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Brussels will host International Language Days on 8 and 9 March 2013 at the Square-Brussels Meeting Centre.
It is well known that learning a foreign language opens the door to more job opportunities. Successful events have been held in Italy and Spain and now, for the first time, International Language Days will take place in Brussels on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 March 2013.
During these two days, you can get information on living, studying or working in over 40 destinations in four continents. You can find out about traineeship and work opportunities abroad, opportunities to learn a foreign language or how to improve your language skills.
You will get the chance to speak to professionals who deal with stays abroad, and to people who employ foreigners and organise traineeships. You can also find out about the visas that students and workers need to study or work abroad, as well as language exams such as TOEIC and Cambridge ESOLS. There will be interesting seminars and workshops on topics such as how to write an international CV and traineeship opportunities in foreign countries.
If you are interested in learning a foreign language, improving your language skills or staying abroad for some time as a trainee or employee, do not miss International Language Days this weekend!
More on International Language Days.

The European Commission’s 'eTwinning' network, which has encouraged 100 000 schools in 33 European countries to talk to each other via the internet, will be extended from today to schools in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The launch of 'eTwinning Plus' will enable these countries to join a massive virtual classroom in which pupils and teachers can learn more about their counterparts and take part in interactive projects focused on language learning or maths, for instance. It is also an opportunity for youngsters to discover different cultures and traditions– as well as to find out what they have in common.
"eTwinning is a brilliant educational project with enormous potential to break down barriers. The contacts we have facilitated between schools are incredibly beneficial to everyone involved; eTwinning gives them the freedom to develop creative and inter-cultural educational projects, while also encouraging children to develop their ICT skills. With eTwinning Plus, we are taking this network to a new level," said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
eTwinning Plus is a pilot project initiated as part as the EU's Neighbourhood policy, under the 'Contacts between people' platform which aims to enhance dialogue with Eastern partners. The Commission plans to gradually roll out the scheme to Southern neighbourhood countries, starting with Tunisia. To start with, the eTwinning Plus platform will use English and Russian as its main languages, with French and Arabic to follow at a later stage. As well as serving as a meeting point for pupils and teachers to share ideas, it will also enable schools to find partners for joint projects.
To help establish the network, a partner support agency has been set up in each of the neighbouring countries involved. These organisations will promote eTwinning Plus at the national level, ensure it meets the needs of schools and organise training sessions for teachers. They will select participating schools on the basis of their computer equipment and knowledge of languages. They will ensure that rural and urban schools, as well as children from different socio-economic backgrounds, are involved.
The budget for eTwinning Plus is € 834 000: around half of this sum will be invested in developing the new online platform and coordination work, with the remainder allocated to co-funding the partner support agencies. The allocation by country is as follows: Armenia € 64 000, Azerbaijan € 80 000, Georgia € 64 000, Moldova € 80 000 and Ukraine € 96 000.

We recently spoke with Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector Education at Microsoft Corporation, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 2013. Salcito works with education institutions to embrace technology to optimize learning environments and student achievement.
What challenges does fomenting innovation in schools currently face?
At the moment, youth unemployment in some European Union member states exceeds 50%. The preparation of young people for the labor market has to be improved, especially since companies hire their workforce primarily on the basis of skills. Collaboration, communication, and leadership skills should be at the center of schools’ education. Read more...

The International Association of Universities (IAU) has just launched a new information service: IAU Highlights from the Press. It provides an overview of articles (in French or English) on higher education topics as they have appeared in the press worldwide. Aiming to assist leaders of IAU Member institutions and organizations keep track of trends in higher education worldwide, and also to note subjects of high interest to the press, it is sent by e-mail to IAU Members nine times/year and made available to all on the IAU Website at a later date.
The first issue is available here.
For further information, please contact: Information Centre.

A report on the uses and impact of HEFCE’s funding for widening participation (WP) shows that there is widespread agreement that the funding provided by HEFCE has had a significant impact upon WP activity and enhanced outcomes.
The report, commissioned by HEFCE from CFE consultants and Edge Hill University, investigates the way in which HEFCE’s funding for WP is used by institutions. This report will provide evidence for the national strategy for access and student success which HEFCE and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) are jointly developing. The research has found evidence that the introduction of this funding has helped to formalise and integrate WP work within institutions, leading to a shift in organisational culture and attitudes. The research notes that systematically evaluating the impact of WP interventions and of the funding has proved challenging for most institutions. Continuing to improve the evidence base for ‘what works’ in WP and better targeting of funding will be a focus of the national strategy for access and student success. Read the report on the uses and impact of WP funding.

An interim report on the development of a national strategy to promote fair access and student success in higher education has been published today.
The report, submitted to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) by HEFCE and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), brings together current knowledge of what works to widen participation in higher education.
It gives an early assessment of how investment in widening participation is meeting, and might be used in future to meet, the Government’s aims and objectives including its commitment to social mobility.
It also examines how HEFCE’s and OFFA’s processes can be more closely aligned to improve coherence and minimise the administrative burden on universities and colleges.
HEFCE and OFFA will submit their final report to Ministers in autumn 2013, building on the evidence and emerging priorities identified in this interim report.
For further information, please contact Helen Albon at HEFCE, tel 0117 931 7076, or Zita Adamson at OFFA, tel 0117 931 7272.
Download National Strategy for Access and Student Success: interim report.

Companies in the US have started offering free-of-charge online education courses

Commission President José Manuel Barroso called yesterday on Europe's digital businesses, governments, training and education sectors to join a Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs to address up to 900.000 job vacancies expected to exist in Europe in Information and Communication technologies (ICT) by 2015. Despite the current levels of unemployment, the number of digital jobs is growing by more than 100.000 per year. Yet the number of fresh ICT graduates and skilled ICT workers is not keeping up.
Link: European Commission launches Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs.

Réunion d’informations sur les labels ECTS/SD
Présentation
L'agence Europe Education-Formation-France et  l'équipe française des experts de Bologne organisent le 05 avril 2013 à Paris, une journée d'information sur les labels «ECTS et supplément au diplôme».
Cette journée s'adresse en priorité aux établissements dont tous les cursus sont décrits en ECTS et/ou délivrant déjà un supplément au diplôme pour tous leurs diplômes.
Contact: Camille Cholet.

By Lincoln Tan. International students returning from China after their holidays are being denied entry to New Zealand and having their visas cancelled because they have not made good progress on their courses.
Border control officers have interviewed 32 student visa holders at Auckland Airport, and 14 were denied entry and had their visas cancelled. Another two students were stopped from boarding their flights in China.
One diploma of business student from Prime International College was put on the next flight home because "he failed to make sufficient progress on his course" and another from the New Zealand Institute of Studies was refused entry because he could not speak or write proper English during the interview. Read more...