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Abstract
This paper discusses the rationale underlying ‘PENTA’, an EU funded Erasmus Mundus project. In doing so, it explores the challenges of internationalising and standardising European environmental assessment (EA) practice and education to a third country audience, looking at India as a case study. It is argued that the EU EA Directives are influencing the development of EA systems internationally, leading to a standardisation of the way in which EA is practiced. The so‐called Bologna process is especially playing a crucial role in leading to the standardisation of European higher education and the EU's marketing initiatives are generating effects of internationalisation. Within this context, it is argued that an internationalised and standardised approach to EA education could improve the effectiveness of EA practice in both the developing and developed nations, and ultimately help address the environmental challenges that the world is facing today. However, harmonisation and standardisation challenges must be taken into account at an international and national level, as an internationalised EA curriculum such as that proposed by PENTA must nevertheless be relevant to different policy planning and cultural contexts.
Acknowledgements
The paper is set within the context of the PENTA project, a two‐year Erasmus Mundus project financed by the European Commission. The authors wish to acknowledge the other members of the PENTA team: Ingrid Belcakova (Faculty of Architecture, Slovak University of Technology‐lead partner), Thomas Fischer (Department of Civic Design, University of Liverpool) and Ralf Aschemann (Austrian Institute for the Development of Environmental Assessment). Information about the PENTA project can be found at www.penta-eu.net.