilitate learning and how do they know that these activities are successful and
excellent.
We believe that this program will enhance learning and teaching for many stu-
dents and enhance quality in education and in academic communities. The intention
with the SFU program is to stimulate the best, while at the same time the SFUs are
required to involve other academic communities in their work and disseminate good
practices. (…) There are no honors programs in Norway, we don’t really have that
tradition. In higher education there has not been this focus on excellent students. As
in most other countries, there are admission limitations to (some popular) study
programs, which guarantees that only those with the best grades from upper second-
ary school are accepted. This may represent an excellence factor.’
To get back to the issue of equity and equality. How do you think this has
developed?
‘I might not be the right person to explain this, but I think the education system has
developed along with the welfare system. Hence one aim has been to adjust differ-
ences in socio-economic backgrounds and promote equity through education (…) I
think also the Norwegian culture and tradition of equity is deeply rooted in the
society. We want people to have equal opportunities. The idea behind the prohibi-
tion to differentiate in grunnskolen, is that even though some pupils are smarter or
cleverer than others, learning together is a good thing. The smarter ones will learn
more from explaining to their peers and then the others will also learn more. I think
that is the idea behind why it is forbidden to differentiate. But it is also being
debated. (…) Things may be different now when we have a conservative govern-
ment which might focus more on the opportunities for optimal learning for gifted
children.’
‘SFU status gives us leverage’
Interview Vigdis Vandvik – Director BioCEED Centre of Excellence at University

of Bergen
What do you think convinced the jury about your application?
‘Two or three things maybe set us out form the others a little bit. I think they liked
our concept. And when they came, we were super prepared. (…) I think because of
Appendices 315
the preparation we came across as quite professional. And then they talked to our
students and we have very engaged, clear spoken students. We did not say we had
the best education in the world. We have some things that are good, some things that
we want to improve and some ideas that we want to try out.’
Does the money from the SFU program allow you to do things you would otherwise
not have thought of?
‘Yes, we get around 3 million crowns, 300,000 euros extra per year. And we already
have the students and the funding for teaching and teachers, so it’s extra money. If
you want to hire people, build something, it is nothing. But if you want to put some
extra resources here and there, it is a lot. And what is also interesting is, the money
is one thing, but the SFU status also gives us a lot of extra leverage. We have been
saying we don’t like our student facilities. Before, the university would say yes, we
hear you, but it is too expensive. And now they say: oh really? What should we do?
All of a sudden they are listening to us. The status gives us better credibility in the
university and we collaborate more with the other biology institutes. It’s easier to
make things happen and to experiment.’
Do you think the SFU program has brought a sort of momentum in Norway?
‘I think so. The most important aspect is the recognition thing. (…) There was so
much focus on research, that if you really like teaching you should not tell people.
Now it is more balanced. There is the same kind of prestige in teaching as there is
in research. The fact that we have to compete for money makes a huge difference.’
What do you think about the Norwegian culture towards differentiation and excel-
lence? Is that changing at the moment?
‘We have an extremely egalitarian culture in Norway. We give the students grades
but we are really careful in telling the students you are a good student, you are a bad
student. They are supposed to understand from their grades but we don’t talk about
it. (…) The SFU program is not put together to separate the good from the bad stu-
dents at all, but I think we would benefit from being a bit more open about it. (…) I
think it is also in students’ interests, because there is a real life out there and that will
hit them.’
‘Ph.D. is the way of taking care of them’
Interview Grethe Sofie Bratlie

Deputy Director General, Ministry of Education and Research, Department of
Higher Education, Norway
The new government has announced new plans with the focus on quality in educa-
tion. Is this seen as a big change?
‘Well, focusing on quality in Norway is not actually a new policy, but what is a
change is that this is lifted up as a policy area as such also in higher education. (…)
Quality in higher education has always been there and we have thought a lot about
316 Appendices
it, but as a policy area which politicians talk about and set as a main goal, that is
seen as a shift.’
What do you think the culture towards excellence is like in Norway?
‘In Norway we have had over many years the culture of being equal. Every single
person, every child shall have the same possibilities whatever their social back-
ground is, wherever they live in the country. No child should be favored, but every-
one should have the possibility to develop their skills and choose their own abilities.
(…) The culture in Norway towards excellence is a huge acceptance when it comes
to sports and music. The acceptance for giving possibilities for helping students in
upper secondary school and earlier as well to grow when they have especially good
abilities in certain areas, this is growing in Norway. (…) This is also important in
order to secure and develop the Norwegian prosperity in general. And the labor
market. To have enough innovation, entrepreneurs, to create jobs. What is coming
after the oil? That is a big discussion here, even though we know that here will be
oil for many years still. But because of for instance the climate change problems and
also other challenges our society in Norway and the global community faces, we
know that we need to create new jobs in new areas. I think this is also a driver for
the change in attitude in the population in general.’
Do you think there might be a change where there will be more focus on the indi-
vidual instead of the systemic development?
‘I don’t know, because forty or fifty years ago higher education was an elitist system
as such. It was only for the especially talented people. But, as in many other coun-
tries, higher education has become mass education and there is still a discussion
within the system about the elitist thinking and the mass thinking. So in one way it
is possible to say that higher education is a possibility for well-talented young peo-
ple. (…) When it comes to higher education, you know about the SFU program.
That is a systemic way of thinking how to build excellence in higher education. I
think the policy in Netherlands and Norway is a little different. Of course we know
that talent is placed in individuals, but we try to develop possibilities which are
systemic. So that is also the case when you see the program in upper secondary
schools, the programs in music. When it comes to students in higher education, we
don’t have specific programs for special talents. But of course we have special edu-
cation programs focusing on higher education in music. It is a little difficult to see
the difference between the systemic and the individual. (…) [But] I think the higher
education institutions take care of their especially talented students. They try to
guide them into research, to pick them up as Ph.D. students. (…) The ministry and
the government have financed quite a few Ph.D. systems. One of the reasons of
building up capacity with new Ph.D. positions, is to secure recruitment of new
research fellows to HEIs, but also to other fields in the labor market. The very
important implication is that the Ph.D. track gives possibilities to take care of the
talented. So it is like research is the way of taking care of them. And also we see that
companies are hunting for talents in universities and university colleges. They have
programs to attract talents from the higher education system. So it is a connection
between the labor market and the institutions.’
Appendices 317
‘Guiding the best of the best’
Interview Susanne Aigner, program coordinator Top League/Center of Excellence

