3rd European Quality Assurance Forum. 20-22 November 2008, Budapest, Hungary

After the success of the second forum which attracted more than 500 participants from across Europe, the 3rd European Quality Assurance Forum will take place on 20-22 November 2008 at Corvinus University of Budapest.

This event aims to enable participants to discuss how higher education institutions and QA agencies are responding to new forms of accountability.  It will also analyse the unintended consequences of these new forms of accountability, and whether they have the desired impact on quality levels.

Conference Objectives:

•    To gain an understanding of how higher education institutions and QA agencies are responding to new forms of accountability
•    To analyse whether these new forms of liability have the desired impact on quality levels and to examine their unintended consequences

Addressed to rectors and vice-rectors responsible for QA, QA officers in higher education institutions, students, QA agency staff, and researchers working on higher education or the QA field.

Organized by EUA, the European Students Union (ESU), the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE)

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The early registration deadline is 3rd of October 2008.

For further information please use http://www.eua.be/index.php?id=694

Council of Europe Global Forum: Converging Competences: Diversity, Higher Education, and Sustainable Democracy. 2-3 October 2008, Strasbourg, France

The Council of Europe (CoE) and the US Steering Committee of the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy are organising a global forum on “converging competences: diversity, higher education, and sustainable democracy” on the 2-3 October in Strasbourg, France.

The forum will look to gather 200 high-level policy makers from higher education institutions and public authorities in Europe, North America, and other parts of the world with the purpose of strengthening the commitment of higher education to simultaneously advancing democratic values, citizenship, and quality of learning.

Some of the issues to be discussed in this meeting will be:

•    How to increase higher education’s leadership, commitment and promotion

•    Compare practices across a range of cultural and country contexts

•    Explore how higher education can prepare learners for responsible citizenship in a world characterized by broad international contacts and cooperation and for greater expertise in intercultural communication and understanding

•    Identify potential partners for future collaborations such as research, projects, student, faculty, or staff exchanges, and for developing resources to further education for democracy and intercultural dialogue

Deadline for registration is the 1 August 2008.

For further information about this event please use
http://www.eua.be/fileadmin/user_upload/files/newsletter/Programme_E.pdf or visit
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/Forum7_Converging_competences
 

Call for host – 4th European Quality Assurance Forum, November 2009

The European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) is an annual European conference on quality assurance in higher education that brings together the main stakeholders in the field – higher education institutions, quality assurance agencies, students and researchers.

Co-organised by EUA, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), the European Students Union (ESU), and the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE), the event provides a unique European platform to discuss QA developments.

Following the successful first and second Forums (the third will take place on 20-22 November 2008 at Corvinus University, Budapest), EUA is currently looking for member institutions willing to host the Fourth Forum in November 2009 and would like to encourage institutions to submit a declaration of interest.

For further details please read
http://www.eua.be/fileadmin/user_upload/files/QAForum_2009/Call_Hosts_120608_final_for_web.pdf.

EUA would also like to stress that the call for papers for this year’s (Third) European Quality Assurance Forum is still open. The deadline for submitting your papers and posters is on 31 July 2008.

Please use http://www.eua.be/index.php?id=622 for more information.

Brussels update: Commission communication to make EU more attractive for researchers

The European Commission has also published a new communication entitled “Better careers and more mobility: a European partnership for researchers”.

The aim of the new communication is to align and focus the efforts of individual Member States to make the EU a more attractive place for researchers, and allow researchers to be more mobile between countries, institutions, and between the academic and private sectors.

Key areas for progress outlined in the document include the opening up of recruitment, meeting the social security and pension needs of mobile researchers, providing fair employment and working conditions, and ensuring that researchers have the right training and skills. The Communication is one of five policy initiatives planned by the Commission to follow up the 2007 Green Paper "The European Research Area: New Perspectives".

To read the full document please use
http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=newsalert&lg=en&year=2008&na=na-270508.

“Learning and teaching network for smaller European universities” informal workshop.

The euLEARN is a network of university teachers in European universities and other higher education institutions working together to share expertise on effective learning and teaching in universities. This initial workshop aims to bring together practitioners, mostly from smaller universities from across Europe, to share good practice, share materials and share research initiatives in order to build a network of university teachers from smaller European universities to share ability in this subject.

Venues & dates
An initial informal conference for founding members of the network is to be hosted by University of Chichester, UK, on 27-30 June 2008 starting on the Friday evening and departing Monday morning.

Topics of the inaugural conference
• Most importantly, to consider experiences and begin to identify and address shared problems in learning and teaching in European universities. Our focus will be primarily practical
• To establish in further detail priorities for the immediate future, including a programme for sharing of practical expertise in the next 1-3 years
• To consider whether the network should be a network of institutions or a network of individuals
• To address practicalities in the operation of the network
• To agree a simple organisational structure
To maximise effectiveness, there is a limited number of participants at the first meeting to 30 participants from across Europe. Of course, the network is free to grow as demand increases.
For further information please visit http://www.eulearn.eu/

Professional Development Modules by EAIE

The European Association for International Education is organizing a professional development program that will hold 2 professional modules in July and October.

• Strategies of internationalisation in higher education: A research-based analysis of developments and practice.

Organised in association with the International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER) at the University of Kassel, Germany. Monday 21 July-Friday 25 July 2008.
From almost 30 years of experience in research on internationalisation, the International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER) has developed an intensive one-week course to provide interested professionals with an up-to-date introduction to the field.

Target audience
Education professionals (EAIE members) with an academic background and involved in the internationalisation of higher education at the administrative, academic or policy level.

The deadline to register for this module is the 26 May 2008.

• Quality management in higher education

Organised in association with the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS)
Monday 13 October-Friday 17 October 2008.
The major objective of this course is to provide participants with thorough knowledge and a critical understanding of theories and practices of quality management in higher education.

Target audience
Professionals (EAIE members) with an interest in higher education management and policy and meeting the admission requirements.

The deadline to register for this module is the 18 August 2008.

For more information about these modules please visit:
http://www.eaie.org/PD/modules/2008/