Laura van Voorst Vader’s Post

🗣️"International, European joint degrees and the #EuropeanDegree are important developments for us in Switzerland, as they relate not only to EU member states, but to the entire European Higher Education Area." 🎓🌍Una Europa has shaped the European Commission's proposal for a #EuropeanDegree by coordinating the ED-AFFICHE project, which brought together 51 #highereducation institutions across 22 countries to identify existing hurdles to creating #jointdegrees in Europe and recommend ways to overcome them. Our contribution to ED-AFFICHE drew on our own experience of building joint degrees such as the Una Europa Joint Bachelor's in #EuropeanStudies and upcoming Joint Bachelor's in #Sustainability. 🇨🇭Our partner University of Zurich played a proactive role in ED-AFFICHE, working alongside Université de Genève of 4EU+ Alliance to bring the Swiss perspective on the European Degree and ensure that future plans can be implemented across the European Higher Education Area as a whole. 🤔Curious to learn more about Switzerland's involvement in shaping the European Degree? Annika Martin from University of Zurich's Teaching Development Office shared insights into the ED-AFFICHE project and Una Europa's experience building joint degrees in a recent interview with the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI. 💬Hear from Annika: https://lnkd.in/gmE6yadv #WeAreUnaEuropa #UniversityOfTheFuture #EuropeanUniversities #ErasmusPlus

The European Commission has awarded a consortium, including the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (DZS), Campus France, DAAD (Germany, and Nuffic (Netherlands), the tender to continue the EU-backed Study in Europe project. https://lnkd.in/dtaybyDj This initiative aims to promote European higher education globally by providing information about study opportunities across 33 European countries. The DZS will play a key role in developing a strategy to unify Europe’s promotion as a study destination and organise international fairs for foreign students. This collaboration represents a significant opportunity for the Czech Republic to influence the future of European education and strengthens the EU’s position as a global leader in education, research and innovation by encouraging a higher influx of international students, researchers and academics to contribute to the EU’s cultural diversity and global knowledge exchange. #EU #HigherEducation #Education

The European Commission has awarded a consortium to continue the Study in Europe project. 🌍 The consortium includes the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (DZS), Campus France, the German Academic Exchange Service and Dutch organisation Nuffic. 🌐 The project aims to create a strategy for the unified promotion of Europe as a study destination and facilitate connections between institutions, prospective students and partners. 🏫 Read more about the Study in Europe project: https://lnkd.in/gjrEm3TN #StudyinEurope #EU #EUeducation #InternationalStudent #InternationalEducation #IntlE

--- Experiences from our students --- To give some more attention to our great students, we interviewed some, which will be shared over the next few weeks! Today, we asked Géraldine Paschen, a final-year student currently partaking in our dual-degree programme with Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome, regarding her encounters within our master's programme. What motivated you to choose this master's programme? This Master programme appealed to me, as it combines theoretical and practical classes. It is also rather small-scale, which ensures a personal relationship with professors and peers. Can you share a highlight or memorable experience from your time in the programme The excursion to Brussels and Luxembourg are definitely memorable experiences but academically, courses with political negotiation simulations or the moot court were my top highlights. How have the faculty and instructors supported your academic and professional growth? The familiar nature of the SCEUS and the environment created there encourages close relationships to professors and one receives valuable feedback and profits from first-hand experience in academia and professional life. What advice would you give to prospective students considering enrolling in this master's programme? I would encourage new students to take advantage of the professional and academic experience around them and to take a look at other faculties, such as the political science faculty, for their free electives. Some of the courses offered during summer or winter semester are truly special and focused on specific topics. This is also a great opportunity to find a potential Master thesis topic. Also, take a look at the Double-Degree Programmes if you fancy to have another experience abroad. Can you share a specific project or assignment that challenged you and helped you grow academically or professionally? EU External Relations was arguably my favourite course. I enjoyed the negotiation simulations and the preparatory work needed to represent France. The learning curve experienced between the first and last simulation was incredible to realise how one grows with the tasks. How have you been able to balance your academic workload with other commitments outside of the programme? Sport is a good way to balance and rewind and I can only recommend to have a look at the USI (Unisport) programme, as it also provides opportunities to get to know real Salzburg citizens. Another interesting activity I can recommend is to start a language course at the Afro-Asiatisches Institut, where you can learn languages. I did Arabic and it was a nice way to relax (no pressure as it is not academic) while learning something useful. 

