EUA is currently looking to appoint three new members to the Steering Committee of the EUA Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE), to replace outgoing members. The EUA-CDE Steering Committee advises EUA on issues related to doctoral education and also prepares and implements the EUA-CDE work programme.
For more information about EUA-CDE please see: www.eua.be/cde
More details on how to apply by 31 October 2014 can be found here. More...

At a symposium organised by the Irish Universities’ Association on 29 September, Thomas Estermann, EUA Director for Governance, Funding and Public Policy Development, presented EUA’s analysis of university autonomy in Ireland in 2014.
The characteristics of the regulatory framework in which Irish universities operate were analysed according to the EUA Autonomy Scorecard methodology, which has been previously used to compare and benchmark 29 higher education systems in Europe.
The symposium, entitled “21st century universities: performance and sustainability”, was organised by the Irish university sector in the context of the ongoing policy debate in the country around university funding and governance. More...

EUA has published a call for interest to host its Annual Conference and General Assembly 2016 and would like to encourage its members to submit a declaration of interest before the deadline of 15 December 2014.
EUA Annual Conferences (held in late March/April) are a unique platform for discussion, and an unrivalled opportunity for university leaders to network with peers from Europe and other parts of the world. Through these events individual university leaders can contribute to shaping policy at European level, and gain valuable information on the latest trends and developments. The annual General Assembly of EUA members is also an integral part of the Annual Conference.
EUA takes account of geographic balance in deciding upon the location of its conferences as well as of ease of access. Please note that applications should be from EUA members only.
The full criteria for hosting the event can be downloaded here. More...

The European Commission recently announced the publication of the “Erasmus Impact Study – Effects of mobility on the skills and employability of students and the internationalisation of higher education institutions”. Ministers at the recent Competitiveness Council discussed a number of issues related to research including progress on the European Research Area, while the candidates proposed as Commissioners for the next European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker have been taking part in hearings at the European Parliament.
Erasmus Impact Study
The European Commission (EC) recently announced the publication of the “Erasmus Impact Study – Effects of mobility on the skills and employability of students and the internationalisation of higher education institutions”. More...

On 10 September, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker announced the composition of his team, who will lead EU policy making for the coming five years.  The field of education remains within the competences of the Commissioner for Education, culture, youth and citizenship, assigned to the Hungarian candidate Tibor Navracsics. However, the areas of skills and multilingualism – traditionally linked with education – are now covered by the Commissioner for Employment, social affairs, skills and labour mobility with the Belgian incumbent Marianne Thyssen. Research will continue to be under the responsibility of the Commissioner for Research, science and innovation, assigned to Carlos Moedas from Portugal. Nevertheless, the Joint Research Centre – previously under the scope of the Directorate-General (DG) Research and Innovation – will now belong to DG Education and Culture.
Press Release European Commission. More...

The authoritative annual publication on the state of education around the world is out. On 9 September, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the 2014 edition of its Education at a Glance, featuring data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems in the OECD’s 34 member countries – of which 21 are European Union member states. The report includes as well a number of OECD partner countries like Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
Read the full report: OECD - Education at a Glance 2014. More...

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) deepens its traditionally close cooperation with universities and academic partners in Iran by opening an Information Centre in the country’s capital. The Centre informs and advises students and academics from Iran about exchange opportunities with Germany. 
Germany is an attractive destination for Iranian students and academics. More than 6000 Iranian citizens are registered at German universities.
Press release (in German):DAAD 
Website DAAD Information Centre in Teheran. More...

On 29^th of September, the new Erasmus+ programme was launched in France with a press conference. The event was organised jointly by the Commissioner responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou and French Ministers (new Minister for national education, higher education and research Najat Vallaud Belkacem, Minister of labour, employment and social dialogue François Rebsamen, and Minister of urban affairs, youth and sport Patrick Kanner). During the conference, Director of the 2e2F Agency (Europe-Education-Formation France) Antoine Godbert announced the new name of the French National agency: French Erasmus+ national agency/ Education and training.
More on Erasmus+ in France (in French): Programme de l'Union européenne pour l'éducation, la formation, la jeunesse et le sport 2014-2020. More...

All colleagues working with international joint degrees are invited to complete the JDAZ survey to provide feedback on a manual on joint degrees. To guarantee the practical use of the guide, your voice is very important! Please read one or more chapters of your choice and complete the questionnaire via this link by 24 October 2014.
This  survey is part of the Erasmus Mundus Action 3 Project Joint Degrees from A to Z (JDAZ), coordinated by NUFFIC. The JDAZ project aims to provide clarity for all those involved in developing and managing joint programmes, by developing a reference guide on joint degrees bringing together all practical guidelines and information on joint programmes.
More information: NUFFIC. More...

You’ve likely been invited to use live chat when shopping online or seen companies offering training for their own staff or clients using webinars. In the field of higher education, these tools have also become increasingly popular among universities in countries such as the US, Australia, and the UK. Early adopters of webinars and live chat in the higher education sector have been using them for different purposes, such as training library users, providing IT support, tracing alumni, conducting joint study courses, marketing study programmes, and recruiting (international) students, etc. Their systematic use for student recruitment is, nevertheless, a very recent phenomenon and the level of professionalization varies across institutions and even individual academic programmes and departments. Additionally, to celebrate the launch of this new service, StudyPortals is offering 10 free webinars including support, promotion and feedback for ACA members. You can directly contact StudyPortals to make use of this offer at educoach@studyportals.com. The free offers are given out on a first-come-first-served basis.
EduCoach
Learn more about ACA’s role in the EduCoach project: ACA. More...