The idea about DYNET arose from the needs for a long-term establishment of a network to cover Southeast Europe in the field of Dynamics in Civil Engineering. The region needs specialized civil engineers that are deficient at the time being. This project should contribute to partially overcome such a deficiency by further education and advanced training of civil engineers.

DYNET network means institutionalized cooperation between partners from Germany (who started the initiative) and partner countries in Southeast Europe aimed at improvement of research in Southeast Europe. It also means physical establishment of a computer network for exchange of data and access to the computer capacity of the network servers in Germany, particularly those at Ruhr- University Bochum

 This should not be limited to Bochum in Germany only. From organizational aspects, the future cooperation with the Institute for Construction at the University of Stuttgart and the Institute for Construction Materials and should the occasion arise Construction Chemistry at the University of Cottbus has already been agreed. As to further professional cooperation, extension to the Institute of Construction Statistics and Construction Dynamics of RWTH-Aachen and the Bauhaus University Weimar is also envisaged.  

 Some conditions will also have to be fulfilled for the DYNET establishment. The contact between the partners participating in the project, the exchange of teaching- research material and literature shall be done gradually by electronic media in the course of time. The main prerequisite for the accomplishment of the above activities is the availability of adequate modern computer equipment to the partner universities of Southeast Europe.

 Within the frames of DYNET, fast communication should be enabled via INTERNET as an important integral part of a well functioning network. For this, an Internet connection will be created among the included faculties by means of a computer network. The equipment available at the University of Bochum shall be used and the universities in Skopje, Nis and Sarajevo shall be equipped with server client systems. This shall enable partner universities in Southeast Europe to use the high-capacity computers in Germany and establish university partnership within broad European perspectives

 l      The primer objectives of the DYNET network is practical improvement of research in Southeast Europe, scientific exchange, support to the teaching process and demonstration of interrelation. The following activities are planned:

l      Workshop on Computational Structural Dynamics in Skopje in February 2001;

l      Organization of a master course in Skopje;

l      Training of students from Southeast Europe in Bochum by participation in a master course on Computational Engineering with duration of four terms and shorter study stays in Bochum;

l      Exchange of Ph.D candidates and post-graduate students;

l      Exchange of professors from the universities in research and teaching process;

l      Lectures and seminars could be held, for instance, within the frames of the Bochum master course on Computational Engineering as well as within the frames of the master course to be held in Skopje;

l      Joint organization of professional sessions;

l      Mutual support to education process by exchange of teaching material. Advantage should be given particularly to the material from the Bochum master course which is held in English language. However, the educative material in German shall also be useful, since a lot of colleagues from the Southeast Europe know the German language;

l      Concrete support to the research of colleagues from Southeast Europe. This involves financing of hardware and literature, exchange of software, invitation to professional sessions;

l      Intensive exchange of colleagues in Southeast Europe. Particular attention should be paid to comparison of curricula in the field of Structural Mechanics and Dynamics and exchange of results from investigations;

l      Preparation of joint publications and their presentation on Internet.

 The Ruhr-University in Bochum has had long years of contacts with the universities in Skopje, Nis, and Sarajevo that shall be the very core of DYNET.

            Within the frames of the university partnership established in 1975, the Civil Engineering faculty of the University of Bochum and the University of Nis had cooperated in the field of investigation and advanced training of young scientists until politically conditioned sanctions were imposed by the European Union. The Faculty of Civil  Engineering of the Ruhr-University Bochum that is currently engaged in the project has organized seminars and block-lectures at the University of Nis on several occasions. Present professors from Nis who are included in the project, stayed as researchers at the departments of their colleagues in Bochum. The successful cooperation resulted in joint publications issued by the project partners and the successful university teaching careers of two colleagues from

The connection between the University in Skopje and the Civil Engineering Faculty of Bochum arose from the common teaching and research interests of the Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology (University of Skopje) and the Institute for Structural Engineering at the Ruhr-University, in addition to the advantage of the small distance between the University of Skopje and the partner University of Nis and the traditional good scientific cooperation between the two (Former Yugoslav) civil engineering faculties in the earthquake engineering field. In 1984, the scientific cooperation culminated with the signing of the agreement for cooperation between the two scientific institutions. To improve the teaching process, the universities of Skopje, Bochum, Bristol and Milan organized master and doctoral studies (International Post-Graduate Studies in the Field of Earthquake Engineering) at the Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology in Skopje in 1991. However, due to political reasons, the financing of the successfully started studies was cut off only after a year.

