Diversity of Professional Higher Education in Europe / HAPHE project outcomes by Raimund Hudak, Version 2014, EURASHE_AC_Yerevan_15-160514_pres_HUDAK.pdf (0.8 MB) - Rationale of and background to the research project HAPHE
The issue of institutional diversity has moved to the centre of policy discussions in Europe. With such questions as how to ensure the competitiveness of knowledge-based societies and respond to the diversity of students’ and stakeholder demands and needs.
Understanding professional higher education in Europe needs to take into account the complex reality of institutional responses and the internal mix of the HE institutions’ missions.
EURASHE and its members have found that there is no real consensus as to the definition of Professional HE, with variations being found in type of institution/programme providing it, EQF levels, qualifications offered and more. The diversification of HE Institutions is only exasperating the problem. Thus, among many ‘traditional’ professional education institutions, academic drift is being observed, (‘Fachhochschulen’ becoming Universities of applied Sciences), while on the other hand, a trend to provide professionally oriented -/practically orientated- study programmes (e.g. theoretical physicists promote "econophysics") is becoming popular among ‘traditional’ academic institutions.
The consortium’s motivation, dovetails neatly with that of the European Commission, who, in its modernisation agenda for universities, stresses the linkage between education, labour market, research and innovation as strategic and crucial for reaching the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy. The commission also identifies a huge gap between graduate competences and labour market’s needs, as well as the need to improve recognition of qualifications and to strengthen QA policy and practices.
EURASHE and the consortium members have explored the field of professional Higher Education extensively through collecting specific information in 16 European countries about national PHE systems, institutional profiles of providers and through quantitative and qualitative surveys and research. Harmonisation of the field of Professional HE across Europe as a key factor in enabling and strengthening growth of the EHEA as a whole which will:
• Accelerate development of the professional education at EQF level 6+
• Improve trans-national recognition of professionalised qualifications
• Improve coordination, and collaboration amongst actors in the sector

The overall aim of the project is building a consensus around the defining characteristics and quality criteria for professional education while developing policies, implementation guides and support tools for strengthening of that sector in a sustainable manner.

The place of PHE in the current debate on the role of higher education
A key part of the modernisation agenda for higher education, as advocated by the EU, is the reform of higher education in order to meet the requirements of the labour market.
In many countries, such a reform has involved either the creation or further expansion of a type of HEI, generally known as a professional HEI (sometimes also referred to as advanced vocational education), which is specifically targeted towards this goal, or the reform of current HEIs (of all types) through the professionalisation of courses, i.e. make them more oriented towards a future profession.

The workshop outline
For the purpose of this conference, Qualifications for the Labour Market, the workshop led us to a reflection on the diversity, nature and profile of PHE institutions and the discussion about:
• Will the importance of PHE further increase and if so, why?
• How to improve HE offerings to be adequate to market needs?
• How to improve the relationship between HEIs and employers?
The HAPHE consortium has carried out a wide mapping and surveying of different approaches to PHE provision throughout EU-member states. Major outcomes of the mapping exercise will be presented in the workshop. It will be accomplished by sharing best practices on how HE institutions adapt the criteria of PHE and how they collaborate with the world of work.
Workshop participants will share expertise among stakeholders in education, enterprises and civil society on PHE understanding, definition and defining characteristics and quality criteria.

Perceptions of Professional Higher Education in Europe - Report by Iva Voldánová, Version 2013, EURASHE_AC_Split_130509-10_pres_VOLDANOVA.pdf (0.7 MB) - The field of Professional Higher Education in Europe, only vaguely defined, is growing and gaining importance for the European higher education arena. More and more, higher education institutions of all kinds are starting to integrate professionally oriented programmes into the academic portfolio, and cooperation between academia and employers is on the rise. The wide variety of systems which now fall under the term of ‘Professional’ HE, makes it difficult to transnationally analyse this sector, hinders recognition of qualifications, and limits the ability of policy tools to strengthen its growth.
To address this issue, the HAPHE research team performed a quantitative survey and analyses through a wide consultation with stakeholders from education, business and society the different approaches, demands and future trends to professional higher education (PHE) throughout 15 EU-member states. More than 350 stakeholders have participated in the survey since March 2013 and delivered their understanding and views on the nature of PHE in Europe.
WORKSHOP TOPICS
• Represent the views and attitudes of a wide-range of stakeholders towards PHE
• Discuss the various perceptions and definitions in PHE
• Setting out defining characteristics of professional higher education in Europe

