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Will virtual education become the new paradigm of internationalisation? Will it succeed and replace the traditional modes of international cooperation and internationalisation, such as the mobility of students and faculty, international curricula, etc?

What will be the implication of “virtual onslaught” on the work of internationalisation agencies?  

On November 22 (Friday), ACA will address the theme From physical to virtual? Internationalising higher education in the digital age in the 61st ACA European Policy Seminar. In the one-day programme, we have packed in policy updates on the digitalisation of higher education in Europe, with a particular attention paid to the new Erasmus programme 2021-2027, and an overview of the latest developments of digital infrastructure and digital tools that are at the disposal of universities for advancing their internationalisation ambitions. A panel discussion drawing together representatives of old and new university consortia and developers of digital solutions will go through administrative challenges for the creation of a “European Campus” and explore the potential and limitations of digital solutions in overcoming obstacles lying in front of the newly selected European University Alliances or other forms of cross-border university consortia. Following that, the seminar will also discuss the use of micro-credentials for online learning, and the critical use of digital data for strategic marketing and recruitment of international students. 

To complete the programme, ACA Director Bernd Waechter will compare notes of the new developments discussed in the seminar and those he summarized from the Fjaerland Conference in 2001, and tell us what he thinks will change or not in the next 20 years.  


Who should attend?

The one-day intensive programme is to tie together all cross-cutting issues related to internationalisation and digitalisation, and bring together policy makers and practitioners for an all-round discussion on policies and practices.
Our traditional target participants are policy makers and staff members working on internationalisation matters:
• senior management staff charting internationalisation strategies;
• staff members of internationalisation offices;
• coordinators of international study programmes;
• staff members of marketing, recruitment and admissions offices;
• researchers and analysts of national bodies and universities active in the field of internationalisation.

Particularly for this seminar, universities that are newly selected or preparing for the upcoming rounds of the European Universities Initiative or other global university alliances may find inspirations on the potential use of digital tools to overcome challenges in arranging seamless mobility on a European Campus.   
Of course, the mainstreaming of internationalisation and digitalisation means that our programme will not only benefit our traditional target groups, the friends of ACA, but any higher education professionals or academics actively involved in both internationalisation and digitalisation activities. 

All are welcome. We believe that diversity and inclusion will only benefit the entire discussion in this one-day seminar.

Register now or before 31 October to enjoy the early bird discount and the free guided tour of the Secrets of Brussels (limited capacity).

Details

Start: November 22, 2019
8:30 AM
End: November 22, 2019
5:15 PM
Academic Cooperation Association

Cercle de Lorraine, Place Poelaert, Brussels, Belgium

Poelaertplein 6
1000 Brussel
Belgium

About

Background and theme

Back in 2002, ACA already explored the implications of virtual reality on the internationalisation of higher education. We have talked about the redefinition of mobility or academic exchange in light of virtual reality, the possibilities and limits of virtual mobility, the virtual learning cultures, the imagination of a “Global U” or “European University” initiative as an incentive for advancing international virtual education, etc. (see Wächter, B. (2002) The Virtual Challenge to International Cooperation in Higher Education).

The same issues are becoming hot topics of discussion again with the rapid development of digitalisation tools for administration, education, and research activities, and the introduction of digitalisation policies at European, national and institutional levels to promote the adoption of innovative tools and approaches.

In the 61st European Policy Seminar, ACA will revisit the topic of physical and virtual mobility from the perspective of policy makers and practitioners driving internationalisation agendas in their respective institutions. We will take you on a journey into the future of Europe’s digital agenda for the new Erasmus programme and other national mobility programmes, provide you with demos and direct Q&A opportunities with developers of digital infrastructure and tools for internationalisation, and guide you through new data-driven approaches for strategizing internationalisation efforts.

Who should attend?

The one-day intensive programme is to tie together all cross-cutting issues related to internationalisation and digitalisation, and bring together policy makers and practitioners for an all-round discussion on policies and practices.

