11-14 September, Vienna, Austria
Austria's lively capital, Vienna, the convenient midpoint of west and eastern Europe, was a perfect location to hold the EAIE's largest conference yet. With over 1950 participants from all over the world, 50 exhibitors and a new and improved conference format, this anniversary conference was an absolute success. Higher education professionals from all over the world took advantage of Vienna's charm to fulfil their professional needs including networking, professional development and discussing new educational trends. At the same time, the conference allowed for social opportunities with some of the finest entertainment that included a dinner and dance event, musical performances, waltzing lessons among other activities. The host of the conference, the University of Vienna, is one of the oldest universities in the world and is an institution that several Nobel Prize Laureates attended. Its ancient allure and its prestigious status today as a university for over 63 000 students from 130 countries was an excellent forum to hold the conference's 90 sessions and discuss current educational developments.
The Opening Plenary, which marks the beginning of the conference, took place at the Vienna Rathaus, Vienna's City Hall. The keynote speaker, actor, director, producer and scriptwriter, Sir Peter Ustinov, engagingly expressed his support for life-long learning and praised the benefits of multiculturalism. Other speeches at the ceremony included Georg Winckler (the Rector of the University of Vienna), Jeroen Torenbeek (EAIE president), Paul Andreas Mailath-Pokorny (Executive City Councillor for Cultural Affairs, representing the Mayor of Vienna) and Barbara Weitgruber, representing the Austrian Minister for Education, Science and Culture.
New session format
The Conference Programme Committee (CPC) revamped the traditional format which was organised around Professional Section (PS) or Special Interest Group (SIG) tracks for a newer layout focussing on 'streams' according to topics. Each 'stream' often contained a number of different PS's and SIG's sessions, which allowed participants to attend those that were most relevant to their interests and professional needs. The new 'streams' were as follows: info & updates, accreditation & evaluation, development cooperation, good practice and bad experiences, intercultural dialogue, management & organisation, mobility, policy & strategy, and national education systems. The conference sessions were preceded by a day of training opportunities with a variety of workshops and information on Austrian higher education. Participants had the opportunity to visit a dozen universities and fachhochschulen around Vienna and its surroundings.
Dance the night away
The customary Dinner and Dance event was held a the Rathauskeller, a lively disco and the Hofburg Palace, a huge hall that is described as being suitable for kings and queens, and it was! Fully clad in either clothes for a night on the town or ballroom gowns and tuxedos, a fun time was had by all who attended.
Awards
The first ever Constance Meldrum Award for Vision and Leadership was presented to Helene Ullerø of the University of Oslo. This award was established in Constance's memory for all of her hard work with the European Commission. Conference session 7.06 'Teacher and staff mobility as a means of promoting internationalisation at home' was presented with the EAIE and ICWE (International Conferences, Workshops and Exhibitions) award for most innovative session and workshops.
In conclusion
More than 50 participants performed in the EAIE choir to conclude the success of another EAIE conference. We look forward to seeing you next year in Torino, Italy.