Mapping and characterising PHE in Europe - Report by Armando Pires, Version 2013, EURASHE_AC_Split_130509-10_pres_PIRES.pdf (0.3 MB) - Trends in Higher Education:
1. Standardisation– jobs are more standardised thus training also
2. Specialisation for institutions
3. HEIs growing larger
4. Diversification of HEIs
5. Permeability increasing
6. AHE and PHE drifting towards each other (binarity blurring) x3
7. AHE power and tradition favours itself (lobbying)
8. Different staffing profiles emerging for institutional types
9. RPL increasing importance of assessment
10. Finding its niche and enhancing research capacity
11. Place of learning changing
12. Increase of workload
13. Peer- Reviewed research still driver for career
14. Mobility
15. Types of research fundamental vs applied
16. Doctoral degrees remain in area of AHE
17. Employability for PHE

Perceptions of Professional Higher Education in Europe by Raimund Hudak, Nicole Graf, Version 2013, EURASHE_AC_Split_130509-10_pres_HUDAK_and_GRAF.pdf (0.8 MB) - The field of Professional Higher Education in Europe, only vaguely defined, is growing and gaining importance for the European higher education arena. More and more, higher education institutions of all kinds are starting to integrate professionally oriented programmes into the academic portfolio, and cooperation between academia and employers is on the rise. The wide variety of systems which now fall under the term of ‘Professional’ HE, makes it difficult to transnationally analyse this sector, hinders recognition of qualifications, and limits the ability of policy tools to strengthen its growth.
To address this issue, the HAPHE research team performed a quantitative survey and analyses through a wide consultation with stakeholders from education, business and society the different approaches, demands and future trends to professional higher education (PHE) throughout 15 EU-member states. More than 350 stakeholders have participated in the survey since March 2013 and delivered their understanding and views on the nature of PHE in Europe.
WORKSHOP TOPICS
• Represent the views and attitudes of a wide-range of stakeholders towards PHE
• Discuss the various perceptions and definitions in PHE
• Setting out defining characteristics of professional higher education in Europe

Mapping and Characterising PHE in Europe by Marek Frankowicz, Version 2013, EURASHE_AC_Split_130509-10_pres_FRANKOWICZ.pdf (0.5 MB) - The findings of the first phase of HAPHE project (Work package 1 "Mapping Professional Higher Education in Europe") will be shortly presented and different national higher education structures will be discussed. Particular stress will be put on problematic issues (such as "academic drift" and barriers between academic and professional studies impeding smooth transition between both sectors. Then the following questions will be put for discussion:
What are the main trends in profiling higher education in various European countries? Are there any emerging "European patterns"?
What kinds of performance indicators can be proposed to highlight the quality of Professional Higher Education?

Professional Higher Education in Europe: Towards an emerging model?! by Ulf-Daniel Ehlers, Version 2013, EURASHE_AC_Split_130509-10_pres_EHLERS.pdf (1.4 MB) - The field of Professional Higher Education in Europe, only vaguely defined, is growing and gaining importance for the European higher education arena. More and more higher education institutions of all kinds are staring to integrate professionally-oriented programmes into the academic portfolio, and cooperation between academia and employers is on the rise. Bringing together academic analytic skills and professional experiences seems to be the most promising trend for future higher education. However, currently there is no common definition or understanding of professional higher education. The wide variety of systems which now fall under the term of ‘professional’ higher education, makes it difficult to transnationally analyse this sector, hinders recognition of qualifications, and limits the ability of policy tools to strengthen its growth.
To address this issue, the HAPHE project intends, to survey and analyse through a wide consultation with stakeholders from education, business and society the different approaches, demands and future trends to professional higher education (PHE) throughout EU-member states. The presentation will present first results, considerations and consequences.

Introduction to the theme Professional Higher Education by Stefan Delplace, Version 2013, EURASHE_AC_Split_130509-10_pres_DELPLACE.pdf (0.6 MB) - The term professional higher education cannot easily be defined. Rather it is a ‘passe-partout’ word for educational programs and trainings that exist under different education structures in most European countries. However, at present, there is no sharp, generally acknowledged definition of PHE, and one shall not expect that such definition will appear soon. The only justification for such a term may then be that throughout Europe there are institutions and programs that profess themselves as profession-oriented, or want to be styled as such. This because they recognize themselves in a number of features or indicators that are linked to the predicate ‘professional’.
It is important to elaborate multidimensional characteristics of PHE, with adequate indicators of good practice or even excellence, and to make a comparative review of existing HE structures in European countries, identifying also problems and weak points of present systems. This is precisely one of the aims of the HAPHE project.