On 17-18 June in Brussels, 200 stakeholders came together at the European Commission conference "We Mean Business – Trainees on the Move" to share experience on traineeships abroad for vocational training and higher education students.
These traineeships are an increasingly popular option under the Lifelong Learning Programme, bringing skills benefits for both the students and the companies involved.
The proposed future programme for education, training, youth and sport offers many more opportunities for learners to undertake a traineeship in a company in another country, and the conference was an opportunity to share experience of how to make the most of this type of learning mobility.
The conference gathered a wide range of stakeholders working on transnational traineeships, from universities and vocational education and training providers, to Chambers of commerce and skilled crafts, companies, former trainees and Lifelong Learning Programme National Agencies, all sharing the goal of ensuring quality in transnational traineeships. Issues in the spotlight included the need for strong networks, both national and European, to help ensure the best match between the needs and expectations of students and companies, the wish for easier access to information and support on organising traineeships, and plans to build on the current Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci quality framework in the future EU funding programme.
More information

• The Event
• The 'We mean Business' campaign

The international higher education landscape is changing dramatically in shape and size, with greater competition from countries such as China and India. This calls for an overhaul in the way Europe's 4 000 universities operate - not only internationally, but also in how they deliver education to European students in their home countries.
Today, the European Commission launches a new strategy, 'European higher education in the world' aiming to ensure European graduates gain the international skills they need to work anywhere in the world and that Europe remains the most attractive destination for international students. Erasmus+, the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport, will allocate more than €400 million a year to support international student exchanges and increased cooperation between European universities and their partners worldwide.
Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "European universities need to think global. They must act strategically to capitalise on Europe's reputation for top quality higher education. They need to promote international mobility of students and staff, provide world-class innovative curricula, as well as excellence in teaching and research. While many European universities have good links inside the EU, many lack a clear strategy for strengthening ties with non-European partners. This urgently needs to change. The Commission will support Member States so that they can develop their international higher education networks. There is no one-size-fits-all model for this: countries need to play to their strengths." Read more...

A new study shows that cross-border higher education affects only a very small minority of students within the EU, but it is on an upward curve.
The study maps the intensity and spread of the cross-border provision of higher education through franchising and validation agreements and the establishment of branch campuses. It also looks at whether and how Member States regulate this, and into issues of quality assurance.
The study finds that levels of cross-border provision of higher education are highest where outgoing student mobility is also high. This might suggest that insufficient domestic supply, limited to demand in specific areas, might be an important factor behind the increase in this kind of educational arrangement.
Levels of regulation vary among the Member States, and mainly concern incoming operators; countries tend not to regulate the 'export' of higher education. There is an overall lack of hard evidence as to the effects on quality. In terms of perception of the phenomenon, Ministries and quality assurance agencies tend to be rather neutral with regard to both benefits and perceived risks; providers tend to perceive fewer risks and more benefits, whilst rectors' conferences and umbrella organisations tend to see fewer benefits. Findings in the study suggest that a potentially fruitful field of action would relate to improving quality assurance of this type of provision of higher education.
More information

• Final report
• Annexes

Helsinki, Finland on 26 and 27 April 2013
European Ministers have backed the creation of a Europe-wide platform to tackle corruption and fraud in education and an ethical code for teachers. Meeting at the Council of Europe’s 24th Education Ministers Conference in Helsinki (Finlandia Hall) – 26-27 April – ministers and high-level delegations from 43 European States, as well as Mexico and the European Union, have been discussing ‘Governance and Quality Education’.
The platform and ethical code are part of a five-point plan agreed by Ministers today to ensure access to an education of quality for every pupil and student in Europe and beyond, including Roma and other vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
The platform would provide training, codes of conduct, accreditation and quality assurance and a space to share best practice.
The ministerial Conference be dedicated to governance and quality education and highlight contemporary challenges in the implementation of governance and quality standards based on the vision of the Council of Europe.
This 24th Session provided ministers with the opportunity to focus on the roles and responsibilities of public authorities and gain knowledge and share effective results of policies, local contribution and international co-operation in ensuring good governance and quality education for all.

Final Declaration on the theme of Governance and Quality Education, adopted on 27 April 2013 in Helsinki, Finland

Programme

Speeches - Opening Session

• Opening speech from the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Thorbjorn Jagland
• Opening speech from the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, Ms Roser Suñé, Minister of Education of Andorra
• Opening speech from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Mr Jean-Claude Frecon
• Opening address by Mr Jukka Gustafsson, Minister of Education and Science of Finland
• Opening address by Mr Eero Heinäluoma, Speaker of the Parliament of Finland
• Opening address by Ms Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissionner responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

Press release.

