On November 19th, ministers from the now 49 participating countries in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) met virtually on the occasion of Rome 2020 Ministerial Meeting, which gave birth to the Rome Communiqué, the document that will set the direction and give indications on the next ten years of work of the EHEA. During the meeting, the ministers celebrated the achievements of the Bologna Process since its inception 21 years ago, and emphasized the importance of cooperation to address new challenges and further boost innovation and inclusion in Higher Education. The social dimension of Higher Education and the right of academic freedom of students and faculty were present throughout the event, as are in the Rome Communiqué. The impact of Covid19 and the opportunities it poses for Higher Education were also addressed by many of the ministers and experts. In this context, the Rome Communiqué recommends institutions to make learning more student-centred by:

• starting or maintaining a structured dialogue on innovation
• supporting the development of the curricula, learning outcomes, assessment and quality assurance
• promoting the skills for the enlightened citizen of the 21st century
• exploring ways to stimulate the cross-border exchange of good practices

Further cooperation in digitalisation to enhance recognition, quality assurance and mobility is also emphasized in the Communiqué as the means to achieve the target that at least 20% of EHEA graduates should have an internationalisation experience, whether at home, abroad or in a blended format. EABHES Accreditation sets the framework schools need to further develop their curricula and establish a continuous self-improvement cycle to guarantee the quality of their programmes. Thanks to EABHES Network, our schools are connected to like-minded institutions and professionals, which enables an enriching exchange of good practices that boost innovation. Also following the above recommendations, EABHES has initiated an international collaborative online project together with students and teachers from four universities in Israel, Mexico, India and Uganda, and working professionals from two strategic commercial partners. This intercontinental project is not only a great at-home internationalisation opportunity for the students, but it’s also a great window for innovation and exchange for the participating schools. To learn more about this project, you can read Design for the New Normal Learning and work environments. TheRome Communiqué and its annexes can be downloaded here.