Dietary restrictions, flexible training schedules, visible symbols… religious beliefs give rise to demands in the workplace, too. Just like in other big cities across Belgium, cultural and religious diversity is part of daily life in Brussels, but is also a challenge for the future. Brussels boasts a multilingual, multireligious population. Almost 10% of its inhabitants are immigrants who came to Belgium less than three years ago. Belgium is therefore a land of self-conscious minorities where each federated entity is a minority that sees itself as being dominated by others. Over the past few years, more and more employers have been faced with workers demanding that their religious beliefs be taken into account. More...

EUCEN 2015 Conference which will take place in Istanbul at Boğaziçi University cordially invites scholars, graduate students, academics, researchers, professionals and public employees to present their research studies and success stories. The Steering Committee of EUCEN, the Scientific and the Organizing Committees have the pleasure to forward this invitation to attend the 47th International EUCEN Conference that will be held at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey from June 3rd to 5th in 2015.

The 2015 EUCEN Annual Conference will focus on building bridges together between higher education and vocational education, diversity in learning forms and partnerships, work on the types and forms of partnerships, share the best practises and explore the changes implied by this learning paradigm shift i.e. changes for universities and changes for diverse actors.
The three days long conference in Istanbul, where the continents meet, will offer a novel approach for Lifelong Learning (LLL) by unifying societies and discussing how to develop a strong link between the actors, the concepts and the applications.
Learning processes today are changing. Lifelong learning includes a combination of formal, informal and non-formal learning. In order to value and recognise different learning outcomes, universities as lifelong learning institutions have a significant role in creating links with different actors and bridges between different sectors and stakeholders i.e. policy makers, social partners, professional bodies, VET providers, private and public sectors. Greater collaboration and engagement with different actors is crucial.
Key note presentations by different actors will be accompanied by interactive workshops on a variety of key priorities facing ULLL. Those will offer participants the opportunity to track the policies, approaches and methodologies throughout Europe and sharing good practices through case studies and researches, as well. In addition, the participants are invited to disseminate their project outcomes in posters, to promote their project development initiatives, and to make networking to create new partnerships. EUCEN conferences have always been a media for debate and exchange of ideas, and it is a good opportunity for all stakeholders to share their experiences, issues and visions.

Sub-topics of the EUCEN 2015 Conference

1. Connecting VET and HE
   In order to reach a competitive and sustainable economy and create an inclusive society towards the 2020 goals, connecting VET and HE through more flexible learning pathways gains importance. The collaboration should refer to current needs and anticipation of future skills and competences, employability, bridging the VET & HE programs, counselling and guidance, reduction of youth unemployment, better transitions to labour market, and better opportunities for disadvantaged groups.
   What are the opportunities, threats and benefits in case of permeability and complementarity of VET and HE? What kind of new and flexible learning pathways does ULLL propose to learners? How can qualifications frameworks affect the transparency and recognition in Europe? Are ECTS and ECVET systems compatible? What would be the role of ULLL for the future needs of the labour market? How can collaboration address the issue of youth unemployment? Which new staff roles will be needed to face the challenges of individualized pathways into HE? How do Lifelong Learning Universities anticipate, manage and recognize these new roles?
2. Diversity in Learning
   New forms of learning are appearing within universities, in order to face diversity in learning forms, which are pedagogical development (i.e. problem solving, case reasoning, reverse learning, etc) and technological development (i.e. e-learning, distance learning, etc). Additionally, universities have also to take into account and integrate the previous learning and experience of adult learners. Besides the learning development, individual approaches and priorities are changing. The individuals need more flexible education systems and transition in between learning forms. Researches also show that new ways of teaching or facilitating learning for adults are needed.
   How does ULLL manage those different types of learning? What kind of changes does ULLL need to operate on their learning provision? How are the different types of learning recognised? How do ULLLs anticipate and manage their new roles for diverse form of learning?
3. Partnerships in review
   In principal, all the stakeholders should work in harmony, since there is a mutual benefit in lifelong learning for individuals, for the society and for the economy. Development of human capital of lifelong learners is particularly important in the light of demographic changes; the transition between university and employment should be also well paved. However, there are discrepancies in the policies and practices in reality.
   How to improve existing partnerships between education and training stakeholders as well as with other actors? Which kind of new partnerships are needed and how to enable them? What are the main issues in these partnerships? How to ensure the quality of training using these alliances?