During a two-day meeting at the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, representatives from all alliance members gathered to discuss Joint Degree development, micro-credentials, pedagogical approaches as well as quality assurance and affiliated accreditation mechanisms.

The meeting was aimed at providing clarity and reaching alignment on the criteria for Joint Degree development and the European Degree (label) to inform strategic decision-making.

Contributions from Yann-Mael Bideau from the European Commission (DG-EAC), Elena Cirlan (ENQA), and Maciej Markowski (EUAA) set the stage for in-depth and fruitful discussions. The lessons learned from the first phase of RUN-EU were also discussed to facilitate the identification of potential areas for Joint Programme development in line with the alliance’s future and advanced skills agenda and the European Union’s priority areas.

A discussion on the RUN-EU pedagogical approaches developed by FAPSA centred on the unique approaches to teaching and learning of RUN-EU alliance institutions and how their impact could be measured and monitored as part of a wider RUN-EU quality assurance system to be established. These mechanisms are relevant not only for our current offer of short learning opportunities but all educational offers, including bachelor’s, master’s and PhD programmes.

The discussions on Joint Programme development and micro-credentials are of great strategic importance to the RUN-EU alliance as the programmes to be developed are the key avenues through which our European University seeks to contribute to societal transformation in its European peripheral areas.