Venue: Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie, Avenue Louise 91, 1050 Brussels
Thursday 28 January from 08:30 to 18:30 & Friday 29 January from 08:30 to 12:30
The 2027 edition of What’s New in Brussels, ACA’s flagship seminar, comes at a moment when Erasmus+ is being asked to do more, deliver more strategically and prepare for a new programme cycle — while many of the innovations of the current one are still being tested, evaluated and possibly mainstreamed. The seminar will bring together European and national policymakers, implementation agencies, higher education institution representatives and experts to ask a few seemingly simple, but essential questions: what should be carried forward for the current programme, what needs to change, and how can institutions prepare for and shape the next phase of Erasmus+?
The final year of the current Erasmus+ programme is not simply a phase-out one: the year will further help test the ground for what should come next. New approaches linked to the European Education Area, Europe on the Move, the Union of Skills and the Global Gateway are being piloted just as their results and at times limitations become clearer. The final yearly funding call of the current programme also gives institutions an opportunity to further try new models, strengthen partnerships and build capacity for the transition to 2028. As the political negotiations advance and implementation choices begin to take shape, the challenge is how to use this final phase strategically — making the most of the remaining funding opportunities offered by the last call while laying the groundwork for the programme that follows.
Starting with the big picture — the evolving programme architecture, political ambition, funding realities and implementation changes — What’s New in Brussels will move quickly to what these developments mean in practice. How might changes to the management and monitoring of mobility and cooperation actions reshape internationalisation structures and processes at institutional level? What will the next phase mean for alliances, joint programmes, the current inclusion and digitalisation priorities, as well as the newer competitiveness and skills ones, and for cooperation beyond Europe? The seminar will help participants translate these developments into concrete priorities for the transition period and identify where institutional approaches may need to adapt.
We look forward to welcoming all the reigstered participants on 28 – 29 January!
Programme
With less than one year left, in January 2027, until the launch of the next generation of the Erasmus+ programme and the Global Europe instrument, key decision makers in this opening session will take stock of where the trilogue negotiations are between the three key EU institutions. They will zoom into the budgetary ambitions and the inner architecture of the next programmes, leaving ample room for interaction around some crucial questions: Are there any fundamental logic shifts in the objectives of the programmes and the funding attribution? What can be said about the sectoral allocations and distribution between key actions and initiatives in higher education? What about the sectoral calls for programmatic funding, simplification, and funding synergies?
Q&A
The attraction and retention of international talent has become a fully-fledged EU policy objective, approached through higher education, research, legal migration, skills and labour market perspectives. In higher education, it comes with an annual retention target of 350,000 international graduates from non-EU countries by 2030. What does this mean in practice for higher education institutions across Europe and their internationalisation efforts? How are developments across EU policy domains shaping the next generation of EU funding instruments? And how far do these ambitions align with attraction and retention trends at member state and institutional level? These questions will frame the discussions in this second plenary session.
Q&A
Four parallel sessions will take an in-depth look at key Erasmus+ actions and how they may evolve in the next programme cycle. Discussions will address alliance-driven institutional transformation, changing opportunities for joint programmes in light of the European degree label, the evolving management of Erasmus+ mobility actions, and the implications of responsible internationalisation for mobility and partnerships. The sessions are designed for active participation and exchange. Each round will be repeated, allowing participants to join two topics of their choice.
Session 1: Mission (im)possible – institutional transformation through European Universities alliances
Over successive phases of the European Universities Initiative, ambitions for deep and lasting institutional transformation have become increasingly explicit. This session will explore the extent and forms of change that can emerge over the longer term through participation in an alliance. Drawing on research and practical efforts to move from ambition to implementation, it will examine how institutional change is put into practice, how progress and impact are evaluated, and what this reveals about the depth, scope and sustainability of transformation within participating universities.
Session 2: European Degree label – lessons from the first Erasmus+ pilots and the road ahead
The first Erasmus+ pilots supporting the European Degree agenda are now moving from experimentation towards implementation, with 118 joint programmes in development and the first two already awarded the Joint European Degree Label. This session will look at what comes next after the first labels have been awarded: what the initial Erasmus+ pilots reveal about putting the European Degree Label into practice, how this may affect the design and delivery of joint programmes and their links with Erasmus Mundus, and what the 2027 Erasmus+ call brings in terms of opportunities for joint programmes and scholarships in strategic educational fields.
Session 3: Erasmus+ mobility actions: evolving accreditation, implementation and monitoring procedures
This session will examine anticipated changes in the management of Erasmus+ mobility actions under the next programme, with particular attention to (re-)accreditation, implementation, performance evaluation and monitoring. It will also explore implications for institutional processes and support structures, including how mobility governance can better articulate institutional priorities and translate them into Erasmus+ implementation, strengthening the programme’s contribution to wider institutional objectives.
Session 4: Responsible internationalisation – what implications for Erasmus+?
Knowledge security has moved rapidly up the agenda of EU policymakers, national authorities and higher education institutions. While initially centred on research cooperation, related considerations are increasingly shaping responsible internationalisation in education, including Erasmus+ mobility and partnerships. This panel will examine how these developments are being translated into practice at national and institutional level, highlighting emerging approaches, concrete initiatives and ongoing challenges for transnational higher education cooperation.
