The goals of the project will be achieved by a number of actions, among them:

•  Work and support on defining an interdepartmental institution (COSE Center).
•  Definition of a standard curriculum for education in CSE.
•  Development of course material for a standard curriculum in CSE.
•  Knowledge exchange between the project partners by means of workshops; short courses for education on specific topics and work on scientific problems of common interests.
•  Research activities oriented towards the solution of real engineering problems and preparation of case studies for textbooks. A collection with solved engineering problems with advanced computational means will be prepared for publication.

Schedule of the activities and the meetings:

[A-1] January 2002 - March 2002.

Intensive communication between the main applicant and the co-applicants aiming at detailed study of the state of research and education in the institutions they represent and involved in the principal aims of the project.

Preparatory study of the CSE curricula of ETH Zurich and the CSE programs in Europe and USA.

Specification of detailed responsibilities for the project activities, in particular the organization of the meetings, schools and courses.

This first action will prepare the background for the implementation of the project and will involve all the partners.

The milestone of this preparatory action is the First Start-Up meeting.

[A-2] January 2002 - May 2003

Preparation and dissemination of materials related to the aims of the project.

Identification of the status of CSE research and education in the involved institutions.

The purpose of this action is to discuss CSE within the organizational units of the co-applicants and their parent institutions, to investigate which model will be most appropriate for the introduction of CSE and to propose a concept for introducing CSE in the particular academic or university unit.

This will be a two-stage activity supported by the main applicant and the established Center for CSE.

The first stage comprises discussions on the core area for the CSE programs and the basic courses involved in a standard core track for CSE. Elaboration of a standard core track for CSE. A joint progress report meeting, combined with a scientific workshop and an ad hoc presentation of the Swiss experience in CSE, to be held in September 2002 in Zurich is the milestone (M2) of the first stage. It should approve the elaborated standard core track for CSE. The meeting will comprise also knowledge exchange between the project partners and presentations of scientific problems of common interest.

The second stage will be directed toward discussions on the domain-specific application areas of CSE and will be highly dependent on the local academic strengths in the participating institutions. As a result, the co-applicants are to propose a concept for introducing CSE in the particular academic or university unit. A milestone (M3) for this activity is a joint progress report meeting, to be held in Ohrid, Macedonia, where the separate concepts for the introduction of CSE will be discussed so that the participating academic and university units be ready to start the CSE experimentally in the fall of 2003. The progress report meeting will be combined with a scientific workshop and a short school for education on specific topics.

[A-3] October 2002 - April 2004

Development of detailed plans for the research and educational activities aiming at the unification of the curricula in the participating universities. Development of educational programs for various levels of education.

Preparation of course material (textbooks, lecture notes) for a standard curriculum in CSE. The scientists who will participate in this activity will be selected depending on their specific qualification and the type of the courses in the standard core track.

This will again be a two-stage action.

The first stage will be directed toward elaboration of the materials. A milestone (M4) for this stage is a joint progress report meeting, hosted by SWU in Blagoevgrad, where the first draft of the materials will be discussed.

During the second stage the course materials will be experimentally introduced in the teaching process. The milestone (M5) for this stage is the final progress report meeting, to be held April 2004 in  Sofia, where the course materials will be evaluated and (eventually) proposed for publishing.

[A-4] October 2003 - April 2004

In September 2003 the CSE curriculum will experimentally start at those participating organizational units which provide the necessary conditions. A milestone (M5) for this activity is a joint progress report meeting, to be held in Sofia, where the first results will be discussed.

[A-5] October 2002 - April 2004

Research activities in the frames of the IP project. Preparation of a volume with solved engineering problems by advanced computational means (Maple, Mathematica, Matlab, etc.) as a result of the research activities concerning the mentioned course material. A collaborative work on specific practical scientific problems of common interest within the scope of CSE.

This will be a three-stage activity, each stage having a scientific workshop as a milestone (M3), (M4), (M5), where results related to the problems solved is to be reported. Their publication will be discussed at the last meeting.

[A-6] January 2004 - May 2004

Preparation of materials and reports, intended for public distribution, on the activities and achievements of the project.