European- universities should be encouraged to think about the necessary responses in the context of their own specific mission; while each institution can respond to the challenges of lifelong learning differently, the importance institutional leadership, mission and the need for coherent institutional and governmental policies are shared.

European universities face the challenge of designing strategies suited to their unique and evolving role, be it at regional, national or European level, or in an international context, taking account of the Bologna process developments as well as the broader ‘modernisation agenda’ where key questions concern the form of governance and appropriate funding of institutions within this new paradigm of lifelong learning.

WG1        Theme: Responsive and inclusive universities: organising the paradigm change
                 M1-06 building, Room Baltimore

WG1 explores the challenges faced by institutional leaders in making their institution more inclusive and responsive. What role does internal allocation of funding play? What incentives can be used to motivate staff?

Chair: Pierre de Maret, EUA Board member

Speakers: 

• António Guimarães Rodrigues, Rector, University of Minho, Portugal
• David Drewry, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hull, United Kingdom

          Rapporteur: Elizabeth Colucci, Project Officer, EUA

WG2         Theme: Creating a culture of success: knowing your audience and targeting its needs
                 M1-08 building, Room Leuven

WG2 on the one hand will look at key characteristics of the student population in Europe by examining the results of the Eurostudent III project and on the other hand explore measures institutional leaders have taken in catering for a  heterogeneous student population.

        Chair: S.W.J. Lamberts, Rector, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands

        Speakers:

• Dominic Orr, Eurostudent project coordinator, HIS Germany
• Fevzi Sürmeli, Rector, Anadolu University, Turkey
   

                   Rapporteur: Michael Hörig, Project Officer, EUA

WG3          Theme: The role of institutional leadership in organising creative learning environments
                  M1-09 building, Room Bergen

WG3 explores the enhanced possibilities offered by developing new teaching methods and technologies for both traditional and non-traditional students. How can distance learning and open educational resources be used to improve the learning experience?

                   Chair: Aleksa Bjeliš, Rector, University of Zagreb, Croatia (TBC)

                   Speakers:

• • Agneta Stark, Rector, Högskolan Dalarna, Sweden
  • Theo Bovens, President, Open University of the Netherlands.

                    Rapporteur: Michael Gaebel, Senior Programme Manager, EUA

WG4           Theme: Determining elements of quality for lifelong learning provision
                   M1-16 building, Room Heidelberg

WG4 explores what quality mechanisms (e.g. monitoring, services) need to be in place for lifelong learning provision

                   Chair: Davide Bassi, Rector, University of Trento, Italy (TBC)

                   Speakers:

• Tricia Jenkins, MBE, Head of Educational Opportunities, the Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
• George Ubachs, Managing Director, European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU)

                   Rapporteur: Tia Loukkola, Senior Programme Manager, EUA 

WG5           Theme: Continuing education at university level – a diversity of practices
                   M1-18 building, Room Lund

WG5 looks at institutional examples on how continuing education has been integrated into the educational programmes of universities.

                Chair: Tatjana Volkova, Rector, Banking Institutions in Latvia, Latvia

                Spearker:

• Michel Feutrie, Vice-President, Université de Sciences et technologie de Lille 1, France
• Ludo Melis, Vice-President for Education, K.U.Leuven, Belgium

                  Rapporteur: Jonna Korhonen, Project Officer, EUA