Our traditional target participants are policy makers and staff members working on internationalisation matters:

  • senior management staff charting internationalisation strategies;
  • staff members of internationalisation offices;
  • coordinators of international study programmes;
  • staff members of marketing, recruitment and admissions offices;
  • researchers and analysts of national bodies and universities active in the field of internationalisation.

Particularly for this seminar, universities that are newly selected or preparing for the upcoming rounds of the European Universities Initiative or other global university alliances should find the programme relevant in preparation of the challenges of “deep integration” using digital tools.

Of course, the mainstreaming of internationalisation and digitalisation means that our programme will not only benefit our traditional target groups but any higher education professionals or academics actively involved in both internationalisation and digitalisation activities.

All are welcome. We believe that diversity and inclusion will only benefit the entire discussion in this one-day seminar.

Speakers

Queenie K.H. Lam

Project Manager
Academic Cooperation Association
  • www.aca-secretariat.be
  • Queenie K.H. Lam

    Queenie, Project Manager of ACA, joined the ACA Secretariat in 2010. She is responsible for a mixed portfolio of project development, policy research and membership services. Within ACA, she is a specialist in international education marketing and branding, rankings, EU-China mobility and funding. She has consistently developed new projects, published and organised events related to these specific themes over the years. Her most recent projects are on data-driven comparative market analysis for national internationalisation strategies. Outside, but related to ACA, she has undertaken a number of expert roles in research and evaluation projects commissioned by the European Commission, the European Parliament, and other national agencies responsible for internationalisation.  


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Dominic Orr

Senior Researcher
Kiron Open Higher Education
  • kiron.ngo
  • Dominic Orr

    Dr. Dominic Orr has dual citizenship in Britain and Germany. He has a doctorate in comparative education from the Technical University of Dresden and is Adjunct Professor for Management in Education at the University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia, with a focus on open education and digital learning. 

    Dominic works as Research Lead at the Kiron educational platform and NGO. Previous to this appointment, he worked as senior researcher at FiBS-Research Institute for the Economics of Education and Social Affairs in Berlin, and as international project leader at the German Centre for Higher Education Research (DZHW) in Hannover. He also works as external consultant for UNESCO and the World Bank. 
    His area of work spans questions of access to higher education, educational governance, quality assurance and funding to – more recently – issues related to education in a Digital World, including the topics Open Educational Resources, Open Badges and future skills. He has just completed an international foresight study on the future of higher education for the German government, and in 2018 he completed a study in collaboration with the Open University UK on digital adaption of higher education provisions by universities across the globe, which was commissioned by the International Council on Open and Distance Education (ICDE). He is co-author of a White Paper entitled Bologna Digital 2020, which aims to encourage the use of digitalisation in higher education for improved services and support for students – a promise which Kiron is aiming to realise. 
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Elena Tegovska

Policy Officer
European Commission, DG EAC
Elena Tegovska
  • Elena Tegovska
    Elena Tegovska is currently leading the Erasmus+ Team within the Higher education unit at DG EAC, European Commission. Previously, she worked for the International relations office of Université libre de Bruxelles, where she was in charge of promoting and developing European projects. She has experience as well working with the non-governmental sector and civil society organisations in the Balkans. She has a Master of Arts degree in International politics.
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​Saskia Weißenbach

Senior Desk Officer for digital internationalisation and European Higher Education policy
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
​Saskia Weißenbach
  • ​Saskia Weißenbach

    Saskia Weißenbach is a Senior Desk Officer for digital internationalisation and European Higher Education policy at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She is responsible for the Erasmus+ project "Online Pedagogical Resources for European Universities (OpenU)". The project aims at testing innovative policy measures to promote digital cooperation, mobility as well as teaching & learning on a transnational level between European universities. As one of six work package leaders in OpenU, DAAD coordinates the Policy Cluster comprised of six European Ministries of Education and the Erasmus Student Network. 

