Atlantis Program

ECE got a very important grant from the EU to build a transatlantic Dual-Degree program.
EU - US Atlantis program Agreement N° 2006 - 4557/001 - 001 CPT CPTUSA
Transatlantical Dual-Degree Program : Preparing Students for Success in the Flat World of the 21^st Century. Started in October 2006 and will end in October 2010.
The project involves 2 European and 2 American partners with the aims of establishing dual-degree program.
The 4 partner institutions involved in the consortium, 2 in US and 2 in Europe, are :
- Wester Illinois University (WIU), Macom, Illinois;
- DePaul University's School of Computer Science, Telecommunications, and Information Sytems (CTI), Chicago, Illinois;
- École de Commerce Européenne (ECE), Lyon, France;
- Linköping University (LIU), Sweden.

The aim of the Project is to develop potential leaders in 3 countries who can deal with the triple convergence of the new technological infrastructure, innovative business processes, and global networks in the undergraduate education.
The proposed dual-degree program provides a unique combination of international business, information technology, and culture. Students will be able to earn a European bachelor's degree in an international business discipline complemented with an information technology degree from the U.S. The student of each institution will be able to develop their languages and communication skills because they will be offered courses in English, French and Swedish.

At the start of the 3^rd year of the program, all students from the U.S. and Sweden will participate in an intensive week French language and culture course. Then all students, will than take advanced courses in their selected degree program in International Business, Finance, or Marketing .
During the 2^nd semester, all students will attend Linkoping University in Sweden and before the start of term, U.S. and French students will participate in an orientation week that introduces Swedish language and culture. Students will take then credits in their major field: all students will develop a thesis at the end of the spring term in order to fulfill the requirements of their bachelor's degree from the E.U;
The 4^th year will starts with a language and orientation program that introduces E.U. students to American language, culture, and university life. Students will then begin a full year of university study at either Western Illinois University or DePaul University in their selected degree program. The participated institutions have jointly agreed to develop transfer criteria to facilitate student mobility and degree completion.

6 students have been selected by each participating institution every year and will spend a 13 month abroad period. A stipend is provided to students to assist them with expenses related to studying abroad. The European mobility stipends are calculated as 13 months of study at 1200 € per month for 6 students each year for each European partner institution. The American students get 1200 $ during 13 months from the U.S.