Interoperability at Una Europa - Bert Willems

Interoperability at Una Europa - Bert Willems

• 1.
  Interoperability at UnaEuropa
• 2.
  • Una Europais an alliance of 11 leading universities from all corners of Europe. • Together, we are forging a new path for education and research in Europe and beyond to shape our shared future for the better. • Founded in 2019, Una Europa has secured successive rounds of European Union funding to realise our vision for a European ‘University of the Future’. • Guided by our 2030 Strategy, Una Europa is working towards a truly inter-university and pan- European campus, shaped by universities’ central obligations to society: research and innovation, teaching and learning, and societal outreach. What is Una Europa?
• 3.
  UNA Europa presentation UnaEuropa partner universities + Freie Universität Berlin + Università di Bologna + University College Dublin/ An Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath + University of Edinburgh + Helsingin Yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet + Universiteit Leiden + Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie + KU Leuven + Universidad Complutense de Madrid + Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne + Universität Zürich 3
• 4.
  4 Our Focus Areas Cultural Heritage DataScience and AI Europe and the World One Health Sustainability Future Materials Each focus area fosters multidisciplinarity and includes most of the studies offered at our universities. The Focus Areas act as the thematic 'glue' that ties our universities together in our mission to create a virtual campus.
• 5.
  UNA Europa presentation OurTransversal Themes The guiding principles for our collaboration 5 6 Transversal themes Champion universities taking the lead Vision and action plans on the themes Advice, training material and toolkits for project teams Implementation of our visions Student-centred and research driven teaching & learning, informed by cultural and linguistic awareness Mobility of Students, Professional Staff and Academic Staff Research & Innovation International dimension Sustainability and Climate Protection Diversity and inclusion
• 6.
  Joint Bachelor ofEuropean Studies
• 7.
  UNA Europa presentation Bachelorof European Studies (BAES) 7 • 3-year programme, 180 ECTS • 4 degree-awarding partners • 5 mobility partners • First cohort of students in 22-23 • Currently 820 students • First graduates in September 2025 • Semester 1-3 at starting university (4 options) • Semester 4-6 mobility => 3 different locations • Joint truncus communis incl. language classes • Majors and minors; bachelor paper and internships
• 8.
  Many significant differencesfrom previous joint programmes (e.g. EMM) • Scale! + Different student body • Study progress issues • Different legal and regulatory framework (admissions, fees, services…) Jointness in processes vs. efficiency? • Use existing expertise • Challenge of scale in admissions, enrolment, data sharing… Jointness in T&L vs. comfort? • One LMS? Do the students move, or the teachers? • One teaching approach? • Evaluation and grading (local differences) Mobility • Regular procedures vs. Joint degree context • Mobility ≠ exchange in a joint degree • Irrelevance of LA’s etc. • Funding! Bachelor of European Studies (BAES)
• 9.
  • BAES requiresactive involment, not just support, of all relevant actors within each HEI - Programme - Faculty - Institutional Shared responsibility of all actors on all levels • Role of European University Alliance - Systemic cooperation - Structural support • Increased awareness of interoperability needs on procedural, legal, technical levels Bachelor of European Studies (BAES)
• 10.
  Use of BlockchainTechnology
• 11.
  Potential of EBSIVerifiable Credentials for education • Registration, admission and onboarding for study programmes, exchange programmes, courses and micro-credentials across all levels of education • Access to student information systems and online learning platforms by enabling identification using Verifiable Credential(s) in a person’s digital wallet. • Application process for student accommodation • Easier access to discounted tickets for cultural, sports and other events for learners. • …
• 12.
  Proof of conceptdevelopment Part of the EBSI Early Adopters Programme Proof of concepts to assess process integration, stakeholder acceptance, onboarding, and the technical, organizational, and financial feasibility of: 1. issuing and verifying secure digital diplomas, transcript of records and micro-credentials 2. integrating those verifiable credentials in admission processes • Part of Wave 3 of EBSI: • Verifiable credentials: educationID, allianceID, Diploma, Transcript of Records, Joint Master, tickets for a workshop. • University Alliance cluster: Una Europa, ERUA, FILMEU • Demos during 2024 EBSI Ecodays • Unibo - Una Europa - exchange scenario - transcript of records • KU Leuven - Una Europa - exchange scenario - transcript of records - diploma => Preparing to go into production (Diploma?)
• 13.
  Challenges and opportunities •Awareness on management level of the needs - Structural commitment of the institutions to work on this: => Foundation of the Interoperability Cluster within Una Europa, bringing together business and IT • Identify the problems first, don’t start from the technical solution - There is not one solution • Tension between short-term and long-term solutions • Increased communication and understanding of each others processes => No need for identical processes everywhere => But need for solutions when there is conflict + agreement on final (data) output
• 14.
  UNA Europa presentation Thankyou! Bert Willems, KU Leuven [email protected] 14