at WU Wien
Why did you choose an interdisciplinary approach for the programs?
‘It is part of our vision that groups are heterogeneous, especially in the master
phase. It is our aim to mix these students, to broaden their perspectives and get new
ideas. We are of course already a specialized university.’
What is the involvement of university staff in the programs?
‘Every group has academic supervisors: usually a professor and his or her assistant.
They join the group and supervise the process. But we want the group to manage
itself. We organize a kick-off weekend where we tell the students about the possi-
bilities they have and divide them into smaller groups. From then on, we want to just
guide them, we want the group to do the whole work. The organization of the pro-
gram has developed quite a bit over the years, for example because of the Bologna
Process. But we have always had the groups as basis.’
How important is the alumni network?
‘Very important! We now have a group of about 2,000 alumni. Each year we have
an alumni meeting, where about 200 will join. The network of alumni is very useful.
They often go on to work in top positions, and some will even sponsor a new group.
For example, we had an alumnus of the program who has now become the CEO of
a top company and she decided to sponsor a group in 2011.’
What is the main motivation for students to join the program?
‘Students see it as a big chance to meet new people, get new opportunities and chal-
lenge themselves. They are very proud to be part of Top League or COE. Also,
participation definitely helps them in getting a job. If they finish the program of
course they have the certificate. But often the group sponsors will offer traineeships
as well. That can be a nice start for a career.’
Is your program well-known in Austria?
‘Yes, I think it is. Many Austrian companies have been involved as a sponsor and we
have of course our alumni who have spread out throughout Austria and the world.
The Center of Excellence in particular has a good name. This is because students
come from our English-language master programs, for which the best bachelor
students are selected. And for the Center of Excellence, we select the best of those.
So we can say we have “the best of the best”. Businesses like that.’
‘We are doing too little at the university level’
Interview Victor Müller-Oppliger, Professor at Pädagogische Hochschule

Nordwestschweiz, expert on gifted education
318 Appendices
In the Swiss context, the private sector is involved in gifted education. How is this
looked upon?
‘This is a big discussion here. More and more we are opening this field and we will
have jobs also paid by these companies sometimes. And then you have the other
people who are very critical and have the idea that education is not free, with no
thoughts behind and expectations of economics and things like that. Most times it is
viewed very critical. But more and more we see that the public hand is not able to
finance what we would like to have. So there is a need to involve also the economics
in that. We have 26 different cantons in Switzerland and therefore 26 different
school regulations and policies. And so it is very different. In large cities like e.g.
Zürich people are more open-minded to that, and then you have cantons in some
parts of central Switzerland that would never allow to bring private institutions into
the schools. So it’s like a patchwork in Switzerland.’
And in the development of more of these programs, do you think the initiative will
be more with the government or more with the private foundations?
‘We can see the government is doing too little. This is my position of course as a
director of this program. We discuss with the government more than ten years for
the finance of gifted education. If you look at Switzerland, we don’t have natural
resources, reserves of oil or gold in the ground. What we have is our knowledge.
This is our economic capital. So there is a need for what we are doing. I myself am
also working with some foundations and I am on three foundation boards. We are
really interested to bring our ideas that gifted education is important also to the
government. So we have lots of meetings with governmental persons in different
cantons to convince them that we have to do more in this area. At about 25 % of the
cantons in the last five years they developed some lesson tools. Our research says
about 25 % is financed by private sector. About half of them by private foundations
and economics the other half. There is really a need for this, because the public hand
is sometimes not willing and sometimes not able to finance gifted education.’
What do you think about the culture towards excellence in Switzerland? Is this also
a patchwork?
‘Yes, but it is more… It is not as burdened as it seems to be in Germany, where you
are suspicious sometimes if you are too good or too qualified and you sometimes
should not use the word giftedness. We don’t have this problem in Switzerland.
Everyone is convinced that we have to have expertise and excellence and that this is
important for the population and the future. But what Swiss people don’t like is the
idea to have special schools for gifted kids, we really are obliged to the idea of inclu-
sive gifted education. Every school should have its program for gifted students and
of course there are some Centres to promote giftedness, but not special elite gymna-
siums or elite universities. That is something that in Switzerland is refused mentally.
We don’t like to separate. But we work to find ways of inclusive talent development.
And some kind of combinations, that 50 % of school time should be in groups of age
and regular social groups, and the other 50 % of learning time would be personal-
ized and individualized and really on the level of what students can achieve. That is
what we are working on. This is a situation in the last five years.’
Appendices 319
Once you move to university, what is then available to the students?

‘That is an interesting question, because actually we are organizing a new European
congress for next September. (…) And the question of promoting gifted students at
the university level is one of the main focuses we have. Because we really realize
we are doing too little at the university level. (…) So this is something that is just
starting to be aware of. We hope we can bring a point in this discussion with the
congress in September. (…) I think in about three years we will have programs. I am
very positive of that.’
‘Small legal restriction is irrelevant’
Interview Professor Hans-Joachim Gehrke, Director of Outreach at University

College Freiburg
I understood that in the KMK [Standing Conference of Ministers] a rule is made
that you cannot have honors bachelor degrees.
‘Yes, you cannot explicitly mention it in the diploma. Formally we cannot build up
a university college as an honors college, like in Utrecht. But to our colleagues who
are running honors colleges in other countries, we can do justice to certain criteria,
for instance high grades and certain professors teaching, or an opportunity to take
part in research. In reality there is no problem, but in Germany we cannot write this
is with honors. (…) For the moment it is financed partly by the special program
excellence in teaching by the federal ministry of Research and Education.’
Do you feel restricted by the legal issue?
‘No, absolutely not. Neither here in Germany nor in the international context. Our
international partners do not really mind about this small legal restriction. What is
really going on, what really makes the difference, is the question what makes an
honors education.’
Why is this restriction in place?
‘In our education system in Germany there is a strong accentuation or focus on
equality. Giving opportunities and chances to everybody. For me this does not mean
one cannot trust measures of elite building or excellence. But for many of the experts
exactly this is the case. They are in favor of equality and they are very sceptical
about elite and excellence, at least in teaching. In research, the situation in different.
So for me it is a kind of misunderstood socialism. It is about ideology.’
Do you see this change in the near future?
‘No. The official view is very strong. But many parents want an excellent education
for their children, obviously, and they bring their children to private schools. We
have a kind of renaissance of private schools, driven by churches and so on. In real-
ity, there is a tendency towards excellence in education. But in the official system,
nearly all parties take into consideration this idea of equality and equal opportuni-
ties. Instead of being honest and say we have to have an elite and elite education. In
320 Appendices
the university system, the situation is quite different. In research we have no restric-
tion to talk about excellence, quite the contrary. We had this amazing competition,
the excellence initiative which has been going on for more than ten years and every-
one is going crazy about this. There is also an excellence initiative in teaching, but
when you compare the money put into it, you immediately realize the point: it is
about research. Excellence in teaching is more an alibi. But we took it seriously, at
Freiburg we are eager to show that we are excellent in teaching.’
In Freiburg you have the first university college at a large research university. Do
you think more universities will follow?
‘Other universities are curious but hesitant. I think we will remain unique in this
respect for some time. (…) What gives you reputation at the moment is research.
(…) For this to change, you need the mentality in the heads of professors to change.
That goes slowly. Particularly with German professors I think, haha.’
‘You have to have an elite’
Interview Stephan Bedke, responsible for ‘Fostering of Highly-Gifted Students’ and