Four parallel sessions will take an in-depth look at key Erasmus+ actions and how they may evolve in the next programme cycle. Discussions will address alliance-driven institutional transformation, changing opportunities for joint programmes in light of the European degree label, the evolving management of Erasmus+ mobility actions, and the implications of responsible internationalisation for mobility and partnerships. The sessions are designed for active participation and exchange. Each round will be repeated, allowing participants to join two topics of their choice.
Session 1: Mission (im)possible – institutional transformation through European Universities alliances
Session 2: European Degree label – lessons from the first Erasmus+ pilots and the road ahead
Session 3: Erasmus+ mobility actions: evolving accreditation, implementation and monitoring procedures
Session 4: Responsible internationalisation – what implications for Erasmus+?
Four parallel sessions will explore practical developments across some of the most topical areas of Erasmus+. Discussions will address the ambitions and realities of legal status for European Universities alliances, the impact and future of blended mobility, effective approaches to Inclusion & Diversity, and emerging frameworks for cooperation with Africa and the Southern Mediterranean. The sessions are designed for active participation and exchange, with participants invited to choose the topic most relevant to their interests and experience.
Session 1: The ambitions and realities of legal status for European Universities alliances
At least 20 European Universities alliances have established a dedicated legal entity since the first policy experimentation call in 2022. What does legal status change in practice for an alliance’s strategic development and day-to-day operations — from jointly employing staff and managing common budgets to supporting joint programmes? What new governance and administrative requirements does it bring? Speakers from alliances with an established legal entity will share their experience, compare different options under national and European law, and discuss the concrete benefits, trade-offs and remaining challenges.
Session 2: Inclusion & Diversity – what works, and what comes next?
Intentional institutional policies, targeted support measures and the systematic integration of inclusion across mobility strategies, communication and student support can make a real difference in widening participation among underrepresented students. This session will highlight successful approaches, examine which Inclusion & Diversity tools have proven most effective in practice and where gaps remain, and discuss how financial support, eligibility rules, outreach and implementation arrangements could evolve under the next Erasmus+ programme.
Session 3: Blended mobility in practice: who benefits, and how?
Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) have become an established feature of Erasmus+, yet questions remain about where they add most value for students, staff and institutions. Drawing on findings from a recent ACA study, this session will examine what it takes to design and deliver effective BIPs in practice by exploring their potential to engage students who might not otherwise participate in mobility, stimulate interest in longer term mobility and develop skills that are difficult to foster through conventional formats. This session will stimulate a discussion on how the action could evolve in the next Erasmus+ programme to better achieve these objectives.
Session 4: Opportunities for EU level cooperation with Africa and South Mediterranean region
Interest in Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) continues to grow from one call to the next, with 819 projects supported since 2022. At the same time, new EU-level initiatives have been launched to deepen cooperation with partners in Africa and the Southern Mediterranean. This session will focus on the Study and Research in Africa and Mediterranean University initiatives, as well as opportunities under the 2027 Erasmus+ call, and explore how these developments may shape cooperation priorities and funding instruments in the next programming period in synergies the Global Gateway strategy.
The reference to the European Universities alliances 2.0 in Ursula Von Der Leyen’s letter of intent for the year ahead leaves much room for imagination. With many remaining questions by the higher education sector – on the initiative’s future centrality in the next generation of Erasmus+ 2028 – 2034, the prospects of longer-term funding and the nitty-gritty details of the future funding model, member states’ appetite for further (and potentially larger) co-funding, and the overall the vision and level of ambitions for established (and new) alliances going forward, – this closing plenary will gather key actors to explore these central questions.
This closing session will bring together key reflections from across the programme, highlight the main takeaways, and identify priorities and issues to take forward.
Registration fees
Registration is open until 15 January on a first-come, first-served basis and may close earlier if full capacity is reached.
The participation fees are as the following:
Early bird pricing until 18 December 2026 (inclusive):
- 380 EUR - Participant fee for ACA member or as a participant from an ACA-member country (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States)
- 430 EUR - Participant fee from a non-ACA member country (i.e. countries other than the ones above)
Standard participation fee:
- 420 EUR - Participant fee for ACA member or participant from an ACA-member country (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States)
- 470 EUR - Participant fee from a non-ACA member country (i.e. countries other than the ones above)
Payments are due before the seminar.
Cancellation policy
All cancellations must be sent in writing via email to the ACA Secretariat.
Cancellation fees:
Cancellation until 15 January (inclusive of the 15th) 2027: no fee.
Cancellation from 16 January until 27 January (including) 2027: 50% of the seminar fee.
Cancellation on and after 28 January 2026: 100% of the seminar fee.
The seminar participation is transferable to another person. Please inform the ACA Secretariat in this case.
Participants who register and do not attend the seminar will not be eligible for a refund.
Payments are due before the seminar.
Contact details
For any questions regarding registration, accommodation, accessibility, or anything else about the seminar, please email Caroline at office@aca-secretariat.be.