During October 19-20, 2023, the interdisciplinary research group “Higher Education Studies. Policies, institutions and people in the transition from modernity to a post-industrial world (HES)”, which runs under the auspices of the Interdisciplinary School of Doctoral Studies (ISDS) of the University of Bucharest, organizes the international conference Access to higher education in the 21st century – policies and outcomes. The event is coordinated by prof. Bogdan Murgescu, PhD, Vice-Rector for Budgeting and Human Resources at the University of Bucharest and prof. Romiță Iucu, PhD, President of the Orientation and Strategic Analysis Council of the University of Bucharest. The event will also include two keynote lectures by professors Peter Scott (UCL Institute of Education University of London & Academia Europaea) and Anne Lequy (Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences & European University Association). Information on the two presentations will be announced on the conference page.
Persons interested in contributing with a paper to this conference are requested to submit an abstract in compliance with the requirements of the Call for Contributions by filling in the application form available here by Saturday, June 20, 2023, at the latest. Submitted abstracts will be evaluated by the scientific committee of the conference and the acceptance notifications will be sent on July 1, 2023. After the conference, the presented papers will be gathered in a volume published by an internationally prestigious publishing house.
The main topic of the event aims to increase access to higher education, both as a global trend and as a requirement of public policies in many countries. Proposals may cover both specific case studies and thematic or comparative analyzes with a global perspective. The following directions of interest were established:
- Public policies that regulate access to higher education in the 21st century – responses to national, regional and global phenomena;
- The constraints and opportunities of providing skills and abilities adapted to the labor market through higher education institutions;
- Disadvantaged or marginalized social groups and their limitations regarding access to and completion of higher education;
- Affirmative measures – types, controversies, results;
- The emergence of micro-programs, micro-credentials and their accessibility;
- The intergenerational implications of expanding access to higher education
- The development of the European higher education and the implications regarding access to it;
- Quantity versus quality in evaluating the results of access to higher education;
- Transnational cooperation – new ways of accessing higher education;
- Access to higher education and the democratic infrastructure of contemporary societies.
Given the international dimension of the event, the working language will be English. Those interested can also register as auditors (without presenting a paper), using the following form. The activities will take place at the Rectorate of the University of Bucharest (Panduri Street, no. 90). At this moment, no online activities are planned.There is no fee for participating in the event.The event is organized within the project “AHE-RO-Access to higher education in post-communist Romania” (PN-III-P4-PCE2021-0981), financed by a grant from the Romanian National Scientific Research Authority, CNCS – UEFISCDI. More information can be consulted in the full text of the call, available here, and for questions you can contact the organizers at the e-mail address ahe-ro@unibuc.ro.