‘Offers across the Network’ at Elite Network of Bavaria
Why was the Elite Network of Bavaria developed?
‘First development started around the year 2000. There were two main reasons. First
was to prevent brain drain. We saw a lot of students and scholars go abroad to the
UK or US, because these countries were more attractive in resources. The Bavarian
universities wanted to develop attractive programs to make them stay in Germany
and Bavaria in particular. Programs were also developed to work together with other
universities inside and outside Bavaria, and internationally. This is all normal by
now, but it was very new 15 years ago. The second reason is linked to the first: the
Bavarian state and companies wanted to compete with businesses around the world.
To be competitive and get the best students to work at for example BMW, they had
to come up with new ideas. […] We saw the private sector contribute some of the
money to start the program. They have a profound interest in highly qualified
students.’
Has there been a change in the goals of the network in recent years?
‘The two basic ideas still count, but in the last five years the idea that top performers
at university level need support has become more common. It has also spread to the
school level. Generally speaking, there has been a tendency towards overall accep-
tance that you have to have an elite. In this respect, the culture has changed.’
Do you feel restricted by rules, such as the KMK rule forbidding bachelor degrees
with honors?
‘No. In fact, this can be explained very easily. The introduction of bachelor degrees
is a recent thing, it has come with the Bologna reforms. People do not know what it
is and certainly do not know what an honors bachelor degree is. They might even
Appendices 321
mix it up with ‘honoris causa’ degrees, honorary degrees awarded to for example
visiting politicians. Besides, people do still not really see a bachelor as a proper
degree. It is seen as an intermediate exam. If you are good, you carry on anyway.
[…] From a legal point of view – as far as the KMK rule is concerned – we do not
officially have honors degrees in our master programs in Bavaria. So the honors
degrees are going to disappear. People do not know what this is anyway. Instead of
honors degrees we use the term “Elite Graduate Program” as a sign of high quality.
Similar to honors degrees in other countries the students in the Elite Graduate
Programs have to complete more courses.’
Why is focus on ‘elite’ and ‘excellence’ so strong in Bavaria?
‘I do not know and can only make a best guess. But Bavaria is a southern state that
has been run by a conservative government for many years. The conservatives tend
to focus more on competition and separation. In states that are run by the social-
democrats, they focus more on the comprehensive school. […] It is important to
know that education is administered by the Bundesländer. They have a lot of power
and are often jealous of each other. Bavarian politicians like to say we are the best
Bundesland. […] Our minister of Education is very fond of supporting talents. He
has for example taken initiatives to find more talents among immigrant groups and
among the working class. In general, the view is no longer that only those who
underperform have a right to extra support. Now also the very good students have a
right to support to develop themselves.’
322 Appendices
Appendix 5: Lists of Tables, Figures, Maps and Boxed Texts
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Basic characteristics of researched countries

Table 2.1 Public expenditure on education as % of GDP, 2010
Table 2.2 Equity in education in PISA 2012
Table 2.3 Resilience in education in PISA 2012 and change since PISA 2003
Table 2.4 Progression of students in higher education
Table 2.5 Growth in participation in tertiary education, 2002–2011
Table 2.6 Educational performance in PISA, 2003–2012
Table 2.7 Performance of research universities in university rankings per country
Table 4.1 Honors programs at government-supported research universities in
the Netherlands
Table 4.2 Honors programs at universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands
Table 5.1 Honors programs at Belgian universities
Table 5.2 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – Honoursprogramma
Table 5.3 Ghent University – Quetelet Colleges
Table 5.4 Ghent University – Honors Program in Life Sciences
Table 5.5 Ghent University – Honors Award in Sciences program
Table 5.6 University of Antwerp – Honours College
Table 5.7 Université Métropolitaine – Honours College
Table 7.1 Honors programs at universities and university colleges in Denmark
Table 7.2 Aarhus University – Talentforløb Physics and Astronomy
Table 7.3 University of Southern Denmark – research in corporate
communication
Table 7.4 Roskilde University – language profile
Table 7.5 Copenhagen Business School – GLOBE program
Table 7.6 Copenhagen Business School – EngAGE program
Table 7.7 Technical University of Denmark – Biotech Academy
Table 7.8 University College Lillebaelt – Physiotherapy Talent Palette
Table 8.1 Universities and specialized university colleges in Norway
Table 9.1 Universities and university colleges in Sweden
Table 10.1 Honors programs at Finnish universities
Table 10.2 Aalto University – Honours Programme in Information and Computer
Science
Table 10.3 University of Turku – Physics fast track
Table 10.4 Oulu University – Language honors program
Table 11.1 Higher education institutions in Iceland
Appendices 323
Table 12.1 Honors programs at German universities

Table 12.2 Leuphana University Lüneburg – Studium Individuale
Table 12.3 University of Oldenburg – Honours-Programm der Niederlandistik
Table 12.4 Technical University Hamburg-Harburg – GES_Plus
Table 12.5 University College Freiburg
Table 12.6 University of Ulm – Eliteförderung
Table 12.7 WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management – Bachelor in
International Business Administration
Table 12.8 Bonn University – Bonner Honors Program
Table 12.9 University of Paderborn – Exzellenzprogramm
Table 12.10 University of Paderborn – Eliteförderprogramm EIM
Table 12.11 Saarland University – Bachelor-Förderprogramm and Master-
Förderprogramm
Table 12.12 University of Regensburg – Honors Elite Programme
Table 12.13 Technical University Munich (TUM) – Junge Akademie
Table 12.14 Technical University Munich (TUM) – best.in.tum
Table 13.1 Honors programs at universities in Austria
Table 13.2 Circle of Excellence Graz
Table 13.3 WU Top League
Table 13.4 WU Centre of Excellence
Table 13.5 Technical University of Vienna – TUthetop
Table 14.1 Universities and universities of applied sciences in Switzerland
Table 15.1 Honors programs at HEIs per country, overview 2014
Table 15.2 Provisions for talented and gifted students and selectiveness of
education system per country, overview 2014
Table 15.3 Selectiveness of higher education entry per country, overview 2014
Table 17.1 Provisions for talented and gifted students in compulsory education
per country, development 2000–2014
List of Figures
Fig. 2.1 Population in tertiary education (ISCED 5–6) as % of total population,

