The month of September 2024 facilitated important gatherings and exchanges between specialist staff of ACA member organisations in two Thematic Peer Groups (TPGs).   

On 9 September TPG Inclusion held a meeting where the members had a chance to hear about the latest updates for the National Agencies in the architecture of the inclusivemobility.eu webiste. Darwyn Bruelemans, Web Project Administrator in the Erasmus Student Network has presented the outcomes of the work done in the framework of the LTA Social Inclusion in HE, coordinated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) where several NAs, ESN and ACA have been improving the website. 

On 12 September members of the TPG New Mobility Formats met to further explore Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) and share insights on an innovative resource co-developed by ACA members, Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD) and the Dutch Organisation for Internationalisation in Education (Nuffic). During the meeting, Beate Treml and Julia Rita Warmuth from OeAD presented the ‘’Blended Intensive Programme Basic Toolkit’’, a comprehensive and interactive resource aimed at supporting institutions currently managing or planning to implement blended mobility programmes. The toolkit offers best practices, case studies, and practical recommendations for ensuring the success of BIPs. The toolkit will also contribute to the ongoing HIBLend project (for more details see ACA Newsletter Education Europe - February 2023), which seeks to enhance the capacity of higher education institutions to develop blended learning opportunities for students. In addition, the TPG members shared data on the funding of BIPs and discussed the growing interest in this format within the higher education sector.