This November was a busy month for ACA in delivering trainings on inclusion and diversity throughout Europe.

It all started with a two-day Inclusion ACAdemy training event on 2 and 3 November for the Greek higher education institutions in Delphi. The event was organised by the Greek National Agency State Scholarship Foundation (IKY) and was attended by around 60 representatives of Greek higher education institutions and NA staff. The practical trainings on supporting and engaging disadvantaged students were delivered by Valerie Van Hees, coordinator of the The Support Centre for Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO) and Joanna Domagała, SUCTIA trainer and manager from Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan. The event has featured presentations on relevant policies and programmes by ACA’s director Irina Ferencz, policy and project coordinator Martin Bogdan, and Valerie Van Hees. Anastasia - Sissy Gkika, Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU, provided additional inputs on the latest developments in the policy discussions among member states. Further inputs were provided by Ahrenkilde Hansen, (Director General - Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) (video), Ioannis Katsaros (Secretary General - Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport (video), prof. Andreas Gofas (Director of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi), prof. em. Michael Koutsilieris (President of the Board of Directors - IKY) and Leonidas Papastergiou (Director for Special Programmes and International Scholarships of IKY).

Another activity ACA delivered were the online trainings in the framework of the Inclusion ACAdemy for colleagues working in higher education institutions and NAs from six countries (Austria, Croatia, Germany, Finland, Iceland, and Slovenia) on the topic of inclusive communication, engagement, and promotion of mobility opportunities. Valerie Mertens, project officer in SIHO, has presented their tools on inclusive communication, while Joanna Domagała delivered interactive workshops on communication, engagement and promotion using innovative methodologies.

The inclusion-intensive November was closed by the OeAD-Hochschultagung 2023 event where Martin Bogdan delivered a workshop “International Experiences for All: Overcoming Barriers, Seizing Opportunities” together with Silke Preymann, Scientific Head of Diversity Management at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. A group of around 50 participants from Austrian HEIs, Ministry and the NA has participated in the conversation about challenges and opportunities of creating a more inclusive HE environment.