International links

One of our objectives for learning and teaching is 'To support the sector to be internationally competitive in learning and teaching and to play a leading role in co-operation and good practice at European and international levels'.

Competing within the global HE market and developing international links is primarily a matter for universities and colleges themselves, but we have a strategic role, along with other key stakeholders, to support institutions in promoting a distinctive high-quality 'brand' for UK higher education (HE) and to maintain its international competitiveness. Reputation and quality are among the reasons for international students choosing to study in England.

The Bologna Process

We support institutions in addressing the impact and implications of the Bologna Process, which aims to create the 'European Higher Education Area' (EHEA) by 2010. This will include co-operation and consistency between HE systems across Europe, to encourage student and staff mobility, and promote European HE in a global market.

The UK was one of the original signatories of the 1999 Bologna Declaration (Adobe PDF), which started the process.

The Leuven Communiqué (Adobe PDF), signed by European Ministers in April 2009, sets out the achievements of the process to date and the priorities for the coming decade.