Main outcomes

Information sessions’ format

For information and mutual exchange session 1:

• The moderator should give short introductory presentation on the Bologna Process, followed by discussions. Two possible introductory questions were proposed: How did the Bologna Process impact your country’s higher education system?; What are the opportunities and challenges for similar regional cooperation / integration in your region?
• The IO WG members should balance the presence of regions in the panel, in order to have a wide regional perspective.
• The panellists should represent various environments: governments, HEIs, teachers, students, with interregional organisations as backup. For each category, a list of names should be prepared, in order to have backup options. Additionally, each category should have proposals from each region.

For the information and mutual exchange session 2, suggestions for improvement were received for both themes (QF and mobility).

BFP background paper

Three final questions per chapter should be maintained and if the authors do not select them, the BFUG Chairs and the BPF organisers should decide.
The BFUG Secretariat will edit the BPF background paper, providing a uniform layout.

Bucharest Bologna Policy Forum statement – Draft 2

Specific re-wording was suggested in various paragraphs of the document and Draft 2 will be rewritten accordingly.
As the Statement currently makes no reference to the BPF future, it should emphasise the need for high level meetings, but also at practitioners’ level, both specific regional and all thematic BPFs.

Future editions of the Bologna Policy Forum

The current format of the BPF should be maintained for now and, following the Bucharest event, an assessment should be performed to determine the structure of future editions.
The ministers should commit themselves to implementing the network of NCPs and a specific reference in this sense should be introduced in both in the BPF Statement and the IO WG report.
As concrete follow-up, all events organised under the BPF umbrella should be listed and permanently updated in a separate section of the EHEA official Website.

IO WG final report

The Chair underlined the main recommendations for the Ministerial Communiqué:

• The IO WG should return to the 2007 “EHEA in a global setting” Strategy and identify the areas for future action, which may form the basis of a new internationalisation strategy, taking into account the respective EU internationalisation strategies in higher education and research.
• The BPF concept should be further developed by the IO WG, but its implementation could be assigned to a different structure (the host country, the BFUG Chairs or a small committee).
• The IPN proposal should no longer be put forward to the BFUG in its March meeting. An explanation for not continuing with the IPN activity should be included in the IO WG Report, namely the consultations within the BFUG and the lack of political will to support a centralised activity on EHEA promotion at this point in time. The BFUG Secretariat should inform the IPN members on this outcome after the endorsement of the IO WG report.
• The conclusions of the IO WG Report, the main recommendations for the 2012 Ministerial Communiqué and the BPF Statement will be redrafted in line with the discussions held in the last IO WG meeting.

Future objectives and activities of the International Openness WG

The importance of increased connections of the future IO WG with other WGs on a regular basis, also in between BFUG meetings, was emphasised.
Due to the strong links between internationalisation and mobility in the EHEA Mobility Strategy, some WG members proposed that the IO WG and the Mobility WG be combined to form a single working/coordination group. However, this proposal has been debated, as internationalisation contains other elements as well apart from mobility. Policy dialogue, cooperation and recognition are all issues present in the “EHEA in a global setting” Strategy that have not yet been evaluated and the IO WG could focus on these in its future activity. It was also pointed out, however, that some aspects of the strategy have been implemented in other working groups (e.g. recognition).
Some of the more operational tasks of the future IO WG should be taken out, establishing an international Programme Committee for the organisation of the next BPF editions. The main focus of the IO WG should remain policy making in the field of internationalisation.

Draft agenda

(1)    Adoption of the Agenda

WG International Openness - Rome February 2012 - Draft agenda

(2)    Adoption of the Minutes of the WG meeting on 9 November 2011

WG International Openness - Bucharest November 2011 - Draft minutes version 10.02.2012

(3)    Updates and decisions taken within the BFUG meeting in Copenhagen, 18-19 January 2012 in relation to the IO WG work

Summary of the Copenhagen BFUG meeting discussions related to the IO WG work

(4)    Discussion on the organizational aspects of the Bucharest Bologna Policy Forum

a.    Draft detailed programme of the Bucharest MC and BPF

Overview of the NCPs feedback received on the BPF sessions format

Draft detailed programme of the BPF - version 10.02.2012

b.    Discussion on the BFP background paper

Bologna Policy Forum background paper - revised 10.02.2012

5)      Discussing the Bucharest Bologna Policy Forum Statement – Draft 2

BPF Statement - Draft 1 Overview of feedback received 10.02.2012

(6)      Discussion on the future editions of the Bologna Policy Forum

Overview of the NCPs feedback received on the future BPF structure and content

(7) IO WG final report

• a.    Discussion on the IO WG final report, following the feedback received in the Copenhagen I BFUG meeting
• b.    Discussion on the future objectives and activities of the International Openness WG, possible proposals for the Copenhagen II BFUG meeting (19-20 March 2012)
• c.    Discussion on possible volunteers to take over the chairing of the future IO WG

WG International Openness - Draft report - version 10.02.2012

WG International Openness - Draft report Annex 1 - version 10.02.2012

WG International Openness - Draft report Annex 2 - version 10.02.2012

WG International Openness - Draft report Annex 3 - version 10.02.2012

WG International Openness - Draft report Annex 4 - version 10.02.2012

(8)    Any other business

BFUG_DK_AZ_28_4.3_Annex 5 BFUG Network “Information and Promotion”