The Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) is proud to announce its 2006 conference: Destination Europe? Players, goals and strategies in enhancing the attractiveness of European universities. ACA is organising the conference in cooperation with its Norwegian member, the Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU). The two-day conference will take place in scenic Bergen from 18 to 20 June 2006. The conference is designed for +/- 250 participants, and it is planned as an interactive event, with plenary sessions and parallel workshops.

The conference addresses the attractiveness of European higher education on a global scale from the perspective of Europe’s higher education institutions. Its core questions are whether or not Europe is “the most favoured destination of students, scholars and researchers” which the Lisbon Strategy wants it to become, and what must be done to further consolidate and improve its position as an academic magnet. However, the attractiveness agenda is deeply linked with ‘neighbouring themes’:

• What is the role of cooperation in the global attractiveness contest, and particularly of solidarity-based educational development aid?

• What is the status of intra-European cooperation, now that we turn to the wider world: is this agenda over, or is there ongoing business?

• Are we realistic when we view the non-European world simply as a reservoir of student and scholar migration into Europe, or will some emerging economies not try to do exactly that with Europe?

  These and other questions will be discussed by speakers and participants from all parts of the higher education world in Europe and beyond.

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