2002–2011 (Eurostat 2014, own calculation)
Fig. 3.1 (a) The Norwegian education system. (b) Standardized Eurypedia
legend
Fig. 4.1 Structure of the Dutch education system
Fig. 5.1 Structure of education systems in Belgium. (a) Flemish community. (b)
French community (c) German-speaking community
324 Appendices
Fig. 6.1 Structure of the Luxembourgish education system

Fig. 7.1 Structure of the Danish education system
Fig. 8.1 Structure of the Norwegian education system
Fig. 9.1 Structure of the Swedish education system
Fig. 10.1 Structure of the Finnish education system
Fig. 11.1 Structure of the Icelandic education system
Fig. 12.1 Structure of the German education system
Fig. 13.1 Structure of the Austrian education system
Fig. 14.1 Structure of the Swiss education system
List of Maps
Map 1.1 Countries in research project Talent Development in European Higher

Education
Map 2.1 Participation in tertiary education as % of total population, 2011,
compared to EU average (Eurostat 2014)
Map 2.2 PISA scores 2012, compared to OECD average (Country score is
calculated by adding PISA scores in maths, science and reading and
comparing them to the OECD average of 1,491) (OECD 2013b)
Map II.1 The Benelux countries
Map 4.1 Dutch higher education institutions with honors programs, 2014
Map 5.1 Belgian universities with honors programs, 2014
Map III.1 The Nordic countries
Map 7.1 Danish higher education institutions with honors programs, 2014
Map 10.1 Finnish universities with honors programs, 2014
Map IV.1 The German-speaking countries
Map 12.1 German universities with honors programs, 2014
Map 13.1 Austrian universities with honors programs, 2014
Map 15.1 Honors programs in European higher education, 2014
Appendices 325
List of Boxed Texts
Box 3.1 The CEMS-MIM Program

Box 4.1 The Netherlands – The Basics
Box 4.2 Education in the Netherlands
Box 4.3 Dutch Higher Education Landscape
Box 4.4 Local Terminology
Box 4.5 Key Players in Excellence
Box 5.1 Belgium – The Basics
Box 5.2 Education in Belgium
Box 6.1 Luxembourg – The Basics
Box 6.2 Education in Luxembourg
Box III.1 ‘Denmark Has a Ten Year Lead on Talent Development in the Nordic
Countries’
Box 7.1 Denmark – The Basics
Box 7.2 Education in Denmark
Box 7.3 Danish Higher Education Landscape
Box 7.6 ‘It Has to Be Student-Driven’
Box 8.1 Norway – The Basics
Box 8.2 Education in Norway
Box 8.3 Higher Education Landscape
Box 9.1 Sweden – The Basics
Box 9.2 Education in Sweden
Box 9.3 Free Schools and Education for Profit
Box 10.1 Finland – The Basics
Box 10.2 Education in Finland
Box 11.1 Iceland – The Basics
Box 11.2 Education in Iceland
326 Appendices

Box 12.1 Germany – The Basics
Box 12.2 Education in Germany
Box 12.4 Student Quota
Box 12.7 ‘Teachers Spend Extra Time on You’
Box 12.8 ‘A Great Opportunity’
Box 13.1 Austria – The Basics
Box 13.2 Education in Austria
Box 13.3 Austrian Higher Education Landscape
Box 13.6 ‘Guiding the Best of the Best’
Box 14.1 Switzerland – The Basics
Box 14.2 Education in Switzerland
Box 16.1 Factors Influencing the Development of Honors Programs in a Specific
National Context
Box 16.2 Ten Most Striking Findings
Box 17.1 Possible Central Questions for Further Research
Appendices 327
Appendix 6: Acknowledgements and Thanks
This book has been produced with the help, support and contributions of the follow-
ing people (in alphabetical order):
• Norma Adams-van der Struik – Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen,
Netherlands
• Nynne Afzelius – Academy for Talented Youth, Denmark
• Mag. Susanne Aigner – Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
• Dr. Lene Krøl Andersen – Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Raphaela Baumgartner – student Technische Universität München, Germany
• Stephan Bedke – Elite Network of Bavaria, Germany
• Helen Bråten – NOKUT (Norwegian Accreditation Agency), Norway
• Grethe Sofie Bratlie – Ministry of Education and Research, Norway
• Nico Brinkel – honors student Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Sundarajan Chitra – Springer, India
• Dr. Ella Cosmovici Idsøe – Stavanger University, Norway
• Dr. Petra Daryai-Hansen – Roskilde University, Denmark
• Prof. Dr. Kevin W. Dean – West Chester University, USA
• Dr. Lyndsay Drayer – Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen,
Netherlands
• Pierre van Eijl – Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Ylva Eriksson – Skolverket/Swedish National Agency for Education, Sweden
• Dr. Barry Falk, National Collegiate Honors Council/Virginia Commonwealth
University, USA
• Dr. Antoine Fischbach – University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
• Dr. Astrid Fritz – Austrian Research and Support Centre for the Gifted and
Talented (ÖZBF), Austria
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Gehrke – University College Freiburg, Germany
• Melina Ghasseminejad – student University of Antwerp, Belgium
• Esmee Gramberg – Sirius Programme/Platform Bèta Techniek, Netherlands
• Dr. Silvia Grossenbacher – coordinator Netzwerk Begabungsförderung,
Switzerland
• Alice Hatebur – honors student University of Eichstätt, Germany
• Stefan Hermann – Metropolitan University College Copenhagen, Denmark
• Renske Heemskerk – Sirius Programme/Platform Bèta Techniek, Netherlands
• Heinz Hoesch – Circle of Excellence Graz, Austria
• Dr. Maarten Hogenstijn – De Hertaler/Hanze University of Applied Sciences
Groningen, Netherlands
• Yoka Janssen – Springer, Netherlands
• Michael B. Jendzurski – honors alumnus West Chester University, USA
• Nelleke de Jong – Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Dr. Elina Kuusisto – Helsinki University, Finland
• Prof. Dr. Steven Lierman – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
• Ton Markus – Geomedia/Utrecht University, Netherlands
328 Appendices
• Dr. Linda Mattsson – Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden

