History

EURASHE was founded in Patras (Greece) in 1990 as an international association promoting and emphasising Applied Higher Education.

While EURASHE initially admitted only national organisations (such as councils of directors) as members, it later opened up membership to individual institutions. Nowadays, our members are colleges, polytechnics, university colleges, applied sciences, and universities with their professional training.

Three purposes were at the origin of EURASHE:

  • to promote the interests of Applied Higher Education at national and European level,
  • to cooperate internationally on the development of Applied Higher Education,
  • to promote internationalisation within its member institutions.

The motivation of our founding fathers was to create an instrument to advocate for the interests of Europe’s extra-university sector of tertiary education vis-à-vis the European Commission and other stakeholders.

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Mission

EURASHE’s mission is to strengthen the impact of innovative, high-quality Applied Higher Education and related user-oriented research in Europe by representing Applied Higher Education institutions and facilitating their multi-stakeholder cooperation and dialogue.

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Vision

EURASHE strives to support the development and transformation of European society through Applied Higher Education.

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Goals

  • to contribute to the creation of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and European Research Area (ERA) by influencing policy-making at European level on issues related to Professional Higher Education;
  • to represent members’ common interests at European level, as well as outside the EHEA;
  • to promote Professional Higher Education in the EHEA and ERA;
  • to provide members with a platform for communication, information and exchange of views, with a focus on issues relevant to the future development of higher education;
  • to ensure and safeguard the cooperation between the members of the Association;
  • to achieve cooperation in higher education by establishing close links with other organisations with similar objectives.
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Activities

  • membership representation, notably towards European institutions, authorities and stakeholders;
  • production of policy papers, analytical studies and other documents;
  • organisation of networking activities, learning events, conferences and seminars for the members and partners;
  • dissemination of information;
  • partnerships with stakeholder organisations in higher education;
  • involvement in projects.
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EURASHE Annual Report 2022