KU Leuven Joins Ambitious European Project
A consortium of six university alliances has secured European support for ED-AFFICHE, a pilot project on the European Degree quality label. KU Leuven is responsible for coordinating the project. In the long term, the consortium wants to make it easier for European higher education institutions to jointly develop programs and award diplomas.
The consortium is a new collaboration between Una Europa, 4EU+, CHARM-EU, EC2U, EU-CONEXUS and Unite! These university alliances pool their members’ expertise to realize the potential of the European Degree label and to improve the joint degree development process.
Rector Luc Sels (KU Leuven), representing Una Europa in the consortium: “In the call for pilot projects for the European Degree label, we saw potential that transcends the immediate objectives of the policy initiative and the lifespan of the project. With this powerful consortium, we hope to make tangible progress towards our common goal: to make the development and implementation of ‘joint degrees’ in Europe less complex and resource-intensive. We want to have a meaningful impact on all types of universities in the European Higher Education Area.”
Professor Kurt Willems (KU Leuven): “As a project coordinator, I embark on this adventure with great enthusiasm, supported by this strong consortium. It is a European project, but if we want to have a lasting impact on all ‘joint’ degrees developed by institutions in the European Higher Education Area, the key to the solution also lies in national and regional education regulations. Constructive dialogue with national and regional legislators is therefore also an important aspect of this project, and we thank the numerous bodies that are reaching out to this end.”
The consortium behind the ED-AFFICHE project brings together 51 higher education institutions from 22 countries on the European continent, with the support of 18 national and regional higher education ministries and key players in higher education, accreditation and quality assurance. The participating universities are firmly rooted in their respective ecosystems, have a long tradition of international cooperation and pool a great deal of experience in the development of joint programmes. Together, the universities represent almost two million students and staff who can contribute to the project.
With funding from Erasmus+, the consortium will spend a year taking a close look at joint courses, mapping the extensive portfolio and organizing strategic activities at national and European levels to promote an open dialogue between universities and their national and regional legislators. The consortium wants to list the most urgent challenges for the development of joint training courses and initiate the exchange of best practices at European level. This mutual learning process can eventually lead to transnational strategies to overcome existing barriers.
The project consortium sees the European Degree label as a means to promote transnational cooperation in European higher education in general. This is crucial to strengthen the attractiveness and competitive position of European higher education worldwide.