    Having gathered experience at the DAAD Brussels Office, Saskia joined the National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation at DAAD in 2016, mainly working on the Erasmus+ Policy Support and the ASEM Education Process. She holds a Master’s degree in European Studies. 
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Stefan Jahnke

Senior Policy Officer
European University Foundation (EUF)
Stefan Jahnke
  • Stefan Jahnke

    Stefan Jahnke is Senior Policy Officer at the European University Foundation (EUF) and is heading the Brussels office, where he is responsible to manage multiple projects on the digitisation of Erasmus+ and is part of the Erasmus Without Paper Steering Committee. His research and advocacy efforts for the betterment of student mobility in Europe have led to the appointment as Ambassador for the New Narrative for Europe by the European Commissioner for Education and Youth, Tibor Navracsics. His academic background is in information technology and he is nowadays leading different initiatives around international professional development for Higher Education staff.

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Victor Aguilar

Project Coordinator
European University Foundation
Victor Aguilar
  • Victor Aguilar

    Victor Aguilar holds a BA in Psychology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a Master’s in Public Policy and Public Administration from the Centre for Research and Teaching in Economics. Before Brussels, he worked as a consultant and applied researcher on government transparency and anti-corruption policies in both the public and the private sector in Mexico. After a Blue Book Traineeship at the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Victor worked in the Higher Education sector at the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission. He joined the European University Foundation in 2018, where he now coordinates MyAcademicID, a project which aims at building a European student eID scheme for higher education.
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​Sarah Guth

President
UNICollaboration
  • www.unicollaboration.org
  • ​Sarah Guth

    Sarah Guth is the president of UNICollaboration, a Cross-Disciplinary Organisation for Telecollaboration and Virtual Exchange in Higher Education and teaches English as a foreign language at the University of Padova, Italy. She was the Program Coordinator at the SUNY COIL Center and designed their Professional Development Program. Her research focuses on intercultural communication and the normalization of Virtual Exchange in higher education. She is the project manager for UNICollaboration’s participation in the consortium that is leading the European Commission’s pilot project Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange.


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Stephanie Siklossy

Project Manager
Search for Common Ground
Stephanie Siklossy
  • Stephanie Siklossy
    Stephanie Siklossy is Project Manager at Search for Common Ground, an international non-profit organisation whose mission is to transform the way that the world deals with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative problem solving. She leads the consortium implementing the European Commission's pilot Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange initiative, enabling youth in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean to engage in meaningful intercultural experiences online, as part of their formal or non-formal education.  She has over 10 years of experience in coordinating cooperation and humanitarian programmes across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Prior to holding this position, she worked in NATO’s Political Affairs Division, and at the International Committee of the Red Cross. She holds an MA in “Arabic and Social Anthropology” from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in “Violence, Conflict and Development” from SOAS University of London.
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Stefano Menon

Digital Leaening & Collaboraiton expert
Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Stefano Menon
  • Stefano Menon

    I have become a “deep generalist”, or “T-shaped” professional in the areas of Innovation of didactics and Project management. This is because I had the opportunity to work in the last 15 years on several projects focusing on very different topics, with different target groups, needs and expectations, partnerships, management needs and styles, playing different roles also in the same project. I'm here today because i'm involved in the MicroHe project: https://microcredentials.eu/. More info about me on https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanomenon/

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​Emily Palmer

Secretary-General
UNA Europa
  • www.una-europa.eu
  • ​Emily Palmer

    Emily Palmer studied European Studies and Languages, graduating in 2003 with an MA degree and the Jean Monnet Prize from the University of Sussex, UK. Since 2004 she has been in Brussels, working at the interface of universities and the EU policy and funding scene. After having worked for eight years on behalf of UK universities in the West Midlands and South West of England, Emily joined the EuroTech Universities Alliance Brussels Office as Advisor in 2012 and was Head of Office between 2014 and 2019. On 1 April 2019, she took up the position of Secretary-General of UNA Europa alliance, which aims to establish a European University of the Future. In June 2019, UNA Europa was selected among the first European University pilots under the Erasmus+ Programme.