Council of Europe keynote at Conference on Higher Education in Central, Eastern and South East Europe
On July 3, the Council of Europe delivered one of two keynote presentations at the opening of the conference “Neighbours.HigherEducation.Cooperation”, which was organized by the Austrian Academic Exchange Service (OEAD). The conference, which was held in Vienna, gathered some 250 participants and was opened by the Austrian Minister of Science and Research, Professor Karlheinz Töchterle. The keynote addresses on “Development of Higher Education Cooperation with the CEE Region – Why do we need to cooperate?” were given by Dr. Erhard Busek, former Vice Chancellor of Austria and former Minister of Science and Research as well as of Education, and Sjur Bergan, Head of the Council of Europe’s Education Department.
The conference material is now available on line.
Documentation
Programme
CVs of Speakers and Chairs
Actual Participants List  
- listed alphabetcially
- listed according to participation in contact seminars
Links and Reading List
Press release by the Austrian Press Agency (in German)
Conference Photos - 1st day (link to the Austrian Press Agency)
Conference Photos (link to Picasa)
Audio Files (coming soon)
Welcome Speech by KARLHEINZ TÖCHTERLE
Development of Higher Education Cooperation with the CEE Region – Why do we need to cooperate? 
Inputs by SJUR BERGAN and ERHARD BUSEK
Panel Discussion: Fostering Academic Cooperation in the Region – Potentials and Opportunities
Audio File
HE Cooperation within the European Programme 2014 – 2020
Presentations by JORDI CURELL GOTOR and ERNST GESSLBAUER
Services & Programmes of the Austrian Exchange Service (OeAD-GmbH)
Presentation by CHRISTINE JUEN
CEEPUS / Central European Exchange Program for University Studies
Presentation by ELISABETH SORANTIN
Good Practice in Mobility & Cooperation
Presentations by JÜRGEN BUSCH and VLADIMIR MRŠA
The Need of Cooperation in Higher Education and Reading Research 
Presentation by ALEXANDER KIOSSEV
The Future of Higher Education Cooperation with and within the CEE Region
Input by PAVEL ZGAGA
Thematic Workshops
MOBILITY & FLEXIBILITY OF CURRICULA  
SUMMARY, Inputs by LIGIA DECA and URBAN KORDEŠ
ACCREDITATION & RECOGNITION
SUMMARY, Inputs by CHRISTINA ROZSNYAI and MIMOZA MORINA
MOBILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION STAFF
SUMMARY, Inputs by MANJA KLEMENČIČ and MILAN KATUNINEC
BRAIN CIRCULATION (Panel Discussion)
SUMMARY, Inputs by ABDYLMENAF SEJDINI, MAROŠ KORMAN, INES SUH and BARBARA HINTERSTOISSER
COOPERATION BETWEEN HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE LABOUR MARKET INCLUDING THE ROLE OF PLACEMENTS / INTERNSHIPS (Panel Discussion)
SUMMARY, Inputs by NEVENA VUKSANOVIĆ, OLEKSII IVANOVYCH OLEKSIUK and JÓZSEF TEMESI
THE KNOWLEDGE TRIANGLE (Panel Discussion)
SUMMARY, Inputs by SAŠO JOSIMOVSKI, MILE DŽELALIJA and MIROSLAV VESKOVIĆ
QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION COOPERATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF INITIATIVES
SUMMARY, Inputs by ANDREAS WEISSENBÄCK and BORČO ALEKSOV
Contact Seminars
Compendium for Contact Seminars
Poster Presentation
HUMANITIES,POLITICAL SCIENCE & LAW 
Presentations by GEORGETA CHIRLEŞAN, DANIEL KLIMOVSKÝ, NENAD KOPRIVICA and JOHANNES MICHAEL RAINER
EDUCATION
Presentations by ROMIŢĂ IUCU, SUSANNE LINHOFER and IVAN Prelovský
LANGUAGES,CULTURAL STUDIES, MEDIA & JOURNALISM
Presentations by THOMAS ALFRED BAUER and OLIVER VUJOVIĆ
MUSIC & ARTS
Presentations by LUCIA COSTINESCU, PETER PURG and GEORG SCHULZ
ECONOMICS,BUSINESS STUDIES & TOURISM 
Presentations by SAMO PAVLIN and CARMEN NASTASE
TECHNICAL STUDIES, NATURAL SCIENCES & LIFE SCIENCES
Presentations by RAJNA ŠOŠIĆKLINDŽIĆ, ZENAN ŠABANAC and VIKTÓRIA ZSÓK.

During its sixth meeting held in Split on the 19 June, the Lisbon recognition convention Committee adopted a new subsidiarity text on “The use of Qualifications Framework in the recognition of foreign qualifications”. The development of national qualifications frameworks provides a new tool for transparency and comparability for the recognition of qualifications. This new text takes notes of this situation and indicates general guidelines for their use.
Explanatory memorandum.
Preamble
The Preamble builds on the existing legal framework for the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education, as elaborated by the Council of Europe and UNESCO. It places the Recommendation in the context of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention and the European Higher Education Area and points to the main developments that call for a common understanding on how to use qualifications frameworks in the recognition of foreign qualifications. Specific attention is drawn to other parties or entities developing qualifications frameworks especially in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF LLL)¹ and to qualifications frameworks developed or being developed in countries party to the Lisbon Recognition Convention outside the European Higher Education Area. Read the Explanatory memorandum.

Different European language communities speaking with one voice.
The Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) is a pan-European network created with the support of the European Commission and led by different state and regional governments comprising universities, associations and NGO’s working in the field of language policy and planning for Constitutional, Regional and Small-State Languages (CRSS) across Europe.
The NPLD works to raise awareness at a European level on the positive aspects of linguistic diversity, to portray languages as an opportunity for the personal, social and economic development of Europe and to exchange best practices among policy makers, practitioners, researchers and experts across Europe.
The NPLD includes a broad range of languages – from official EU languages such as Estonian, Irish, Swedish or Finnish – to languages with official statuts in their territories such as Basque, Catalan, Galician, Welsh, Frisian and other language communities without official recognition but highly vibrant such as Breton, Corsican, Occitan, Cornish or Sami, among others.
The NPLD is open to all CRSS language communities, including public bodies, institutions, associations, universities, and civil society working in the field of linguistic diversity and multilingualism across Europe. For more information, visit the NPLD’s website

The University of Naples "L'Orientale" invites researchers and scholars to submit proposals for individual papers on the theme "Language and Diversity Discourse".
The Conference, scheduled on 10-12 October 2013 in Naples, will prompt a reflection on: