Dive into the programme of the EAIE Community Exchange

After months of social distancing and isolation, it's time for the EAIE community to reunite – this time, in the comfort of our own offices. Personal connections and cross-border encounters are the lifeblood of international education, and in 2020 the EAIE Community Exchange will ensure that these elements continue to sustain our community. From present realities to future scenarios, the programme will include three days of engaging with a number of timely topics and cross-cutting themes. 

The upcoming gathering of the international higher education community is set to include the same high-quality content you're used to seeing at EAIE events. From inspiring keynote speeches to updates on the immediate future of the European programmes for 2021–2027, to practitioner perspectives and life skills tailored to meet the unique challenges of the current moment, the programme has Forging creative pathways at the EAIE Community Exchange.

Plenty of ways to engage

We all have our own learning styles and preferred ways of interacting with content. The virtual format of the Community Exchange allows you to decide how you progress through the programme, from live sessions and real-time networking to a virtual poster gallery and recorded sessions to explore at your convenience.

Sessions like ‘Digital skills for the international office of the future’ will feature a live broadcast and Q&A with the presenters, followed by small group break-out discussion for a deeper dive into the topic. If real-time engagement with colleagues is what you're looking for, you'll also want to visit some of the interactive virtual campfires for open discussion geared towards peer-to-peer learning.

For participants with fuller schedules or who just prefer to explore content quietly in the evening, sessions like ‘The Greta Thunberg effect on higher education: responsible student learning in the Nordics’ are available on demand at the click of a mouse.

Content by practitioners, for practitioners

With speakers from nearly 30 countries across Europe and the world, the EAIE Community Exchange programme will spotlight the most pressing issues in international education from a European perspective More than 30 hours of content will be delivered by and for members of the international higher education community, focusing on a variety of different topics and themes.

Perhaps the most urgent topic on our minds as we enter the 2020–2021 academic year is student mobility, a subject that will be much-discussed during the Community Exchange. In addition to addressing the latest developments around initiatives like Erasmus Without Paper and the brand new ‘international opening’ in the Erasmus+ scheme, this event will offer ample opportunities for participants to learn directly from one another. For example, are you interested in hearing how your colleagues have been delivering orientation and ongoing welcome programmes for incoming students? Are you keen to know how others are supporting international students and scholars as they navigate quarantine measures? Are you looking for new approaches to managing communications with mobile students in fast-moving situations, which can be useful both now and in the future? The EAIE Community Exchange will offer plenty of opportunities for participants to have just these kinds of timely conversations, in both formal and informal formats.

Of course, it's nearly impossible to talk about international education in 2020 without some discussion of the way many aspects of our work are rapidly going digital, which is why a series of sessions on virtual mobility and virtual exchange will be another mainstay of this year's programme. Developments in relation to the European Universities initiative will also be featured, along with considerations of the future of partnerships in international higher education and smart ways of addressing the crucial matter of impact in our field.

These are far from the only topics we'll be touching on: the event programme will range from social responsibility to student support and everything in between, so be sure to explore the full programme for more details.

Book now and save

The EAIE Community Exchange is the can't-miss virtual event for the European international higher education sector. Early-bird registration opens today, so be sure to book before the early-bird deadline of 23 September to save on registration. Mark your calendars for this long overdue reconvening of the international higher education community this October!