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Anna Weinand

M.A., M.Ed., UniGR Officer
Trier University/University of the Greater Region, Trier, Germany
Anna Weinand
  • Anna Weinand
    Anna Weinand is the University of the Greater Region (UniGR) officer at Trier University since May 2019. She studied French, Spanish and English at Trier University and obtained a Master of Education as well as a Master of Arts in 2016. During her studies, she worked as a student assistant for the UniGR project officer from 2011 until 2013 and as a research assistant at the IRTG Diversity from 2013 to 2016.  From 2016 to 2019 she worked as a Doctoral Researcher at the International Research Training Group “Diversity”. The IRTG Diversity is funded by the German Research Foundation and is a cooperative project between Trier University, Saarland University and Université de Montréal. During this time she worked on her PhD thesis in which she investigates representations of children and childhood in Canadian literatures. Both her studies and her work have always been informed by a strong interest in intercultural exchange and an international work environment. 
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Kostis Giannidis

President
Erasmus Student Network
Kostis Giannidis
  • Kostis Giannidis
    Kostis Giannidis is the President of the Erasmus Student Network, the leading organisation in the field of student mobility, representing more than 300.000 international students annually. He graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece with a bachelor degree in Theology and culture. Kostis is a passionate advocator of the Erasmus generation. He strives to ensure that international students receive quality education abroad and are equipped with the skills to become active citizens. 
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​Märt Aro

Co-Founder, DreamApply; Chairman of the Board, Nordic EdTech Forum "N8"
DreamApply
  • dreamapply.com
  • ​Märt Aro

    Märt Aro's involvement in the field of education development dates back to his secondary school years which saw Märt organising educational events for peers on a national level. Märt has dedicated 15 years on developing internationalisation of education as he experienced first-hand that international learning experience is one of the greatest ways to widen learners horizons.

    Due to passion for education, Märt has established several organisations and companies in the area of education development since 2004.

    The latest solution, DreamApply.com Student Application Management Platform, Märt co-founded in 2011. Today DreamApply is used by 250 universities from 35 countries, serving millions of users a year.

    The most recent NGO Nordic EdTech Forum - N8 brings together 140 founders of education innovation initiatives from eight Northern European countries with the aim of sharing experience and fostering cooperation.

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Bernd Wächter

Director
Academic Cooperation Association
  • www.aca-secretariat.be
  • Bernd Wächter

    Bernd Wächter is the Director of the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA). He studied at the universities of Hull (UK), Giessen and Marburg (Germany). His career has been focused on international higher education. He worked for the University of Kassel, the British Council, and the Fachhochschule Darmstadt, before joining The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as the head of their EU division.He subsequently became the director for Higher Education (Erasmus) in the Brussels Socrates Office. In 1998, he took up his present post as ACA Director.Bernd Wächter has published and lectured widely on international higher education. He is the editor of the ACA Papers on International Cooperation in Education. He has been the team leader of ACA’s research projects and speaks frequently at major governmental and stakeholder conferences, in Europe and beyond, on the issue of mobility and internationalisation. Bernd Wächter has two children. He is married to Thora Magnusdottir, a delightful lady from Iceland.

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Marija Mitic

Policy Officer
Academic Cooperation Association
  • www.aca-secretariat.be
  • Marija Mitic

    Marija Mitic is Policy Officer at ACA, where she has worked since 2014. Marija’s responsibilities at ACA include a wide variety of tasks – from membership services, project and event management, policy analysis to representation of ACA in Brussels and globally. Marija’s interest and expertise lie in intercultural learning and diversity studies, EU lifelong learning policies and international cooperation in higher education. Marija is a big fan of Brussels, where she initially came for music, but stayed for many additional reasons, including its international setting.

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Venue

Cercle de Lorraine

6, place Poelaert

1000 Bruxelles

Belgique

Tel: + 32 2 374 65 25

Maps

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