The ACA Secretariat would like to report its most recent European Policy Seminar, Partners and Competitors: Analysing the EU-US Higher Education Relationship, a successful and highly stimulating event that coincided with the US International Education week (12-16 November). As the third ACA seminar tackling bi-lateral education relations with Europe, a high-level cast of speakers joined us in Brussels:

• Julie Nutter, Economic Policy Unit Chief of the US Mission to the EU, highlighted the importance of international exchange to America’s future, citing recent initiatives by the US government and diplomatic service to keep America’s borders open;
• Diego Sammaritano, head of bi-lateral education programmes in the European Commission, discussed the future EU-US collaboration, embodied by the Atlantis programme for transatlantic degrees;
• Dr Rolf Hoffmann of Fulbright Germany and Bologna expert Volker Gehmlich discussed comparative education internationalisation on both sides of the Atlantic, touching on different theories and practice of what internationalisation means;
• Richard Yelland of the OECD provided compelling statistics about comparative fees and funding models for higher education;
• Dr. Neil Kemp (education consultant) and Daniel Obst (IIE) examined the shifting positions of the US and the EU in the race for international students.
  With this array of topics, it was concluded that though the US and the EU are constantly in competition, their future position and influence in higher education globally will depend very much on their ability to cooperate and mutually enhance one another.