Strengthening higher education recognition and mobility in the European region

From 20 to 21 June 2022, the European networks of academic information centres (ENIC/NARIC) came together for their 29^th Annual Meeting to further peer learning and exchange on the recognition of qualifications and mobility of students in the European region. The meeting was hosted in Dublin by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), in co-operation with the Council of Europe, European Commission and UNESCO.

The discussions come against the backdrop of rising enrollment and student mobility both within and outside the region and an ever-changing higher education landscape after two years of disrupted learning. The latest data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) shows that the European region hosted almost half of the 6 million internationally mobile students while 13% of internationally mobile students came from here. David Mills, Deputy Director of the Oxford Centre for Global Higher Education and the lead expert on academic mobility at UNESCO’s World Higher Education Conference, delivered the keynote speech setting the tone for the discussions.

The annual meeting consisted of a series of plenary sessions and 10 workshops covering key issues for the networks – from micro-credentials in higher education, to digitization and the recognition of refugee qualifications. It also provided an occasion to mark the 25^th anniversary of the Lisbon Recognition Convention, which has reached nearly universal ratification with 54 States Parties and has served as a basis for higher education cooperation in the region since 1997. The Council of Europe and UNESCO are the co-Secretariats of the convention.

Expanding global cooperation was also high on the agenda of the meeting, with a panel on the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education and other four UNESCO regional recognition conventions. This is a key area of ENIC/NARIC’s workplan and one which member countries attach increased importance to, as evidenced by the recent survey results on the global dimension of ENIC/NARIC’s work.

ENIC/NARIC serve as key implementation mechanisms of the Lisbon Recognition Convention, facilitating the exchange of information and qualifications between countries at the regional level. The community of practice has existed for decades and also inspired the establishment of a similar network in Asia and the Pacific under the Tokyo Convention (APNNIC) and more recently the ongoing creation of the African Network of National Implementation Structures under the Addis Convention.

• More on UNESCO’s work in higher education