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Transnational joint education provision -- education jointly developed and delivered by two or more institutions in different countries -- has emerged as a desired experience for many students, a key priority of several institutions, and a site of innovation. The strategic importance of this topic on a European level is one of the reasons it was selected for the 2023 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group entitled "Challenges and enablers in designing transnational joint education provision". The group's findings are compiled in this report, which outlines the group's conceptual understanding of the term, benefits and challenges of engaging in transnational joint education provision, and recommendations geared towards higher education leadership, staff members, as well as national and regional-level governments.

European higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing increasing demands for more flexible learning and flexibility in learning paths. This report from a 2023 European University Association Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Flexible learning and teaching" explores the complexity of implementing flexible learning at HEIs, starting by defining what it means and entails for the institution, and its members and entities (staff, students, leadership, faculties). With the view that the development of flexible learning is an essential condition for the future of learning at universities, the group identified challenges and examples of practice, and offered recommendations for institutions to reflect on their strategy and build capacity for flexible learning.

To effectively generate solutions to today's complex challenges, cooperation between governments, industry, civil society and academia is essential. To prepare students for collaboration across academic and non-academic disciplines and stakeholders, Living Labs (LLs), unique research internships have emerged in the educational systems, which are focused on generating insights for society while embedding student learning in both practice and academia. To legitimise the LLs as a method of education in the academic curriculum, it is necessary to evaluate the experience of and potential benefits for students' development of their academic, professional and personal skills. Through self-reported pre-and post-questionnaires into students' confidence levels, this paper aims to investigate the outcomes of participating in LLs from the student's perspective via a case study at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. A secondary aim is to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the learning experience of the students.

This report summarises the findings of the EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group "Digitally competent teachers in designing quality learning environments", which was active throughout 2022. Fostering teachers' digital competences is now an indispensable condition for imagining, designing and organising teaching formats, creating and sustaining learning design, assessing student learning, and promoting student engagement, all in the context of a rapidly expanding digital environment. This report explores how higher education institutions address the development of digital competences for teachers. The Thematic Peer Group identified common challenges and proposed a set of recommendations for institutions to develop digital competences with an ecosystem, holistic approach -- integrating a vision for innovation, organisational culture(s), leadership roles, strategy, policy and implementation. The group was organised in the context of the "Supporting European universities in their strategic approaches to digital learning" (DIGI-HE) project and EUA's Learning & Teaching activities.

This report summarises the findings of the EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group "Needs and wellbeing of students and staff", which was active throughout 2022. It outlines aspects of a higher education institution's activities which the group identified as having the most influence on individual wellbeing. The group conducted student and staff surveys at group member institutions to enquire about these aspects, and whether they were positively or negatively affected by digital learning and teaching. In addition, the group organised a student focus group to obtain further insights into student views on wellbeing and the support institutions can provide. The results of these activities are summarised in the report, which concludes by outlining challenges, key considerations and recommendations, which institutions may find helpful for ensuring targeted and effective support for their students and staff. The group was organised in the context of the "Supporting European universities in their strategic approaches to digital learning" (DIGI-HE) project and EUA's Learning & Teaching activities.

The 2020 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Meeting skills and employability demands" explored how universities can ensure that their study programmes reflect the dynamic demands of society and the labour market, and address skills demands throughout the student experience. In this paper, employability is considered as part of universities' mission to educate and to contribute in general to future graduates' personal and professional development, including in lifelong learning. It outlines challenges associated with this mission and provides recommendations to tackle them.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, higher education institutions around the world adjusted their activities to an emergency online mode in the first half of 2020. As institutions have the main responsibility for the quality assurance of their provision, this sudden shift has raised questions around the effectiveness, relevance and flexibility of internal quality assurance arrangements. This report draws on the experiences of a focus group of 39 representatives with responsibilities for internal quality assurance at EUA member institutions. It examines the key challenges faced, the role internal quality assurance played in ensuring that quality standards were maintained and how quality assurance practices supported university communities in their work. It concludes with key lessons learnt and a reflection on what lies ahead for internal quality assurance.

At the centre of a student's university experience stands the programme that they follow. Therefore, creating curricula that are fit-for-purpose is at the heart of an institution's teaching mission. These curricula need to be relevant for students during their time at university, as well as serve as suitable preparation for their future professional and civic lives. This paper presents the work and conclusions of the European University Association (EUA) Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Curriculum design", which identified nine components that contribute to the creation of an "ideal curriculum" covering all stages of the curriculum design.

