Statement

The theme of the third Bologna Policy forum is "Beyond the Bologna process: Creating and connecting national, regional and global higher education spaces”.

The Policy forum had four sub-themes, which were addressed during the parallel sessions, namely:

1. Global academic mobility: Incentives and barriers, balances and imbalances.
2. Global and regional approaches to quality enhancement of Higher Education.
3. Public responsibility for and of HE within national and regional context.
4. The contribution of Higher Education reforms to enhancing graduate employability.

This year’s edition of the Bologna Policy Forum was finalised with the adoption of the 2012 Bologna Policy Forum Statement.

2012 Bucharest Bologna Policy Forum Statement

Background paper

Higher education and research play a critical role in international exchange and intercultural dialogue. One of the most noticeable modern trends is the growing interest amongst higher education institutions worldwide to internationalize.

The European Higher Education Area, which is in many ways a regionally confined internationalization project, is clearly influenced by global forces, and should be responsive to an increasingly global higher education landscape and agenda. It is for this reason that the first two editions of the Bologna Policy Forum, held in Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve (2009) and Vienna (2010) respectively, engaged governments from around the world in a dialogue on the Bologna Process reforms and on how they impact or influence higher education in other parts of the world. Held in conjunction with the Bologna Ministerial meetings, the two Fora have been important platforms for the sharing of European experiences with global partners as well as for sharing global partners’ experiences with Europe.

The Third Bologna Policy Forum (Bucharest, 2012) will continue and deepen the dialogue. International government delegations are invited to engage in debate on four key issues:

1. Global academic mobility: Incentives and barriers, balances and imbalances.
2. Global and regional approaches to quality enhancement of Higher Education.
3. Public responsibility for and of HE within national and regional context.
4. The contribution of Higher Education reforms to enhancing graduate employability.

These topics have been identified by the Bologna Follow-Up Group and national contact points as nominated by the previous international government delegations. The intent of this document is to provide background information on key policies and strategies relevant to the debate and to show how these issues are connected. The title of this document, ‘connecting national, regional and global higher education areas’, has been chosen to reflect the extent to which other world regions are contemplating and implementing regionalisation agendas, many of which also include the same thematic priorities.

This paper aims to briefly introduce these topics and to suggest questions that could structure the dialogue between the participants in the Bologna Policy Forum. The results of this inter- governmental dialogue will be reflected in the Third Bologna Policy Forum Statement and followed up in the years to come through future Policy Fora as well as bi- and multiregional events and initiatives.

2012 Bucharest Bologna Policy Forum - Background paper

Programme

World Bank Parallel Session

Title: Skills that matter for employability and productivity and policies to develop them

This session will present ongoing World Bank initiatives aimed at unpacking the measurement of workers’ skills and benchmarking effective policies to develop them. The presentation will cover the relevant tools and showcase the evidence from their application in middle income emerging economies. BPF 2012 - Agenda World Bank Parallel Session

Speaker:

Omar Arias, Lead Economist, Human Development Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department, World Bank BPF 2012 - Omar Arias - Measuring Skills and Policies to Develop them

Discussants:
Professor Eliot Sorel, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University BPF 2012 - Eliot Sorel - Biological, Psychosocial, and Educational Antecedents-Determinants of Sustainable Development

Professor Mircea Miclea, President of the Presidential Commission for Education, former Minister of Education, Romania BPF 2012 - Mircea Miclea - Relevant Skills

BPF Information and mutual exchange session 1 – Plenary session

Title: The Bologna Process – A Catalyst for Reform in other regions?

Moderator: Hilligje van’t Land, Director Membership and Programme Development, International Association of Universities (IAU)

Panelists:

• Mongkhonvanit Pornchai, IAU Board Member / President Siam University (Thailand)
• Carlos De Feo, Secretary General, Federacion Nacional de Docentes Universitarios, CONADU (Argentina)
• Victor Sanchez, President, United States Students Association (USA)

Main questions for the panelists:

• How did the BP impact your national / regional context?
• What are the opportunities and obstacles for inter-governmental cooperation, similar to the Bologna Process, in your region?

BPF Information and mutual exchange session 2 – Plenary Session

Theme - Qualifications Frameworks and their role in academic and professional recognition

Chair: Jean-Philippe Restoueix, Council of Europe

Panelists:

• Javier Botero, Vice-Minister, Colombia
• Joe Samuels, SAQA, South Africa
• Shelagh Whittleston, Australia
• Holly McKiernan, Lumina Foundation, USA
• Mr. Bryan Maguire, HETAC, Ireland

Main questions to be addressed by speakers:

• Why has a QF been developed for higher education in your country/ region?
• What was the process for developing it?
• What were the challenges in developing it?
• Do you believe it is accomplishing its intended goal? How do you know this is the case?

Bologna Policy Forum Official Opening – Plenary session

Chair: Gulu Novruzov, Azeri Vice-Minister of Education

Welcome words:

• Catalin Ovidiu Baba, Romanian Minister for Education, Youth and Sports
• Androulla Vassiliou, European Union, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth

Keynote speech by Eduardo Ochoa, Assistant Secretary of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education

BPF Thematic parallel sessions

Chaired by the ministers responsible for higher education in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Denmark and Romania and co-Chaired by 4 non-EHEA ministers

Parallel session 1: Global academic mobility: Incentives and barriers, balances and imbalances

Co-Chairs: Denmark and the United States of America

Contribution from Xavier Prats Monné, Deputy Director-General for Education and Culture, European Commission

Parallel session 2: Global and regional approaches to quality enhancement of HE

Co-Chairs: Romania and Colombia

Parallel session 3: Public responsibility for and of HE within national and regional context

Co-Chairs: Armenia and Council of Europe

Parallel session 4: The contribution of HE reforms to enhancing graduate employability

Co-Chairs: Azerbaijan and BUSINESSEUROPE

The main questions for the debates will correspond to the questions at the end of the BPF background paper chapters.

Discussion and adoption of the BPF Statement - Plenary session

Chaired by Catalin Ovidiu Baba, Romanian Minister for Education, Research, Youth and Sports

Short overview:

• Presentation of the conclusions from the BPF thematic parallel sessions
• Discussions for finalizing the BPF Statement
• Adoption of the BPF Statement