International Office EU-funded Project Portfolio

Ghent University's central International Relations Office is actively involved in a wide range of externally funded projects related to the internationalisation of higher education. On this page you can find some of these projects, including some that have recently finished, but for which the outcomes remain highly relevant. For an exhaustive overview of all EU funded education projects that Ghent University was / is involved in, please visit this website.

PoMiSA - Potential of Microcredentials in Southern Africa (01/12/2023 – 30/11/2025)

The objective of the PoMiSA project is to develop principles and policies for the recognition, quality assurance and regulation of microcredentials in Southern African countries, through collaboration between Southern African and European universities, as well as higher education councils. While Southern African policymakers have recognised the potential of microcredentials, various concerns remain.

Under the coordination of University of Johannesburg, and with the involvement of 17 other partners in Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Estonia, Ireland and Belgium, the project will develop national concept papers for the systematic introduction of regional guidelines and policy frameworks on microcredentials in Southern Africa. Ultimately, the project would benefit the people and countries of the Southern African region, including learners, employers and higher education institutions and systems, by developing a well-defined roadmap and clear regulatory frameworks.

PoMiSA is funded under the Erasmus+ programme as a Key Action 2 Capacity Building in Higher Education – Strand 2 project (Call 2023).

PADMICA – scalable and low-resource Preparation And Debriefing Modules for students’ Intercultural Competence development Abroad (01/11/2023 – 31/10/2026)

Student mobility in higher education provides students with the opportunity to broaden their cultural horizons, enhance their language skills, and develop a global network of contacts. However, students are not always able to effectively interact with locals, develop cultural awareness, and respond to challenging situations occurring at the intersection of cultures. Moreover, many higher education institutions lack the know-how and resources to equip outgoing students with essential knowledge and tools pre departure, or offer opportunities for critical reflection upon return.

Under the coordination of the Ghent University International Relations Office, PADMICA sets out to develop ready-made, scalable, and practice-oriented intercultural preparation and debriefing modules. The project will also enable international relations officers/higher education staff to deliver those modules by implementing a train-the-trainer module, generating new in-house expertise. Finally, PADMICA aims to ensure accessibility, broad exploitation and sustainability of the materials across higher education institutions.

PADMICA is funded under the Erasmus+ programme as a Key Action 2 Cooperation Partnerships in the field of Higher Education (Call 2023).

EDLab – European Degree Label Institutional Laboratory (01/03/2023 – 30/04/2024)

EDLab is part of a recent initiative by the European Commission which focuses on the development of a ‘joint European degree label’. This label is based on a common set of co-created European criteria. EDLab is one of the six pilot projects selected to examine, test and facilitate the delivery of a joint European degree label. In this project, particular attention is given to the analysis and potential reform of the situation in four specific target countries which continue to experience restrictions in the development and implementation of joint degree programmes: France, Italy, Portugal, Spain. Overall, the aim of the initiative and pilot projects is to further the implementation of joint programmes and the (co-)awarding of joint degrees.

The EDLab project brings together a network of 13 full partner universities representing four European University Alliances: ARQUS, EUTOPIA, ENLIGHT and SEA-EU. Furthermore, the project involves 35 associated partners, being national authorities, quality assurance agencies, student and alumni associations, ENIC-NARIC, among others. Ghent University leads the work on the design and testing of the joint European degree label.

EDLab is funded under the Erasmus+ programme as a Key Action 3 European Policy Experimentation in Higher Education – Pilot a joint European degree label (Call 2022).

ENLIGHT: European University Network to Promote Equitable Quality of Life, Sustainability and Global Engagement through Higher Education Transformation (01/11/2020 - 31/10/2027)

ENLIGHT is a European University Alliance, bringing together ten comprehensive, research-intensive universities from ten European countries.

ENLIGHT will contribute to the fundamental transformation of European Higher Education that empowers learners as globally engaged citizens with state-of-the-art knowledge, skills, and innovation potential to tackle major societal transitions and to promote equitable quality of life and sustainability. To this end, ENLIGHT will establish an open integrated space with free movement of students and staff and sharing of resources that gradually links the structures of quality assurance, international outreach and global engagement, talent recruitment and investment in large research infrastructure.

We develop new models for education and research adapted to the complex challenges cities face today, focusing on six flagship areas: health and well-being, digital revolution and impact of digitalisation , climate change, energy & circular economy, equity and culture & creativity. ENLIGHT boosts international learning across our inter-university campus, consolidating and widening access to flexible future-proof learning opportunities.

ENLIGHT will build impactful knowledge-creation, empowering academics for team-based science to provide a strong impetus to our mission-oriented and challenge-based approach. This deepens our societal engagement and brings our eco-systems together for maximum impact in education and research.

EDSSI: European Digital Student Service Infrastructure (01/10/2020 - 31/08/2022)

The infrastructure, which is  currently under development, will allow European higher education institutions and student service  providers to exchange Erasmus+ student data in a reliable way while enabling secure access to  student mobility electronic tools and services. 

