Purpose: A sense of collective free-thinking with tangible goals makes co-creation an enlightening experience. Yet despite the freedom and organic flow of the methodology, there remain barriers to deploying co-creation in the real-world context. The aim was to understand the barriers and solutions to co-creation, reflect on applying co-creation in…

Delivering a project has several challenges to be addressed, and to mitigate them, multiple approaches have arisen and suggested as best practices to stakeholders' satisfaction. This research presents a proposal to manage communication inside a virtual project team, adapting concepts from traditional and agile approaches into a hybrid framework,…

The article presents results of an Erasmus+ project that aimed at suggesting a comprehensive performance indicator set for learning and teaching. Based on a benchlearning exercise among the six project universities, the article presents findings of an exploratory research on the assessment of the developed indicator set by members of four…

In recent years, Portuguese universities have diversified their strategies for the promotion of entrepreneurial education among (under/post) graduates, both through formal education and non-formal and informal activities. Indeed, Higher Education Institutions can provide entrepreneurial learning opportunities for students, stimulating new…

This paper presents a systematic framework of the most needed Vocational Education and Training (VET) reforms in The Azores, a Portuguese outermost region. Our report is based on a participatory research approach involving the perspectives of five different groups of stakeholders. Our data was collected in 18 virtual world-café sessions (n = 164…

This research examines regional skill problems and the strategies adopted to reduce skill shortages by a set of employers (n = 16). The data collected in 2019 in a northern region in Portugal indicate considerable and persistent shortages of engineering and IT graduates and non-graduates for operational jobs. The employers implement anticipative…

This article explains an action research response to the need for knowledge democracy in research projects between academics in global North and global South countries. It argues that if unspoken assumptions about knowledge creation are left unexamined, such collaborations can replicate forms of 'epistemic injustice'. The paper is premised on the…

This research examines the barriers and facilitators to employers' engagement with higher education institutions. The data were collected through interviews with a set of employers (n = 19) in the Northern region of Portugal, V.N.de Famalicão, in 2019. We begin by exploring employers' engagement activities as a potential solution to address…

This paper investigates the evolving landscape of European doctoral education and its impact on the doctorate's identity and value. It conducts a comprehensive analysis, drawing from both extensive literature review and empirical data from the Portuguese context. This examination reveals intricate changes in doctoral education, driven by a…

Purpose: Based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study aims to determine the influence of personality traits on the acceptance and usage of Web portals in Portuguese universities. Design/methodology/approach: To this end, a quantitative study was conducted using structural equation modelling and a structured questionnaire, directed to…

In Europe and beyond, managerialism triggered the rise of "boardism" as a distinctive governance praxis in higher education, involving both normative assumptions and technical and practical elements. In this paper, we examine to what extent strategizing processes in Portuguese higher education institutions reflect the reconfiguration of…

The purpose of this paper, which is part of a three-year EU Erasmus+-funded study titled 'Distributed Evaluation and Planning in Schools' (DEAPS), is to provide an analysis of policies, structures, processes, supports and barriers that exist to enable or inhibit the involvement of students and parents in school evaluation in four European…

This article explores which measures are perceived by European key stakeholders (students, employers and academics) as crucial for the development of curricula that provide graduates with working-life competences and key skills that may increase their employability. It also seeks to identify measures that may strengthen cooperation between…

Recent shifts in university governance have relied on increased autonomy. Within this context, the enhanced role attributed to governance boards at the expense of academic bodies and the role of external stakeholders has gained momentum. With the aim of understanding the extent of the influence of external stakeholders at the institutional level,…

Methodologies for engineering learning and teaching (MELT) approach aims to enhance the attractiveness of education through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among young people, while promoting awareness of future careers in these areas. To this end, students' expectations are considered within university programmes, aiming…