🧑🏽🎓Vocational education is often undervalued compared to traditional academic paths. I witnessed this first-hand in Greece working on educational programmes bridging the gap between public universities and technical colleges. I am aware that the debate is still ongoing in many other EU countries, including the Netherlands. But these old-school perceptions are thankfully changing! 🌟 The fact that Albeda mbo – one of the largest vocational schools in the greater Rotterdam region – was invited to address the Erasmus University Rotterdam community during the Opening of the Academic Year 2024-25 was very uplifting. 🌎 In the presence of the Dutch Minister of Education and hundreds of students, staff, and alumni of EUR, Albeda Executive Board member Simone Fredriksz highlighted how the collaboration between our two institutions supports economic growth, improves social mobility, enhances career opportunities, and fosters innovation for everyone involved. 🛳️ Rotterdam is well-known for its down-to-earth and can-do mentality. This is evident in the way people here do business but also in the way academic research is conducted. Many of us are glad to be part of “a city of thinkers and doers” whose impact transcends not only the borders of the country but also breaks down stereotypes concerning education.

New Post: College of Europe Scholarships - https://lnkd.in/gk4uPzwy for the academic year 2023-2024 are open from 13 October 2022 to 18 January 2023. INTRODUCTION For more than 70 years the College of Europe has contributed to the European integration project, providing generations of leaders the knowledge, experience and collective wisdom that enabled them to turn the dream of a unified, peaceful and prosperous continent into reality. Today, exactly as in the times of its foundation, the College of Europe is ready to form a new generation of women and men capable of imagining and building the social, economic and political renaissance of our continent, guided by the […]Funds Digest

📌 #CampusFrance will lead the EU-funded #StudyInEurope project which it will implement together with its partners from DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Nuffic, the Education and Youth Board of Estonia, the ACA - Academic Cooperation Association and the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research. 🤝 The consortium has won the call for tenders published by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) with the aim of increasing the visibility of Europe as a study destination for students from non-European countries. 👉 We look forward to working with the partners and associate partners SEPIE - Servicio Español para la Internacionalización de la Educación, Associazione Uni-Italia and Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding - UEFISCDI for the next 3️⃣ years! Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche European Commission

🙌🏼 As the European Union and Switzerland have re-started the negotiations, we, Erasmus Student Network (ESN), European Students' Union (ESU) and European University Foundation (EUF), affirm our strong expectations for both parties to reach an agreement on the re-association of Switzerland to the Erasmus+ programme. Recognising the mutual benefits of cooperation between the European Union and Switzerland, and after 10 years of separation, we believe it’s time to strive for unity.🇨🇭 🙌🏼 It is imperative to recognise that our students are the future researchers, and without adequate opportunities in higher education, they will never realise their full potential. 🙌🏼 We acknowledge the complexities involved but remain steadfast in our determination to raise the voice of the Swiss and European higher education communities to make sure that a path forward that strengthens bonds and advances common goals can be achieved. Together, we are confident that through constructive dialogue and cooperation, we will achieve a course that not only benefits Switzerland but also upholds the values of unity, inclusivity, and progress that define the European Union. 🔗https://shorturl.at/huxX4

🙌🏼As the European Union and Switzerland have re-started the negotiations, we, Erasmus Student Network (ESN), European Students' Union (ESU) and European University Foundation (EUF), affirm our strong expectations for both parties to reach an agreement on the re-association of Switzerland to the Erasmus+ programme. Recognising the mutual benefits of cooperation between the European Union and Switzerland, and after 10 years of separation, we believe it’s time to strive for unity.🇨🇭 🙌🏼It is imperative to recognise that our students are the future researchers, and without adequate opportunities in higher education, they will never realise their full potential. 🙌🏼We acknowledge the complexities involved but remain steadfast in our determination to raise the voice of the Swiss and European higher education communities to make sure that a path forward that strengthens bonds and advances common goals can be achieved. Together, we are confident that through constructive dialogue and cooperation, we will achieve a course that not only benefits Switzerland but also upholds the values of unity, inclusivity, and progress that define the European Union. 🔗https://shorturl.at/huxX4

[ 𝗘𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗺𝘂𝘀+ 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻 – 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 ] This week, the European Students' Union (ESU) together with EUF - European University Foundation and the Erasmus Student Network hosted the first 𝗘𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗺𝘂𝘀+ 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻 of 2024 in Brussels.   𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝘀, hosted in informal settings with a small number of official speakers, 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 and play a crucial role in facilitating exchange among stakeholders.   During this first salon of 2024, Thérèse Zhang, Deputy Director for Higher Education Policy at the European University Association, presented a variety of findings from EUA studies such as the 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 study on the topic: 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.   One of the main concerns highlighted is that mobility targets are far behind benchmarks set out by the Bologna process and are only slowly returning to pre-Covid-19 numbers, with participants debating challenges and solutions on why and how mobility targets can be reached.   Suggestions included 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮, 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗧 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 within alliances.   KIC colleague Stefan Jahnke pointed out that projects and initiatives such as the Higher Education Interoperability assignment under the umbrella of the European #DigitalEducationHub are but one element of creating a European education landscape where quality mobility plays a central part.