Higher education reform experts : activity report 2019

The service contract "Centralised Support to the Network of Higher Education Reform Experts" (SPHERE) was awarded to a consortium of the European University Association (EUA) and the University of Barcelona (UB - coordinator) in 2014, with the ambition to support, train and link national HERE teams. This support entails international events and training activities (conferences, seminars and study visits), Technical Assistance Missions (TAM) as well as networking services and the design and maintenance of a portal (Virtual Community Website). For 2019, the SPHERE training events addressed a cross-cutting theme: social inclusion and equity, to which several events were linked, as well as a study. This theme was agreed given it is of continuous focus of the European Union and the EU programmes for higher education, as well of the Bologna Process, where the 'social dimension' has gained speed. It was a theme which the Advisory Group endorsed, which was also first explored in break-out sessions of the 2018 HERE annual conference. This helped to programme the 2019 activities in accordance with HERE needs and interests.