In this article we examine the European Semester as an innovative form of policy coordination, with distinct effects on education and skills policies for Member States. We analyse the Semester's framing of education policy, and examine its manifestations in Spain and Sweden, two countries considered to be different in their approach to education.…

This study delves into the experiences with managing study abroad reported by two mobility programs stakeholders: the vice-dean of International Relations and an Erasmus coordinator at a Faculty of a Spanish University. By means of content analysis of semi-structured interviews, this article aims to shed light on the intricacies of study abroad…

Sustainability action at universities is complex and requires engaging multiple competences that reside on different levels outside and inside the organisation. In addition to individual competences, social communities also possess collective resources and characteristics that do not translate into a sum of individual abilities. Based on a…

The aim of this work is to describe several experiences of STEMbach in different areas: engineering, economics, materials, etc. The STEMbach is a program carried out by high school students during their two years of study to obtain their High School Diploma (equivalent to A-levels), designed for both the Humanities and Sciences modalities, and…

Non-hegemonic perspectives on sustainability are grounded in environmental sustainability based on justice. We argue about the potential of co-operatives for learning framed through degrowth epistemological visions promoting pedagogical changes in Higher Education. The context is a public university in Catalonia (Spain) implementing an innovative…

This technical report presents the results of a cross-case analysis of the eleven case studies conducted under the Higher Education for Smart Specialisation project during the period 2016-2020. The analysis identifies key themes and innovative practice examples from across case studies, developing a structured typology of innovative practices for…

Europe is, in many ways, of central importance to discussions about higher education. Various European initiatives, such as the Bologna Process and the Erasmus mobility programme, have had a direct and material impact on the shape and nature of higher education across the continent. They have also been linked to wider political objectives, such as…

This paper presents a participatory design-based research that aimed to create a model of co-creation in the curriculum in Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments (TELE) in tertiary education, specifically to co-design assessment between professors and students. This qualitative research followed four phases divided into five stages with two…

Transnational joint education provision -- education jointly developed and delivered by two or more institutions in different countries -- has emerged as a desired experience for many students, a key priority of several institutions, and a site of innovation. The strategic importance of this topic on a European level is one of the reasons it was…

Little empirical literature assessing the impact of Erasmus study program on graduate career prospects exists. All too often, the empirical evidence available is either bias or indirect. Furthermore, the existing differences among study mobility participants and non-participant peers in terms of ability, socioeconomic background or field of study…

It is often assumed within much of the academic literature and by many of those working in higher education that universities across Europe are homogenising, converging around an Anglo-American model as a result of neo-liberal pressures and the aim of creating a single European Higher Education Area. However, drawing on an analysis of 92 policy…

Drawing on evidence from documents and semi-structured interviews with members of the Catalan system of higher education, this research explores how intermediary organizations (IOs) facilitate the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), conceived as a global policy framework, in local contexts. We observed that, despite the voluntary…

Online higher education has the potential to offer extra benefits for students with disabilities in comparison with campus-based universities, but it can also cause them some challenges. This case study addresses why students with disabilities choose online studies and how a fully online educational model fits their expectations and needs.…

The arrival of the Bolognia Process, that is, the last European bold adventure in order to build both a common and strong European Higher Education Area had to mean a new chance to reset our higher education structure. Bolognia meant a new opportunity to set up a wide array of reforms with the focus in raising the quality assurance. Bolognia…

This activity report describes a sample unit (Effective Data Presentation) from a communication course prepared as part of an Intellectual Output within the BADGE Project, which was carried out by 12 partner universities from 10 countries during 3 academic years (2019-2022). The article first describes the results of a survey which show that…