As of autumn 2016, five Swedish universities have been offering a new course for newly-arrived teachers and preschool teachers.
The initiative is part of a fast track training scheme initiated by the Swedish government with the goal of helping new migrants with professional qualifications from their home countries get jobs in sectors where there is currently a shortage of workers. The course combines studying theory and Swedish language at university with a 26-week internship at a school or pre-school. It is also partly given in Arabic, so that the newly-arrived teachers can gain an understanding of the Swedish school system as quickly as possible. The fast-track system means that these new arrivals can gain work experience, and eventually full employment, in a short time. More...

After three years of discussions, the Lithuanian Parliament has approved a new Law on Science and Studies. The new law will come into force on 1 January 2017.
There are several major changes in the new legislation that will greatly affect the quality of studies in Lithuania. Firstly, the new law ensures that minimal enrolment criteria shall apply to both those who apply for state-funded study places and those who choose to self-finance their studies. Secondly, the new law makes it possible for public higher education institutions to sign contracts with the Ministry of Education. The contracts can be signed for a period of 3 years and will define the key activity areas of higher education institutions and their respective enrolment criteria. In cases where the performance of a higher education institution meets the provisions of the signed contract, the institution may be entitled to an increase in state funding of up to 5% more than initially assigned by the state budget. More...

The new Eurydice 'Mobility Scoreboard: Higher Education' background report includes six indicators in five thematic areas: information and guidance; foreign language preparation; portability of grants and loans; support provided to students with low socio-economic background; recognition of learning outcomes and qualifications. It has been produced to support the European Commission’s Mobility Scoreboard, jointly developed with CEDEFOP for IVET indicators to follow up on the 2011 'Youth on the Move' Recommendation of the Council of the European Union promoting the learning mobility of young people. A common online platform features dynamic maps that allow the user to understand the policy environment for learning mobility in Europe at a glance. The purpose of the Mobility Scoreboard is to provide a framework for monitoring progress made by European countries in promoting, and removing obstacles to, learning mobility. More...

On 28 November 2016 the Federation and the Länder officially launched the National Decade for Literacy and Basic Education 2016 to 2026 (Nationale Dekade für Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung 2016 bis 2026). The National Decade builds on the findings and results of the National Strategy for Literacy and Basic Education of Adults (Nationale Strategie für Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung Erwachsener) and is designed to raise reading and writing competences as well as the level of basic education of adults in Germany. More...

Are education systems focusing on developing the right skills at school and universities? Societies are ageing, workforces are shrinking, productivity is slowing, radicalism is growing, and young people are aspiring to jobs with maximum security. Is Europe losing its dynamism? Its innovative capacity? And if things continue on the same path, what will be the consequences for our way of living and position on the international stage?
A recent Eurydice report on entrepreneurship education sheds some light on this question. It suggests that most education systems (29 out of 38) have a strategy in place for developing entrepreneurship education. However, it also identifies the lack of clear learning outcomes and the link to assessment as one of the main hindrances to the development of effective and high quality entrepreneurship education. More...