The scientific cooperation between the University of Sarajevo and the Ruhr-University Bochum started in 1995. The exchange of a colleague from the University of Sarajevo who worked at the faculty of civil engineering in Bochum brought a relevant development at the University of Bochum.

            Since the establishment of the Civil Engineering Faculty at the Ruhr-University, its highlights have been Structural Dynamics and Soil Dynamics as well as Computer Simulations and Computer Science in Engineering. These highlights of research and teaching process have been emphasized by special spheres of research like Dynamics of Bearing Structures (1982 to 1994), post-graduate program (Computational Structural Dynamics) and the improved foreign countries-oriented master studies (Computational Engineering) through DAAD. The professors of the Ruhr-University Bochum were and are still engaged with these highlights of teaching process and research.

The mentioned long years of experience in Structural Dynamics and Soil Dynamics and Computer Methods as well as the newly established master studies Computational Engineering were motivated by the wish to help, within the DAAD Program - Academic Reconstruction of Southeast Europe, the colleagues in Southeast Europe to persevere in their efforts toward improving the teaching process and research as to quality and following of modern world trends.

The idea for the establishment of a regional centre for civil engineering at the University of Skopje was based on the already available infrastructure. Namely, the Institute for Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology at the University in Skopje represents an excellent basis for the realization of the proposed project from both architectonic and personnel point of view. Particularly important are the existing conditions for performance of experiments, i.e., the availability of the shaking table, laboratories and other equipment. With its presentations at international professional meetings, this Institute has become world-wide recognized institution in the field of dynamics. This Institute had been a regional research and teaching centre before the clashes in former Yugoslavia and has remained such after the disintegration of Yugoslavia.

            The presented long term project is based on the experience in teaching process and research at Bochum.

The proposed project has two essential objectives that are very closely interrelated. One of the objectives is establishment of network connection of German faculties and faculties of Southeast Europe that shall not be limited by political borders, leading to improvement of science and education process in the states of the Southeast Europe as well as institutionalisation of exchange of scientists between the partner faculties. The network with the regional center - Skopje shall be focused on Structural Dynamics, with the name DYNET.

The main objectives of the Dynet Project are:

l      Improvement of the level of knowledge, transfer of knowledge and its practical application in structural dynamics necessary for the protection of people and properties against the effects of catastrophic earthquakes;

l      Elaboration of recommendations for harmonization of education, training programs and teaching materials which will finally lead to greater coherence of higher engineering degrees and diplomas;

l      Increase of mobility of professors and students, which plays a major role in the process of educational, social and cultural relationships;

l      Co-operation with the governmental local authorities in training of leading staff for improvement of urban planning in earthquake prone regions as well as quality control in the current design and construction practice;

l      Harmonization of regulations for construction in Southeast Europe with Western European ones, for the purpose of faster integration of Southeast Europe into the European trends.

In addition to the establishment of DYNET, a Master-Course is planned to be organized at the Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology (IZIIS) at the University in Skopje to improve education of graduate students in the related field. The improvement of the teaching process and research at the high education centers included in the network shall make them attractive again for promising  students in Southeast Europe. This shall have long term effects as to the decrease of the rate of emigration of good students and young scientists and shall result in permanent re-evaluation of university studies and economic development of the region. The master course in Skopje should serve as an example for organization of similar courses at other faculties within the Southeast Europe network. The extension of these master courses to other important issues could be set out as further goal. The proposed project shall enable sustainable and permanently extendible offers.

DYNET should create the basis for permanent cooperation between the countries of the South East Europe and Germany, with the possibility of being extended to other countries. In addition to the support given to education of students, particularly exchange of post-graduate students and young scientists, DYNET should contribute also to lively exchange of knowledge.

            Through providing of sound scientific basis and practical education, the master course offered in Skopje shall result in well trained students ready to cope with engineering practice and research, which shall make them competitive with their colleagues from other parts of Europe. In the long run, these measures shall result in economic and scientific development of the region.