The ATHENA project aims to contribute to the development, reform and modernisation of higher education systems in the Eastern Neighbouring partner countries Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine. As a structural measure, it is designed to support structural reform processes and the development of strategic frameworks at the national level. ATHENA ultimately aims to enhance the quality and relevance of higher education systems in the targeted partner countries and to increase their voluntary convergence with EU developments.
Based on an in-depth assessment of system-specific needs, ATHENA will:

• foster the transfer of good practices in order to promote efficient and effective governance and funding reforms;
• promote inclusive approaches to governance and funding reforms, involving higher education institutions, public authorities and other relevant higher education stakeholders;
• build the capacities of universities in the partner countries to modernise the management of financial and human resources.

 ATHENA project presentation.pdf

EUA has published calls for proposals for two events that it will be organising later this year: the Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) Annual Meeting that will take place at the University of Liverpool (UK) from 19 to 20 June 2014; and the 2nd EUA Funding Forum that will take place at the University of Bergamo (Italy) from 9 to 10 October 2014.

• EUA-CDE Annual Meeting: This two-day event, bringing together different stakeholders in doctoral education, will focus on the theme “Doctoral Education: Thinking globally, acting locally”. EUA-CDE is therefore inviting proposals for presentations on topics related to implementing internationalisation strategies, and the challenges of managing international doctoral programmes. More information on how to submit a proposal, by 2 April, is available in the call for presentations. 
• The theme of EUA’s 2nd Funding Forum in October will be “designing strategies for efficient funding of higher education”. The event will combine practice-oriented discussions with presentations of current developments in higher education funding. Proposals for presentations in the parallel sessions are invited within the following broad areas: performance-based funding; mergers and other concentration measures; funding for excellence (excellence schemes and competitive funding) and efficiency measures. More information is available in the call for contributions and the deadline for abstract submission is 5 May.

Further information about both events will be published in the EUA newsletter and website. EUA would also like to remind members that the call for proposals for the 9th European Quality Assurance Forum, that will take place at the University of Barcelona, Spain, from 13 to 15 November 2014, is still open. More...

EUA support for the ‘Appeal for an Open European Higher Education Area’ published by Swiss universities and research organisations
Swiss organisations active in higher education and research, including university and student associations, have launched an appeal and online petition for an “open European Higher Education Area”.
The appeal website “Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020: not without Switzerland” notes that: “Switzerland’s affiliation with the European higher education area is threatened in consequence of the yes-vote on the federal popular initiative “mass immigration” from 9 February 2014. In its initial reaction, the European Commission has excluded Switzerland from the 8th EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 and from the student exchange programme Erasmus+”. The website (available in four languages) states that “the signers of this appeal call upon decision-makers in Europe and Switzerland to enable Switzerland’s participation in these important programmes, and voice their commitment to an open European and international higher education area”. More...

The ATHENA project, which aims to foster sustainable and autonomous higher education systems in the Eastern Neighbourhood area, held its final Country Workshop last week at Yerevan State University in Armenia.
Those in attendance heard the conclusions of EUA policy analysis of the Armenian higher education system, as well as presentations from a range of international experts. Armenian stakeholders also had the opportunity to give their perspectives on the national reform process and the ways in which greater autonomy could be achieved. The ATHENA Workshop Armenia, which follows similar events in 2013 in Moldova and Ukraine, attracted over 100 national delegates, including the Deputy Minister for Education and Science, other government officials, university leaders, academic staff, representatives of civil society organisations and students. It was co-organised by EUA and the Armenian project partners. More...

EUA was involved in two sessions at the European Commission’s Innovation Convention this week in Brussels (10-11 March). As part of the EU’s Innovation Union flagship initiative, the Innovation Convention aims to provide a platform for different stakeholders to debate and inform policies that will contribute towards the building of a research and innovation eco-system in Europe that can support this objective.
EUA contributed to two of the fringe sessions held in parallel to the main programme organised by the EC. Professor Maria Helena Nazaré, EUA President, took part in a session on “The European Research Area (ERA) Partnership as backbone of the European innovation eco-system(s)” which included presentations from all of the research stakeholder organisations (SHOs) involved in the ERA stakeholder platform with the European Commission. More...

Registration for the EUA Annual Conference 2014 will be open until 21 March 2014. This year’s event, taking place at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, from 3 to 4 April is titled “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. Which trends are transforming learning and teaching, and how should European universities respond? EUA’s 2014 Annual Conference will explore innovative teaching approaches, and consider their implications for the organisation of learning and teaching processes in the years to come. More...

Following a proposal from the European Commission last year (for a directive of the European Parliament and Council), members of the European Parliament last month backed “draft”  rules aimed at improving entry and living conditions for non-EU students and researchers. MEP and rapporteur Cecilia Wikström (ALDE, SE) said there was a need for “simplified, clearer rules to make the EU more attractive”. “More foreign students and international exchanges would boost economic growth, promote innovation, create more jobs in the long term and make our member states more competitive," she added. More details on the proposed rule changes are available on the EP website. The EP said the draft legislation would now be handed over to the next European Parliament which could either “build on work done” or “decide to start afresh”. Legislation would need to be agreed upon by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU before coming into effect.

This new publication, the result of the “European Area of Recognition – A Manual for the Higher Education Institutions” (EAR HEI) project, is designed to assist and enable credential evaluators and admissions officers in higher education institutions to practice fair recognition according to the principles of the Lisbon Recognition Convention (LRC) – the regulatory framework for international academic recognition in the European region.
The EAR HEI project, funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning programme, has been carried out by a consortium led by NUFFIC and consisting of recognition experts and representatives including the European University Association, the Tuning network, the European Students’ Union, the German Rectors’ Conference and the President of the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee.
A full copy of the manual is available here. More...

CESAER’s (Conference of European Schools for advanced engineering education and research) HR taskforce is organising a conference on “HR in Academia” at Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) from 21 to 22 May 2014.
The conference will look at topics such as “Career and Leadership Development” and “Attraction, Recruitment, Selection” and will explore best practice in human resources in universities. Lesley Wilson, Secretary General of EUA, is also due to speak at the conference. More information is available on the conference website. More...

The International Tuning Academy Europe is leading (with Lumina Foundation) a research project on learning outcomes/competences, which is funded jointly by the European Commission and Lumina Foundation (USA).
The project is now running a survey of individuals holding a variety of roles in higher education. For more information on the project and direct access to the questionnaire go to this website. More...