EDSSI is funded under the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility programme  under grant agreement no. LC-01560120 CEF-TC-2019-4-001. 

The partners of the project are: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Coordinator),  Centre National des Oeuvres Universitaires et Scolaires, Deutsches Studentenwerk, Erasmus  Student Network, European University Foundation, Fondazione Eendisu ente nazionale per il  diritto allo studio e per i servizi agli studenti, Géant Vereniging, Groupement d’intérêt public pour  le réseau national de telecommunications pour la technologie, l’enseignement et la recherche  (Renater), Humboldt-UniversitätHumboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Unit – direktoratet for ikt og  fellestjenester i hoyere utdanning og forskning, Universidad de Málaga, Universidade do Porto,  Universitat Jaume i de Castelló, Universiteit Gent, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Vetenskapsradet.

Erasmus without Paper (01/01/2022 - 31/12/2025)

Erasmus Without Paper aims to set up a European-wide electronic network that enables universities to exchange student data directly between systems, hence replacing a multitude of paper forms (learning agreements, transcripts of records, ...) with electronical data transfers. Two consecutive projects (from 01/11/2015 to 30/10/2017 and from 01/01/2018 to 31/12/2019) preceded the current EWP+ project funded via the Framework Contract for Services related to the development, implementation and support of the European Student Card Initiative – online systems, processes and services in relation to learning exchanges (coordinator: European University Foundation). The project is a cornerstone of the European Student Card Initiative and will revolutionize the administration of Erasmus exchange students combining both the expertise from International Relations Offices and ICT departments.

The Erasmus Without Paper (EWP)- Competence Centre provides you with guidance on digitising the internationalisation processes at your Higher Education Institution.

RECMAT: Recognition Matters (15/10/2017 - 14/10/2021)

The main objective of the KA2 CBHE project Rec-Mat is to contribute to facilitate and promote student exchange between Europe and Latin America. To achieve this, it is crucial to reduce the barriers to mobility related to the process of academic recognition and enable Latin America Higher Education Institutions to implement a fairer academic recognition process.

The project raises awareness among academic staff about the importance of academic recognition and fair grade conversion and provides information on concrete ways to facilitate the implementation of a full recognition process. This will contribute to the harmonization of academic recognition processes between Latin American institutions.

The Rec-Mat project proudly presents several interesting outcomes among which: a Digital Interactive Compendium, Guidelines on Recognition, several MOOC’s on academic recognition.

You can find all related information on the YouTube Channel and on Linktree.

FESC: Framework for Erasmus staff competences (01/09/2018 - 31/05/2021)

The FESC project aims to contribute to increasing the quality of student mobility by focusing on staff competencies of higher education professionals working with (potential) mobile students.

Relevant intellectual outputs are:

• E+ staff competencies and audit framework
• a training toolkit
• policy recommendations

Erasmus Skills (01/09/2018 - 31/03/2021)

The project will make it possible for students to self-assess their learning mobility outcomes and for academics to understand the added-value of mobility in the context of their study programmes.

The core of “Erasmus Skills” is to ensure that students are more aware of the process they go through while going on exchange and the impact this has on their skills, their personal development and their place in society as active citizens. The project aims to enhance the reflection of students about these aspects by deploying innovative tools on the impact of an exchange experience, which will be used both by students and university staff members.

The exploitation of results will reach optimal results by further developing the Erasmus+ mobile App, allowing students to self-assess their mobility experiences as they go on their smartphone. In addition, the project will also include the design of a methodology supporting academics on integrating learning mobility outcomes into curricula, which will certainly allow providing institutions and academics with recommendations and advice on how mobility is relevant to specific academic disciplines.

YEBO: Internationalization of doctoral studies in South Africa (15/10/2017 - 14/10/2020)

Doctoral studies are considered one of the driving forces that generate economic growth and contribute to the development of society, through the gaining of new knowledge. The nature of doctoral studies has been much debated in recent years. Their internationalization has been highlighted as a key component to facilitate the development of research excellence and the quality of doctoral education.

Nevertheless, this internationalization can be seen as unreachable for most universities due to the lack of resources but also because of the lack of experienced supervisors. This is something that the European Union has focused on for years.

For the YEBO! project, partners clearly identified a need to train supervisors in order to allow them to be more efficient with PhD candidates.

e-Quatic: Online Quality Assessment Tool for International Cooperation (01/11/2017 - 31/10/2019)

Ghent University is putting a strong focus on quality in its policy plans for internationalization. The IRO coordinated two consecutive projects about eQuATIC. The first was jointly financed by the Flemish government and Ghent University, the second was funded by the European Erasmus+ programme. eQuATIC is a web-based tool supporting Higher Education Institutions to improve the quality of their cooperation with partner institutions. The eQuATIC tool addresses the growing need for quality in international cooperation. It exposes and visualizes strengths and weaknesses, supporting policy makers and practitioners in evaluating international cooperation.