• Elisabet Mellroth – Karlstad University/Nordic Talent Network, Sweden
• Dr. Jutta Möhringer – Technische Universität München, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Victor Müller-Oppliger – Pädagogische Hochschule Nordwestschweiz,
Switzerland
• Astrid Noordermeer – Springer, Netherlands
• Irinja Paakkanen – University of Turku, Finland
• Prof. Dr. Roland Persson – Jönköping University, Sweden
• Laura Peters – honors student University of Oldenburg, Germany
• Floris van Rees – honors student Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Margit Ruis – honors student Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Florian Sloots – honors student Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Dr. Johanna Stahl – Austrian Research and Support Centre for the Gifted and
Talented (ÖZBF), Austria
• Paul Sterzel – Freiburg University, Germany
• Margot Stoete – Geomedia/Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Uffe Sveegaard – ScienceTalenter/Nordic Talent Network, Denmark
• Prof. Dr. Vigdis Vandvik – University of Bergen, Norway
• Joke Venema – Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, Netherlands
• Anne Viherkari – Oulu University, Finland
• Annemarie van de Vijsel – honors alumnus Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Vincent Warnaar – honors alumnus University of Applied Sciences Leiden,
Netherlands
• Prof. Dr. John Zubizarreta – National Collegiate Honors Council/Columbia
College, USA
• Dr. Meyvant Þórólfsson – University of Iceland, Iceland
The research team would like to thank all of them and everyone who provided
information to the researchers in any way for their invaluable contributions to this
book.
Index
A Bildung und Begabung, 186, 188

Aalto University, 160, 162 Biotech Academy, 120, 121
Abitur, 182, 183 Björklund, J., 139, 304
Academic excellence, 184 Bologna Declaration, 20
Academische pabo, 54, 73 Bologna Process, 6, 20–21, 50, 108, 129, 189,
Academy for Talented Youth, 110–112 254–256
Admission criteria, 11, 12, 15, 49, 70, 80, 115, Bonn University, 199
140, 166, 168, 272 Børn med særlige forudsætninger, 113
Afburðanámsmenn, 169 Bráðger börn, 169
Afzelius, N., 112, 303, 309 Brain drain, 6, 25
Aigner, S., 224, 303, 317 Bråten, H., 132, 133, 303, 313
Ammattikorkeakoulu (AMK), 35, 156 Bratlie, Grethe Sofie, 128, 133, 303, 315
Amsterdam School of the Arts (AHK), 57, 72 Breda University of Applied Sciences, 66, 71
Amsterdam University College, 54, 57 Bundesländer, 179, 180, 188, 193, 213, 214
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences,
65–67
ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, 72 C
Atlas University College, 54, 63 Cantons, 17, 229–231, 233, 234, 246, 265
Avans University of Applied Sciences, 69 CBS. See Copenhagen Business School (CBS)
Aydelotte, F., 4, 269 CEMS-MIM, 37, 134, 160, 256, 263, 275
Center for the Study of Giftedness (CBO), 51
Center of Excellence (CoE), 5, 122, 131–133,
B 135, 158–160, 163, 169, 217, 223–225,
Baccalauréat, 94, 231, 234 244, 245, 254, 255, 261, 262, 264, 271
Bachelor-Förderprogramm, 201 Centres of excellence in higher education. See
BaföG, 183 Senter for Fremragende Utdanning
Barneskole, 128 (SFU)
Basisschool, 44 Centres of excellence in research. See Senter
Bedke, S., 189, 203, 304, 320 for Fremragende Forskning (SFF)
Begabt, 94 Challenge Program, 69, 73, 266, 277
Begabtenförderung, 189, 217–219, 235 Circle of Excellence Graz, 221–223
Begåvade barn, 145 CITO-toets, 45
Benelux, 6, 7, 17, 35, 39, 41–42, 88, 96, Co-curricular, 14, 38, 54, 59, 71, 112, 113,
241–243, 247, 248, 258–259 117, 201, 226
Best.in.tum, 202, 203 College of Pharmaceutical Science, 58

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12919-8
330 Index
Community building, 63, 266, 267, 273, Eliteprogramm, 131

