Applying qualitative methods, this paper examines the burgeoning of quality assurance databases, processes and networks of actors in the field of higher education in Europe. Our main argument is that there has been a move from the Bologna Process being the near singular focus for European-level coordination and harmonisation of higher education,…

Several authors have underlined that processes of Europeanisation of education emerge despite the European Union's lack of formal power in this area. This article argues on the contrary that its lack of power precisely enables the EU to open up a range of possibilities for its involvement in this sector, among which the ET2020 Working Groups (WG)…

In this article, we analyze contradictions, complexities, limits, and potentialities of internationalization of higher education (IHE) from Latin American decolonial perspectives. We argue that even when scholars may be holding decolonial critiques and aspirations towards IHE, the structures of universities are heavily influenced by colonial…

This contribution introduces the general principles of doctoral education in Germany first and then describes and discusses four key drivers of change: the increase in numbers, the diversification of degree models, the impact of the Bologna reforms on doctoral education, and changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the conclusions the…

The Bologna Process was an attempt to build and coordinate OECD countries' higher education systems through, "inter alia," strategic public investment. The Lisbon Strategy 2000-2010 was a continuation of the Bologna process that also highlighted the coordination of education and research based on market-based funding models. Similarly,…

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…

At the heart of Western Europe and culturally embedded in the 'Greater Region,' Luxembourg for centuries sent its youth abroad for tertiary education, without its own national university. Evolving provisions of postsecondary education after 1945 followed construction of several teaching and research institutes that did not offer full-fledged…

The Republic of Moldova is located in a tense geopolitical environment between the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation. As the EU and Russia have incorporated higher education in their foreign policy agendas, this article analyses (1) whether the higher education policies of the EU and Russia are in competition in Moldova and (2) how…

European Higher Education (HE) systems have been undergoing reforms for quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) in response to the Bologna process. Through the comparative exploration of the recontexualizations of European policy discourse on HE QAA in the Republic of Cyprus and Greece, we illustrate the differentially centralized and increased…

Comparative education was established in Greek universities in the 1980s, with the creation of pedagogical departments and two laboratories, and the publication of a journal. There was an early emphasis on education policy analysis, in terms of assumptions about the 'semi-peripherality' of Greece within Europe. Later, the emphasis shifted to what…

The Science Without Borders (SWB) program is Brazil's major international education initiative. Begun in 2011, the SWB program is a government-funded initiative that encourages Brazilian universities to structure international relations offices and make international education experiences accessible to Brazilian students. However, its initial…

This paper introduces the concept of 'soft privatisation'. Departing from a review of the literature examining the growing participation of private sector actors in the provision of public education across Europe, the paper investigates how privatisation has emerged in the context of the European Union as a phenomenon embedded in, rather than a…

This paper presents an analysis of strategic management systems of higher education institutions (HEIs) by identifying policy and strategic priorities and monitoring their implementation. The strategic priorities are contextualized within four scenarios that structure the mission and orientation of HEIs. The methodology is based on data collected…

This chapter engages with the regimes that assemble the European Union's flagship education and training program "Erasmus Mundus." The analysis focuses on "Europe," "dialogue and understanding," and "third" as regimes of global educational policies and technologies of transnational governance. The chapter is…

The objective of this article is to examine the Israeli perceptions towards the Bologna Process as well as outline its reactions to it. Specifically, the article investigates the landscape of interests among Israeli policy-makers (from both political and institutional levels) in relation to the European higher education reforms. Through interviews…