Student assessment is integral to curriculum design and to the learning journey of all students. Assessment is about process and outcomes. It enables a learner to determine their progress through the medium of ongoing feedback, and it also determines whether a student has met the intended learning outcomes. The focus on assessment in higher education is increasing, being closely linked to the enhancement of learning and teaching strategies and the emphasis on student-centred learning. There is political and institutional high-level commitment to promoting an assessment design which is holistic and based on co-creation between students and academic staff. Core practices in student assessment often remain problematic, and teachers and institutions face diverse challenges in using research to improve assessment and feedback practices. Crucial challenges include approaches which take into consideration increasingly diverse student cohorts, ensuring the integrity of assessment, and being mindful of the workload for both teachers and students. The EUA Thematic Peer Group "Student assessment", composed of academics, institutional management and students, was invited to examine how student learning can be assessed in a way that takes into account both qualitative indicators and pedagogical progress, including peer and self-assessment, and caters for students' individual needs. This report is the product of the discussions and conclusions of the group. The report aims to encourage further reflections and conversations around student assessment, and to provide tools to support development of assessment feedback at the institutional level.

Inclusiveness has become a strategic question for a number of higher education institutions across Europe, impacting learning and teaching, research and institutional cultures. Many have taken action to find new ways to enable people from various backgrounds to find their place in higher education. The idea that diverse learning environments may prepare students better for a diverse society and diverse research environments is gaining ground. The report presents a broad picture with data from 159 higher education institutions in 36 European systems. It shows different institutional strategies and measures and analyses success factors, challenges and needs for support to build institutional capacity. It is of interest to university leaders and managers developing their institutional strategy, staff charged with implementation, researchers and students interested in the topic, as well as policy makers and administrators at European and national levels as they develop new policies for higher education and research. [Foreword by Michael Murphy. Carme Royo and Hélène Mariaud served as the editorial board. The European University Continuing Education Network (EUCEN) partnered in this project.]

Ample evidence suggests that even though student-centred learning is a topic of great interest and benefit to universities across Europe and beyond, there are widespread difficulties in addressing the concept in practice, mostly due to its broad scope. This report presents the status of student-centred learning in Europe's universities and offers considerations for the role of quality assurance processes in ensuring that education provision is geared towards student learning and success. It also suggests an approach to student-centred learning which considers the concept a part of quality culture and reduces the widespread perception of quality assurance as a bureaucratic burden.

Active learning encompasses a broad range of pedagogical approaches involving the learner in every step of the educational process, with the objective of stimulating ownership and critical thinking skills, among others. This paper is the result of the work carried out by the European University Association (EUA) Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Promoting active learning in universities". It presents the group's conclusions concerning the potential of active learning to foster skilled professionals, critical and creative thinkers, and engaged citizens. It also points to the need for a cultural shift in the academic environment, in which teachers would become facilitators of learning and students their active partners, and how such a shift can be implemented in an encompassing way.

Based on the work of the European University Association (EUA) Learning & Teaching Initiative and the outcomes of the 1st European Learning & Teaching Forum, this paper underlines the importance of learning and teaching (L&T) as a core mission and responsibility of universities. Student learning needs and success must remain at the centre of universities' educational mission. Building on this message, the position paper argues for a creative, active and innovative learning environment that is research-based and open to adapt to the changing needs of students and society. To support such endeavours, the paper emphasises the need to better recognise teaching as central to the academic profession, to institutionalise L&T enhancement through a broad-based and clear institutional strategy, and to further explore European and international cooperation on the topic. Above all, the paper advocates for sufficiently autonomous and funded universities that allow further development and implementation of high-quality L&T.

The purpose of the report is to document universities' perceptions of the changes that have taken place in European higher education in the past five years particularly in relation to learning and teaching. It is based on a questionnaire to which 451 higher education institutions, from 46 countries (or 48 higher education systems), responded. The respondents represent more than 10 million students or about a quarter of the students enrolled in the institutions of the European Higher Education Area. Specifically, Trends 2015 seeks to answer the following questions: (1) To what extent have learning and teaching moved up as institutional priorities? How extensive has the shift been to student-centred learning across Europe and is this shift supported by national and institutional policies and other measures (e.g. funding, staff development, internal and external quality assurance procedures)?; (2) What are the key changes that have affected institutional developments, particularly in relation to learning and teaching?; and (3) How can the findings of this study inform the future priorities of the Bologna Process?