European Higher Education Area: Challenges for a New Decade

Adrian Curaj is a former minister of education, science and innovation in Romania. He is the head of the UNESCO Chair on Science and Innovation Policies at the National University of Political Sciences and Public Administration and professor at the Politehnica University of Bucharest. Adrian Curaj has been working as a consultant with World Bank, UNESCO, UNIDO, ETF and EC for studies in Tertiary Education, Science and Innovation, and Foresight. He has been actively involved as project leader, country or group leader and expert in many research projects, most of them in research management, higher education management and foresight, areas where he also published scientific articles and books.. He has been the initiator and co-chair of the Bologna Process Researchers Conferences (2011, 2014, 2017, 2020). Adrian Curaj was member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Fulbright Commission in Romania and the Romanian representative at the Bologna Follow-Up Group.  Also, professor Curaj is member of the Romanian Association for the Club of Rome, member of the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO and fellow to the World Academy of Art & Science (WAAS).Ligia Deca is currently the Presidential Adviser for Education and Research within the Romanian Presidential Administration. In this capacity, she also coordinates the “Educated Romania” National Project.She graduated a PhD program in Political Sciences and Educational Policies at the University of Luxembourg and was a research fellow at the „New Europe College”, with a focus on internationalization of higher education.Author of several papers and studies in the field of educational policies, Deca also worked as an expert for the Council of Europe, European Commission, EQAR, DAAD etc. In 2014 she was a member of the ‘Science in Education’ Expert Group set-up by the European Commission and in 2019 she was chosen as an evaluating expert for the European Universities pilot project. Ligia Deca is also a member of the Board of Directors at Fulbright in Romania, since 2017.Remus Pricopie, PhD, is the rector of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) and former Romanian Minister of National Education. His activity within the Romanian Ministry of National Education began in 1996, and includes positions such as Spokesperson, Secretary General, and Deputy Minister – (Secretary of State) for Higher Education, International Relations and Teacher Training. Dr. Pricopie is also professor of public relations and public communication at the National University of Political Science and Public Administration in Bucharest (SNSPA). He has been elected rector of the SNSPA in March 2012, a position he occupied until he was appointed minister of education.Dr. Pricopie has a PhD in Political Science at the SNSPA and he is a Millennium Fulbright alumnus. His educational background includes a rich international experience especially in the United States of America and the European Union. Dr. Pricopie has been Chair of the Task Force on Fostering and Building Human Capital (FBHC) of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)and President of the Board of Directors of the Romanian-US Fulbright Commission, to name just a few of the significant activities of representation he carried out during his professional career. The activity of Dr. Pricopie encompasses trans-disciplinary research in the areas of higher education management, internationalization of higher education, public communication, public participation and collaborative public management.

• Introduction.- Part 1: Furthering the internationalization of higher education: particular challenges in the EHEA (coordinated by Hans de Wit and Ligia Deca).- Part 2: Access and success for every learner in higher education (coordinated by David Crosier and Mihai Cezar Hâj).- Part 3: Advancing learning and teaching in the EHEA: innovation, links with research, and cooperation with the ERA (coordinated by Michael Gaebel and Romiță Iucu).- Part 4: The future of the EHEA - principles, challenges and ways forward (coordinated by Sjur Bergan and Liviu Matei).- Part 5: Bologna Process in the global higher education arena. Going digital?” (coordinated by Dominic Orr and Adrian Curaj).