The Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – together with the Nordic Council of Ministers, hosted the Nordic Bologna Process Official Seminar 'Looking out! Bologna in a global setting' in Oslo 28 - 29 September 2006. This was the third and final seminar held in order to give input to a strategy document on the external dimension of the Bologna Process. The first seminar was arranged in the Vatican in March-April 2006, hosted by the Holy See, and the second in Athens, Greece in June 2006, hosted by the Greek Ministry of Education. About 160 delegates from 39 countries, representing universities, university colleges and central authorities as well as organisations from all continents, participated in the Nordic seminar. The seminar was scheduled from lunch to lunch and was structured with plenary sessions, including a panel discussion, as well as six parallel sessions.

The main outcome of the Nordic Bologna seminar was the broad discussion and feedback on the most important issues presented in a draft strategy document from the Working Group and a draft report from the rapporteur Professor Pavel Zgaga. The main topics discussed in the parallel sessions were:

• conditions for institutional cooperation between European and non-European higher education institutions
• international mobility – transparency – recognition
• recognition of different student programme structures
• strategy for international cooperation, attractiveness – brain drain – capacity building G what makes the EHEA attractive?

As this was the third and last seminar before proposing a strategy document, it was the last possibility to discuss issues raised in the Working Group documents within a broader community of experts.
In particular, the views presented from representatives outside the EHEA gave valuable input to the final discussion in the Working Group.

Toril Johansson, Norway

Source: Bergen to London 2007 - Secretariat Report on the Bologna Work Programme 2005-2007
Bologna Process between Bergen and London