275, 276 Elitestudiengang, 189
Comprehensive school, 101, 153, 154, Eliteuddannelse, 113
156, 182 Eliteutdanning, 131
Copenhagen Business School (CBS), 44, 114, Elitutbildningar, 145, 146
118–119, 261, 275 Enfants á haut potentiel, 82
Cosmovici Idsøe, E., 131, 303, 312 EngAGE program, 118, 119
Cultural dimensions theory, 16 Enseignement fondamental, 92
Culture towards excellence, 4, 7, 15–17, 96, Enseignement secondaire, 94
100–101, 184, 188, 189, 233, 241, 242, Entrance examination, 80, 143, 154, 157, 166,
246, 252, 257, 259 168, 183, 208, 216, 244, 248
Entrepreneurial Journey, 71
Entrepreneurship, 58, 69, 122–123
D Equality, 17, 81, 100, 101, 109, 144, 153,
De Kempel, 73 156–160, 168, 169, 233, 260
Descartes College, 58 Equal opportunity, 18, 20, 100, 130, 144, 165,
Deutsche Junior Akademie (DJA), 185, 188 244, 258, 260, 265
Deutsche Schüler Akademie (DSA), 176, 185 Equity, 18–20, 100, 102, 125, 129–131, 133,
Differentiation project, 43, 126 144, 153, 182
DJA. See Deutsche Junior Akademie (DJA) Erasmus Honours Programme, 60, 61
Double degree programs, 37, 134, 171 Erasmus Mundus, 116, 134, 148, 160
Driestar Educatief, 73 Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR),
DSA. See Deutsche Schüler Akademie (DSA) 54, 60–61
DTU. See Technical University Erhvervsakademi, 33, 109
of Denmark (DTU) Erityislahjakas, 158
Dygtige elever, 113 EUR. See Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dýpkun, 169 (EUR)
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation
System (ECTS), 21, 56, 58, 64, 65,
E 69–73, 102, 110, 113, 117, 256
ECHA, 51, 186, 253 European Economic and Social Committee, 6
ECTS. See European Credit Transfer and European Higher Education Area (EHEA), 32
Accumulation System (ECTS) Eurostat, 7, 22–24, 91, 165, 213
Educational philosophy, 16–20, 44, 251, Eurypedia, 28, 32, 33, 77
252, 257 Evnerike barn, 131
Egalitarianism, 3, 14, 16, 18, 19, 49, 81, 100, Excellence Initiative, 4, 25, 45, 158, 184,
140, 145, 147, 168, 184, 233, 244, 247, 188–190, 219, 220, 244, 245, 254,
257, 258, 260, 269, 277 255, 259
EHEA. See European Higher Education Area Excellence model, 52
(EHEA) Excellente studenten, 50
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschulen, 231 Excellent school, 47
Elever med särskilda förmågor, 145 Extracurricular, 14, 38, 54, 113, 117, 220
Élèves à haut potentiel, 82, 94 Exzellenzförderung, 189
Élèves talentueux, 82, 94 Exzellenzinitiative. See Excellence Initiative
Eliteförderprogramm EIM, 200 Exzellenzprogramm, 189, 200, 218, 235
Eliteförderung, 198 Exzellenzstipendium, 219
Eliteforløb, 113
Elite Graduate Programs, 201, 203, 204, 207
Elitelinje, 131 F
Elite Master Programs, 110, 114, 116, 205, Fachhochschulen, 35, 177, 180, 182, 214, 216,
209, 262 230, 233, 237, 248
Elite Network of Bavaria, 188, 189, 191, Fast Track Physics, 162
201–209, 245, 263 Fischbach, A., 91
Elitenetzwerk Bayern. See Elite Network Flanders, 42, 55, 80, 96, 243
of Bavaria Folkeskole, 106, 110
Index 331
Folk high schools, 109 Hermann, S., 47, 110–112, 260, 303, 311
Fontys University of Applied Sciences, 67 Højtbegave, 113
Freeman, J., 5, 16, 80, 169, 182 Høy begaved, 131
Free schools, 44, 146, 264 High-achieving students, 144, 146, 187, 219
Fremragende utdanning, 131, 132 Higher education sector, 20, 83, 156, 165, 168,
Friskole, 106, 140, 146 182, 213–226, 245, 259
Friskolor, 140, 146 High-performing students, 134
Fritz, A., 220, 222 High potential program, 43, 189, 218
Frühstudium, 185 Hogescholen, 33, 48, 49, 51, 65, 67
Högskolor, 35, 143
Honors Academy, 63. See also
G Honours Academy
GDP. See Gross domestic product (GDP) Honors Award in Sciences, 86
Gehrke, Hans-Joachim, 304, 319 Honors colleges, 38, 54, 57, 58, 209, 256.
Generell studiekompetanse, 129 See also Honours College
Gerrit Rietveld Academie (GRA), 73 Honors community, 55, 58, 61, 71, 276.
Gesamtschule, 182 See also Honours Community
GES_Plus, 195, 197 Honors curriculum, 12
Ghent University, 80, 83, 85–86 Honors education, 3–6, 8, 11–29, 31, 33, 36,
Gifted education, 5, 6, 15, 35, 45, 49, 51, 82, 39, 49, 53, 58, 64, 65, 96, 100, 110,
101, 128, 144, 145, 148, 176, 186, 118, 119, 150, 169, 171, 179, 193,
217–220, 233–236, 253, 265, 271, 273 206, 221, 235, 236, 242, 243, 246,
Giftedness, 5, 16, 45, 51, 80–82, 133, 249, 251–256, 258–264, 266, 267,
145–148, 158, 184, 186, 189, 217–219, 269, 270, 272–277
233, 245, 246, 253 Honors Elite Programme, 202
Globalisation Fund, 110 Honors masters, 203, 207
GLOBE program, 118, 119 Honors pedagogies, 270
GPA. See Grade point average (GPA) Honors tracks, 50, 68, 193
GRA. See Gerrit Rietveld Academie (GRA) Honours Academy, 61 See also
Grade point average (GPA), 11, 83, 108, 118, Honors Academy
183, 193, 249, 261 Honours Challenge, 71
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 7, 17, 18, 24, Honours College, 59, 60, 69, 70, 87, 88
105, 165, 229 See also Honors colleges
Grundschule, 180 Honours Community, 55, 60 See also
Grundskola, 140, 141 Honors community
Grundskole, 105, 106 Honours degree, 5, 110
Grundtvig, NFS, 109 Honours Lab, 68
Grunnskole, 126, 128 Honours-Programm der Niederlandistik,
Grunnskóli, 165, 166 195, 196, 277
Gymnasieskola, 140, 141, 146 Hoogbegaafd, 50, 81, 82
Gymnasium, 45–47, 106, 112, 146, 156, 169, Horizon 2020, 254–256
176, 180, 182, 183, 185, 233 Hovedtal, 108
Huippuyksikkö, 158
HU University of Applied Sciences
H Utrecht, 68
HAN University of Applied Sciences, 68 HZ University of Applied Sciences, 71
Hanze Honours College, 69
Hanze University of Applied Sciences
Groningen, 4, 47, 51, 52, 69 I
Háskoli, 168 IBE. See International Bureau of Education
HAS University of Applied Sciences, 72 (IBE)
Hauptschule, 180, 182 Iceland 2020 paper, 168
Hautes ecoles, 33, 81 InHolland University of Applied
Havo, 44, 45, 48 Sciences, 69
Hbo, 48, 65 Innovation Lab, 55, 68, 270
332 Index
Innovators, 16, 27–28, 252, 256, 257 M

