The three-year European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) project, which has been funded by the European Commission’s Asia-Link Programme and implemented in seven Asian countries between 2006 and 2008 by CampusFrance, DAAD, Nuffic and the British Council is coming to an end. On this occasion, a final seminar was held on 21 November in Paris.

Representatives from the European Commission, ministries, governmental agencies, rectors’ conferences and organisations in charge of academic exchanges and student mobility from 21 EU member states were present. An initial evaluation of the series of EHEFs and the outcomes of the events for participating European countries and higher education institutions were presented. Discussions also focused on member states’ expectations and suggestions for future European promotion activities, and on the identification of priority actions and regions, for enhancing the attractiveness of Europe as a place of study for international students. Moreover, participants debated on future developments and major trends in global mobility in higher education and the challenges Europe is facing.

Conclusions drawn from the seminar show that there is a high demand for follow-up activities in Asia. The EU-Asia Higher Education Platform is the right step in this direction.

EHEF