At the core of this project is a strong group of complementary European University Alliances, Una Europa, Unite!, EU-CONEXUS, 4EU+, EC2U and CHARM-EU, and their 51 higher education institutions, covering 22 countries across Europe. The consortium partners have a long track record of international collaboration and have been at the forefront of co-developing the European Degree policy initiative since the very beginning. The consortium is united by a common vision of the European Degree label as an enabler for removing obstacles and closer collaboration in higher education. 

Together, our universities boast an exceptional portfolio of high-quality joint programmes, spanning all levels of higher education and covering a wide range of academic disciplines and fields. This critical mass of joint programmes will be leveraged to conduct a broad mapping exercise of the criteria associated with the European Degree label, subject to a parallel methodology of large-scale surveys and in-depth interviews. In consultations with experts, the project consortium will propose possible improvements to these criteria and co- develop recommendations on the possible assessment procedure and the design and delivery of a future European Degree label. 

Facilitating international collaboration may require action within the member states. Our universities are all deeply embedded in their respective regional and national ecosystems, which is exemplified by their close links to regional and national governments. Together, the consortium has been successful in securing the support of 19 national and regional ministries in charge of higher education as well as 15 national accreditation and quality assurance agencies. It is the exchange of best practices between those actors and the open dialogue with their universities that carries the real potential to move forward the EHEA. There lies the ultimate aim of this project, thus creating an impact beyond the one-year duration of this project.

Objectives

  • Establish a comprehensive overview of the state of play of joint programmes: In this project, the consortium will establish a comprehensive overview of the existing joint programmes across the six participating European University Alliances. A significant number of those joint programmes will be used in the mapping exercise of the criteria associated to the European Degree label. A combination of targeted interviews and large-scale surveys will ensure a wide analysis across countries, universities, levels of higher education as well as academic fields and disciplines involved.   

  • Make recommendations for the design of a European Degree label with a view to maximizing its attractiveness and potential impact: The project consortium will facilitate consultation meetings with national accreditation agencies and other stakeholders. In addition, several large-scale online surveys will be organised tailored to 1) accreditation agencies in all participating countries, 2) students and 3) employers across Europe. 

  • Contribute to the development of a more inclusive, accessible and transparent framework for the development of joint programmes: This project aims to develop an overview of existing legal barriers across the participating countries and toolkit with possible solutions and good practices that may be used by HEIs and national/ regional governments to overcome such obstacles in the future development of programmes. +

  • Ensure synergies and drive forward Bologna tools and promote more flexibility: The consortium aims to use this project, to the maximum extent possible, to leverage synergies with existing Bologna tools and encourage their full implementation in all countries across the EHEA. At the same time, the consortium aims to investigate possible adaptations and simplifications to processes and promote more flexible national legislation and room to experiment when it comes to high-quality transnational collaboration. 

  • Promote innovative learning experiences that drive the visibility, attractiveness and competitiveness of European higher education at large: The project consortium is committed to promoting innovative learning experiences that drive the competitiveness of the European Higher Education Sector as a whole, thereby attracting the best global talent and promoting European values on the global stage.


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