Events

The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) provides the general quality framework for European and international cooperation activities. As a tool, the ECHE has particular power, in that HEIs in “programme countries” wishing to participate in Erasmus+ must first apply for an ECHE and then obtain it. HEIs in third countries not associated to the programme wishing to participate in Erasmus+ individual mobility must also guarantee that they will apply the principles it contains.

The principles are not new. They build on the rules and tools elaborated over the last decades in order to ensure transparency, fairness and effectiveness in the organisation of student mobility. In the new ECHE though, more policy oriented principles were added: Inclusion, Green Erasmus, Digital Transition, Participation in the Democratic Process.

The award of an ECHE asks for a greater involvement of HEI staff in fostering an institutional culture of strategic thinking, transparency, fairness, effectiveness and true introduction of the new policy principles, rather than promoting simplistic adhesion to formal rules.

National Agencies have the task to monitor how the HEIs comply with the ECHE principles. They encourage and support the HEIs with the implementation of the principles. During this TCA we would like to tackle the following questions:

- What is the state of play concerning the implementation of the ECHE principles by the HEIs in Europe?

- How do HEIs mobilise the implementation of the ECHE principles “at home”?

- Who is involved in the implementation of the ECHE at HEIs?

- How do NAs monitor the ECHE?

- Is there an ECHE strategy at the level of the NAs and/or HEIs?

- What concrete changes/improvements would you would like to achieve when it comes to the implementation of the ECHE? (formulate your own action plan!)

In this TCA we will focus on the ECHE and (international) mobility as a whole. We don’t focus on one or two specific principles.

Objectives

• Make the ECHE come to life: from a piece of paper to a dynamic internal quality instrument. 
• Strengthen the qualitative implementation of the ECHE by demonstrating the importance of the principles.
• Disseminate and exchange good practices among the stakeholders: HEIs, NAs, student organisations.
• Formulate a wish list (need to have / nice to have) and an action plan regarding the implementation of the ECHE in a specific context (NA, HEI).

How 

The TCA will be a hands on event and involves field laboratory / working place where discussions take place between HEIs, NAs, experts and students. Good practices will be shared in workshops.

Possible themes of the workshops:

• Policy frameworks and ECHE
• Automatic recognition
• Digitalisation 
• Implementation of the Course Catalogue
• ECHE, Bologna and European University Alliances
• What about grading?
• International mobility and ECHE 
• The added value of the diploma supplement
• Monitoring of the ECHE by NA’s
• How to monitor the quality of new policy principles Green, Digital, Inclusion 
• Students and the ECHE 

• More awareness on the role and importance of the ECHE as an instrument for the quality of international mobility activities and the impact of internationalisation.
• Platform for the exchange of ideas and good practices regarding the monitoring and implementation of the ECHE.
• Action plans for participants / organisations / NAs for implementing/strengthening the principles of the ECHE.
• Recommendations for the EC regarding the ECHE.

Erasmus+ coordinators and colleagues working with the ECHE at HEIs; experts; National Agencies; student organisations.

There will be 25 to 50 participants from The Netherlands and around 75 participants from other countries.