Introduction

The “Future of Higher Education - Bologna Process Researchers’ Conference” (FOHE-BPRC) aims at covering both the theoretic research activities with a focus on the Bologna Process and its effects, as well as the efforts made to define the framework under which the EHEA tools could be implemented.
 
The event wishes to bring together higher education researchers, leading academics, students and policy makers that have either conducted research activities surrounding the Bologna Process/EHEA or are simply interested in the history and evolution of the process, as well as its possible future.

Presentation

The conference aimed at bringing the researchers voice into higher education as well as the experience of various actors active in international level policy making.

The innovative character of this event was given by the unprecedented opportunity for researchers dealing with higher education to interact and contribute to the political process shaping the European Higher Education Area.

The Bologna Process Researchers Conference (BPRC) focused on:

1. the Bologna Process and its effects on the European higher education landscape, and
2. the efforts made to define the national policy frameworks under which the EHEA tools could be implemented.

The latter are illustrated by several major Romanian structural projects seeking to reform the higher education system. These projects are focused on themes of major interest at European level, such as: higher education leadership, institutional quality assurance, university rankings and higher education management.
 
Empirical evidence to support policies and reforms in higher education has often been a matter of local or regional focus. With the development of a pan-European process in higher education, there is a need to explore wider research topic areas, on which to base policies. In this context, the Bologna Process Researchers Conference is dedicated to collect evidence-based research, which has often been lacking during the last ten years, and to create a setting for bridging the gap between policy and research within the EHEA context.