Universities conference concludes with mobility focus

The ‘European Higher Education in the World’ conference has closed in Vilnius, Lithuania, the seat of the current Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The objective of the international conference was to debate the different topics addressed in the European Commission Communication on ‘European higher education in the world’. Also discussed was how internationalisation can best be achieved by individual countries and higher education institutions, and how it can contribute to their development, focusing on co-operation with non-EU countries.

The communication introduces the idea of “comprehensive internationalisation” and urges member states and their higher education institutions to not only concentrate on mobility but to also emphasise the value and importance of international strategic partnerships and other areas of co-operation where the EU has an added value, such as the development of joint degrees. Most universities already work within strategic partnerships: specific support for them will be provided through the Erasmus+ programme and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, which will offer support in terms of international students and staff mobility as well as the setting up of international partnerships for joint degrees and capacity building.

Participants, including the students’ representatives, drew attention to outline the importance of focusing on students’ needs, the social dimension, accessibility to international mobility, balance between digital and physical mobility instruments, inward and outward mobility. The conference conclusions also outlined that member states had an important role to play to provide support to their universities as well as resources to ensure sustainability. The Bologna process set in motion a series of actions needed to make European higher education more competitive and more attractive for students and academics from other continents.

You can read the full conference conclusions in full here.