This year marked a host of significant developments for European Higher Education Sector Observatory (EHESO) tools, which were redesigned and further developed. Building on the first edition of the European Higher Education Sector Scoreboard (EHESS) launched in January (see ACA Newsletter – Education Europe, January 2025), this year also brought progress towards the European Student Hub. This platform aims at combining existing tools like Eurostudent, Eurograduate, and Study in Europe to help students make more informed decisions about their study paths. In addition to comparing universities and study programmes across Europe, the tool features data on the cost-of-living, housing availability, and other key financial information that shape students’ decisions - informed by the ESH workshop in September. EHESO has also redesigned the institutional benchmarking tool and launched the updated version this December.   

Building on these developments, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) hosted the EHESO conference on 12 November titled "From data to direction: How can EHESO support the monitoring of the Union of Skills?". The event brought together policymakers, stakeholder organisations, researchers, higher education institutions, students, and employers to explore how EHESO’s expanding tools and datasets can strengthen evidence-based decision-making across Europe. The programme focused on integrating entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education, fostering inclusion and support in STEM programmes, and on graduate tracking novelties and challenges. The policy event marked a milestone in the development of EHESO, as it transitions from a data collection platform towards a central instrument for monitoring progress under the EU’s Union of Skills.