Interdisciplinary, 12, 54, 57–67, 70–72, 87, Maastricht Science Program, 62
193, 195, 197, 198, 203–209, 223 Maastricht University, 47, 54, 62, 189
International Bureau of Education (IBE), MarBLE, 62
32, 77, 81, 110, 126, 140, 156, 233 Marnix Academie, 72
International Panel of Experts on Gifted Master-Förderprogramm, 201
Education (iPEGE), 176, 186, 219 Master program, 12, 21, 51, 55, 60, 63, 80,
International Standard Classification 102, 109, 114, 119, 186, 195–197,
of Education (ISCED), 22, 24, 33 201, 203, 206, 208, 209, 225, 235,
iPEGE. See International Panel of Experts 261–263, 273
on Gifted Education (iPEGE) Mattsson, L., 18, 38, 144–146, 148, 303, 307
ISCED. See International Standard Max Planck society, 184
Classification of Education (ISCED) Max Weber-Program, 187, 203
Iselinge Hogeschool, 67 Mellroth, E., 148, 302, 306
Mensa, 80, 128, 144, 146
Mentiqa schools, 111
J Millennium Youth Camp, 159, 160, 276
Jantelagen. See Law of Jante Mission statement, 11, 28, 273, 276
Janteloven. See Law of Jante Mönks, F., 5, 45, 51
Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 6 Mono-disciplinary, 54
Jugend forscht, 176, 185 Müller-Oppliger, V., 229, 233, 234, 236,
Junge Akademie, 201–202 303, 317
Junior College, 47, 58, 185 Multidisciplinary, 12, 54, 62, 68, 69, 72, 193
Multilingualism, 91–97, 229
K
Kangaroo classes, 80 N
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 83–85 National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC),
Kieboom, T., 82 5, 11, 12, 15, 52, 253, 276
KinderUni, 176, 218, 234 Nationale Denktank, 55
KMK. See Kultusminister Konferenz (KMK) Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatieorganisatie
Kullander, A., 148, 306 (NVAO), 42
Kultusminister Konferenz (KMK), 179, 180, Netzwerk Begabungsförderung, 234–236
182, 188–190 NHL University of Applied Sciences, 70
Kuusisto, E., 153, 156, 158–160 Nordic Council, 100, 102
Nordic countries, 6, 8, 16, 17, 19, 35, 81, 96,
99–103, 109, 144, 148, 157, 158, 163,
L 165, 171, 241, 244–245, 247, 248,
Laboratory, 20, 52, 86, 120, 270 253, 257–258, 260,
Lahjakas, 158 262, 263, 267
Language honors program, 163 Nordic Master Programs, 102, 134, 148, 171
Language profile, 117, 118, 277 Nordic Talent Network, 102, 103, 111, 113,
Law of Jante, 100, 109, 144, 257, 267 134, 148, 159, 171, 244, 253
Leervoorsprong, 50, 82 Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in
Leiden Leadership Programme, 60 Education (NOKUT), 129, 132, 133
Leiden University, 47, 48, 51, 54, 60, 71 NVAO. See Nederlands-Vlaamse
Leistungsstark, 94 Accreditatieorganisatie (NVAO)
Leuphana University Lüneburg, 193, 194
Liberal arts and sciences colleges, 12, 54, 57,
193, 194, 197, 277 O
Liberal arts college, 62, 256 Optagelse, 108
Lisbon Recognition Convention, 6 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
LISSA prizes, 234 Development (OECD), 18–20, 25–27,
Local experts, 4, 9, 32 32, 47, 77, 96, 105, 112, 128, 131, 134,
Lycée, 94–96, 231 139, 140, 150, 153, 182, 229, 244
Index 333
Österreichische Zentrum für Roskilde University, 117–118, 277

Begabtenförderung und Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences,
Begabungsforschung (ÖZBF), 54, 55, 68
217–220, 245, 253, 259
Outflow, 13, 35–36
Outreaching Honours Program, 62 S
ÖZBF. See Österreichische Zentrum für Saarland University, 200–201
Begabtenförderung und Samordna Opptak, 129
Begabungsforschung (ÖZBF) Sandemose, A., 100–101
Särbegåvade barn, 145
SAT, 193
P Saxion University of Applied Sciences, 69
Pabo, 54, 72 Scandinavia, 100, 101, 147
PaboPlus, 67 Scholarships, 37, 68, 95, 116, 134, 150, 186,
Päivölä, 159, 276 187, 190, 202, 203, 219, 235, 236
Persson, R.S., 5, 16, 17, 38, 45, 101, 144, 147, Schweizerische Studienstiftung, 234, 235
148, 271, 272, 302, 304, 305, 306, 308 Schweizer Jugend forscht, 234, 235
Pflüger, R., 5, 144 ScienceTalenter, 102, 110–112
Physiotherapy Talent Palette, 122 Sekundarstufe I, 180, 185
Pioneers, 4, 16, 27–28, 103, 254, 256, 257, Sekundarstufe II, 180, 185
267, 269, 277 Selectiveness, 16, 20–22, 242, 246, 247, 257,
Platform Bèta Techniek, 45, 51 258, 261
PREMIUM, 62 Self-selection, 263
Private foundations, 176, 179, 184, 185, 188, Senter for Fremragende Forskning (SFF),
234, 245, 259, 263, 277 131, 132
Private university, 35, 49, 53, 64, 149, 194, Senter for Fremragende Utdanning (SFU),
198, 216, 233 132–136
Professionshøjskole, 33, 109 Shanghai list, 23, 26, 48, 184
Programme for International Student Single-structure education, 33, 101, 244
Assessment (PISA), 18–20, 25–27, 32, Sirius compass, 13
47, 77, 96, 112, 128, 131, 134, 139, Sirius Programme, 3, 12, 13, 43, 45, 50–53,
148, 150, 153, 156, 160, 170, 182, 244, 55, 57, 65, 67, 105, 110, 118, 119,
246, 255 122, 242, 251, 253, 258,
Projets d’établissement, 96 260, 267, 276
Skoleflinke barn, 131
Skolverket, 139, 141, 145, 146
Q Social collectivism, 17, 101
Quetelet Colleges, 85 Socrates International Honour Society, 55
Spatial scales, 14
Spetsutbildningar, 145–147
R Sprint class, 45
Radboud University Nijmegen, 45, 47, 51, 61–62 State Secretariat for Education, Research and
Rannis, 169 Innovation (SERI), 229–231, 234, 237
Realschule, 180, 182 Stenden University of Applied Sciences, 71
Research Centre for Talent Development in Stiftung für hochbegabte Kinder, 234
Higher Education and Society, 4, 51, 52 Stipendienprogramme, 219
Research in Corporate Communication, 117, Stipendium, 179, 187
256 StipendiumPlus, 186, 187, 263–264
Research universities, 15, 26–28, 33, 35, 48, Student-based approach, 273
49, 51, 53–64, 71, 108–109, 114, 180, Studium Excellentie, 65
190, 242, 252, 254, 255 Studium Individuale, 194
Resilience, 19, 20, 131 Surdoués, 82, 235
Retention, 11, 48 Sveegaard, Uffe, 102, 112, 303, 310
334 Index
T Ungdomsskole, 128
Talangfulla elever, 145 Uni@Lycées, 95
Talentarbejdsgruppe, 110, 111 Universiteit Gent, 47. See also Ghent
TalentCamp05, 103, 110 University
Talentcenter, 113 Université Métropolitaine, 88, 96
Talent Centre Budapest, 5–6 Universities of applied sciences, 27, 33, 35,
Talent development, 3–6, 8, 16–19, 51, 52, 82, 38, 48–55, 64–73, 77, 83, 154, 156,
96, 102–103, 105–123, 158, 168, 170, 177, 180, 182, 183, 216, 230, 231, 233,
171, 176, 184–187, 193, 235, 241, 244, 236, 237, 242, 252, 255
249, 251–267, 269–277 University College Freiburg, 197
Talenteprogramm, 189, 218 University College Lillebaelt, 121–122
Talentforløb Physics and Astronomy, 116 University College Maastricht, 54, 62, 189
Talentvolle studenten, 50, 82 University College Roosevelt, 54, 58
Task Force for Giftedness Research and Gifted University colleges, 33, 35, 38, 49, 54, 63, 70,
Education, 217, 219 80, 109, 111, 112, 115, 116, 128–130,
Technical University Delft (TUD), 61 135, 143, 146, 149, 216, 244, 255, 277
Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, University College Utrecht, 38, 47, 54, 58, 189
195–197 University of Aarhus, 109, 116
Technical University Munich (TUM), University of Amsterdam (UvA), 48, 54,
184, 201–203, 205–209 57–59, 73
Technical University of Denmark (DTU), University of Antwerp (UAntwerp), 87–88
109, 114, 119–121, 275 University of Applied Sciences Leiden, 71
Technical University of Vienna, 226, 275 University of Freiburg, 193, 197–198, 277
Tertiary education, 17, 22–24, 33, 108, 129, University of Groningen (RUG), 59
168, 183, 213, 214, 218–220, 245, 261 University of Oldenburg, 195
The Hague University of Applied Sciences, 70 University of Oulu, 163
Theological University of the Reformed University of Paderborn, 200
Churches Kampen, 53–54, 64 University of Regensburg, 201, 202, 205–206
Three-tier system, 21 University of Southern Denmark,
Tier-one universities, 35, 231, 233 116–117, 256
Tilburg University (TilU), 62–63 University of Turku, 162–163
TilU. See Tilburg University (TilU) University of Twente (UT), 54, 63
Times Higher Education World University University of Ulm, 198
Rankings, 23, 26–28, 48, 80, 109, 130, University rankings, 23, 24, 26–28, 48, 109,
216, 231, 255 130, 184, 216, 231, 255
Tirri, K., 16, 153, 158–160 UT. See University of Twente (UT)
TopClass, 69 U-Talent, 58
Top Teacher Program, 69 Utrecht Law College, 58
Transdisciplinary, 69, 207 Utrecht University (UU), 47, 48, 52, 54,
TUD. See Technical University Delft (TUD) 58, 190
TUE. See TU/Eindhoven (TUE) UU. See Utrecht University (UU)
TU/Eindhoven (TUE), 63–64 UvA. See University of Amsterdam (UvA)
Tuition fees, 20, 22, 49, 79, 101, 168, 171,
179, 183, 230, 233, 236, 264
TUM. See Technical University Munich V
(TUM) Vandvik, Vigdis, 132, 303, 314
Tuthetop, 226 Van Eijl, P., 11–13, 35
Twin bachelor, 36 VET. See Vocational education
and training (VET)
Videncenter, 264
U Videregående skole, 126, 128
UAntwerp. See University of Antwerp Vienna University of Economics
(UAntwerp) and Business, 216, 223–226, 275
UNESCO, 22, 32, 33, 77 Vitebegjærlige barn, 131
Index 335
Vmbo, 44, 45 Windesheim Honours College, 70

