„A Blueprint for a European degree“ Forum attended by the President of NEAA

On 29.04.2024 in Brussels, Belgium, the President of NEAA Prof. Eliza Stefanova attended the final event of 10 projects under the Erasmus+ project, on the basis of which the European Commission has prepared the concept for the European Diploma. The event was hosted by the European Commission and the Free University of Brussels.

The main topics of the event were related to the package of documents of the European Commission announced on the 27^th of March 2024: A Blueprint for a European Degree (https://education.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-presents-a-blueprint-for-a-european-degree).

The main report of the event was given by Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture at the European Commission. The report substantiates the need for the new framework of the European Commission and presents its main highlights.

Representatives of the afforementioned ten projects JEDI, FOCI, EDLab, SMARTT, UNITA, STYX, ED-FICHE, Leg Uni-GR, ETIKETA, ESEU also participated in the conference. The presentations and speeches of the participants in the panel sessions during the event were based on the results of the ten projects and can be found on the websites of each of them.

Following were a series of panel discussions, moderated by representatives of the European Commission (EC), as follows:

• Challenges for Joint Degree Programs, Director of Youth, Education and Erasmus+, EC.

• Added value of the European Diploma, Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, EC

• The proposed European criteria, Jan-Mayel Bidue, EC

• Recommendations for the future, Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, EC

• Legal status of alliances: added value, Maria Luisa Garcia Minguez, EC

• Legal status of alliances: the way forward, Tina Delva, EC

• Moving forward with Member States and the higher education sector, moderated by Sophia Eriksson-Waterschoot, EC.

During the event, the most common challenges in all European countries were discussed, with the highest ranking among them being the accreditation of joint programs between European universities offering a common European diploma. The proposed criteria to be applied in relation to these joint programs were presented in detail, as well as options for the legal constitution of the alliances.

During the forum, Prof. Stefanova discussed with colleagues from the European Commission, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg and others how the European approach to accreditation is applied in different countries and how they are currently approaching the accreditation of joint programs of European alliances.

On the basis of the recommendations presented during the conference and the overall policy of the European Commission for the development of higher education in Europe, specific changes should be discussed in the normative documents relating to higher education in our country, in particular, in the law on higher education and the accreditation of joint European programs.