University representatives gather to discuss ‘Changing Landscapes in Learning and Teaching’

Around 350 university leaders and representatives from the higher education sector will come together this week (3-4 April) for the European University Association (EUA) Annual Conference, hosted by the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Belgium. The theme of this year’s event is “Changing Landscapes in Learning and Teaching”.
European higher education has been in constant flux for well over a decade. However, some voices are predicting that the real revolution still lies ahead, with MOOCs, growth in private for-profit providers and increased global competition given as evidence that disruptive change is already underway.
The conference will look at trends that are transforming learning and teaching, and discuss how European universities should respond. Participants will also explore the innovative teaching approaches being developed, discussed or introduced, and consider their implications for the organisation of learning and teaching processes in the years to come.
The conference will be opened by: Didier Viviers, the Rector of ULB; Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth; and Maria Helena Nazaré, EUA President. Three university representatives from Finland, Italy and Germany will then provide their reflections on the conference theme.
On the second day, HE representatives from the US, China and Brazil will provide an international perspective on the future of learning and teaching before participants break into working groups to look at three themes in more detail:

• university learning and teaching in the digital age,
• the impact of the introduction of Bachelor and Master’s degrees across Europe, and
• the impact of internationalisation and mobility on learning and teaching.

The final plenary will look to the future with a panel discussion on “Learning and teaching 2020: prospects for Europe” with leaders from European universities, and representatives of the European Commission and European Students’ Union.
This will be followed by a session on the topic of massive open online courses (MOOCs), where several representatives from different universities across Europe will present their perspectives and experiences with MOOCs. The full conference programme is available here.