On October 8 and 9, the first ever EU-US Higher Education Policy Forum was held in Washington D.C. The high-level European Commission Delegation was headed by Director General Odile Quintin, of DG Education and Culture; the US Delegation was led by Martha Kanther, US Under Secretary of Education. In addition, a number of higher education experts were invited to provide input, amongst them ACA Director Bernd Wächter.

The Policy Forum was intended to exchange views on common challenges and share experience and best practice in a number of policy areas, among them the Bologna reforms, university-business relations and entrepreneurship, questions of access and the ability of higher education systems to cater to future skills needs. More importantly, the meeting identified a large number of issues for future transatlantic cooperation. Among them are: an extension of the ‘Tuning US’ project, so far financed by the Lumina Foundation; a continuation of the joint Atlantis Programme as well as the creation of an ‘entrepreneurship dimension’ within it and the setting-up of an Atlantis Alumni Association; the continued participation of the US in the ‘Bologna Policy Forum’; the participation of the US in the EU’s ‘University-Business Forum’; and the launch of three joint studies, on future labour market skills needs, university-business cooperation, and higher education credit systems in the US and Europe, respectively.

• European Commission