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It has been a full year since I last had contact with the readers of PANTA RHEI, and it is a pleasure to be able to communicate with you all again. In the last issue (No. 21/22 December 1994) it was made clear that the publication would probably not survive for financial reasons. Being a non-commercial information bulletin, fully dependent on the potential support from projects within the framework of the European programmes such as ERASMUS, COMETT and TEMPUS, it was obvious at the end of 1994 that the year 1995 would be very difficult for PANTA RHEI, because the ERASMUS ICP-project suffered from a 60% budget restriction and the COMETT UETP TECHWARE and it's projects were going through a transitional period with the new LEONARDO programme not operational until the end of the year. In fact things are worse than foreseen, LEONARDO is still not fully operational but we are hopeful that order will come out of the chaos!
The problems that have been encountered in the implementation of the LEONARDO programme have been a little discouraging. The European Commisson appears to have lost the wealth of experience gained from the successful operation of the COMETT programme. Application forms have been badly designed, selection criteria unclear or completely unknown, acknowledgement of receipt sent three months after the date of submission and, contracts still unavailabe (at the date of writing 5/2/96) a full two months after the projects starting date.
Another piece of news that the readers of PANTA RHEI should be aware of, is that only 26,9% of the 1995 budget of LEONARDO is earmarked for projects in higher education.
However, not all the news is bleak, several new TEMPUS projects in the WATER ENVIRONMENT field started up in 1995 and are supporting PANTA RHEI. Thanks for their financial and -not less important- moral support, PANTA RHEI is alive again.
This issue of PANTA RHEI is special because it contains -exceptionally- the final reports of the young researchers of the WEEL, Water Environment European Laboratories, a project from within the framework of the HUMAN CAPITAL and MOBILTY (HCM) programme of the EC (presently entitled TMR-TRAINING and MOBILITY of RESEARCHERS).
Last but not least this "new" PANTA RHEI is "flowing" on the 'net for the first time. Thanks to the enthusiasm of Simon Hall, a graduate of civil engineering from the University of Bristol, his mentor Dr. J. Davis and Dr. P. Nieuwenhuysen of the host university, PANTA RHEI has it's own place on the newly expanding information superhighway, where we can bring you the most up-to-date information as it happens, so watch this space!
As an 'old style' editor, I have doubts about certain aspects of the efficiency of communication through the Web. E-mail is without doubt an efficient tool, but the information on the Web is not yet quality controlled and 'surfing' the Web for information is often time consuming with neglible returns. Moreover, the handicaps of data transfer speed do not allow the serious 'worker' to surf everyday. Recently I read that enterprises in the US face a decline in productivity through the Internet.
We are most interested in receiving your comments on this Web site. We certainly would like to improve the classical PANTA RHEI as well as the PANTA RHEI you see before you on the Web.
If you have anything that you would like to contribute to PANTA RHEI it will be gratefully received. Please E-mail me at avdbeken@vub.ac.be, with a Cc to: shall@vub.ac.be, or fax to +32-2-6293022.
André Van der Beken