Vocational education and training (VET), Windesheim University
129, 140, 231, 234 of Applied Sciences, 70
VU University Amsterdam, 57, 59–60 WU Top League, 223–225, 264
Vwo, 44–45, 48, 72, 126, 247
Y
W Yliopisto, 156
Wageningen UR, 64 Young Bachelor program, 72
Walloon, 42, 96
War for talent, 24–25, 264
White Paper, 217, 219, 220 Z
WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management, Zuyd University of Applied
198–199, 272 Sciences, 70

2015 Marca Wolfensberger Dezvoltareapromovarea Talentelor Olanda Belgia Danemarca Norvegia Luxembourg Germania Austria Elvetia

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2015 Marca Wolfensberger Dezvoltareapromovarea Talentelor Olanda Belgia Danemarca Norvegia Luxembourg Germania Austria Elvetia

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Dr. Marca V.C.

ISBN 978-3-319-12918-1 ISBN 978-3-319-12919-8 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015931650

Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

Printed on acid-free paper

Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media

Nordic, and German-Speaking Countries, adds an important chapter in the growing

general. The Sirius Programme network, established in Holland in 2008 with

the current attention to talent development in Europe and elsewhere, to preparing

President, National Collegiate Honors Council Barry Falk

The Netherlands Marca V.C. Wolfensberger

Part I Introducing Talent Development and Honors

Part II The Benelux Countries

4 The Netherlands: Focus on Excellence,

4.5.21 Marnix Academie ........................................................... 72

Part III The Nordic Countries

7 Denmark: Strong Focus on Talent Development ................................. 105

9 Sweden: Incentive to Move Towards More Differentiation................. 139

Part IV The German-Speaking Countries

12 Germany: Foundations Supporting Talents ......................................... 179

12.4.10 University of Regensburg............................................... 201

Part V Talent Development and Honors in European

15 A Comparative Perspective .................................................................... 241

16.4 Ideological Factors ......................................................................... 257

Appendices ....................................................................................................... 279

Index ................................................................................................................. 329

Eurostat Statistical bureau of the European Union.

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

© The Author(s) 2015 3

do exist in different European countries. In a 2005 report, Dutch researchers found

1.1 Europe and USA

We refer to educational offers for talented students in higher education mostly as

report about best practices in talent support in education in different countries

1.2 Three Clusters of Countries

Table 1.1 Basic characteristics of researched countries (Eurostat 2014)

1.3 Five Parts

The creation of this book is a truly internationally collaborative effort. Hundreds

2.1 Defining Honors Programs

Defining an honors program is central for an inventory of such programs.

© The Author(s) 2015 11

2.2 Types, Elements and Scales of Honors Programs

Honors programs exist in many different forms. Following Wolfensberger et al.

2.3 Talented and Motivated

We will discuss the culture towards excellence in the different countries,

2.4 Reasons to Develop Honors Programs

We identify eight factors influencing the development of honors programs in a

2.4.1 Culture Towards Excellence

2.4.2 Political Views Towards Excellence

2.4.3 Educational Philosophy

Table 2.2 Equity in education in PISA 2012 (OECD 2013b, p. 15)

2.4.4 Structure and Selectiveness of Education System

2.4.5 Competition Between Institutions

In many countries, funding education institutions is based on student numbers,

2.4.6 Labor Market Conditions

2.4.7 National Results in Comparative Research

Evaluation of educational achievements in international rankings is important for

2.4.8 Innovators and Pioneers

Szervezetek Szövetsége/Geniusz Books. Retrieved from: https://www.pef.uni-lj.si/fileadmin/

© The Author(s) 2015 31

3.2 Education Systems

To facilitate comparison across education systems, we mostly used openly available

Attached to these diagrams is an extensive standardized legend and explanation.

3.3 Programs per Higher Education Institution