Emperor Charles V was quoted as saying “I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my dog.” Today, he would probably have added “and English to academics”. English-medium tuition in European higher education, i.e. courses that are fully or partially imparted in English, in countries where English is not the domestic language, is on the rise all over continental Europe. But why?

Join ACA on 4 December to discuss the many answers to this question with prominent speakers from academia and business. In particular, we will explore to what extent linguistic and cultural skills of graduates match labour market needs and whether institutional language policies are bound to clash with EU policies promoting diversity and multilingualism. Among the high-calibre speakers are Philippe van Parijs (UCL and Harvard University), Frans Zwarts (University of Groningen), Rolf Tarrach (University of Luxembourg), David Coyne (previously European Commission, DG Employment), Bernard Coulie (UCL), Wolfgang Mackiewicz (European Language Council and President of Business Platform for Mulitlingualism) and ACA Director Bernd Wächter.

Programme and practicalities can be found on the ACA website. The seminar is filling up rapidly, so be sure to register on time.

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