Policy

Track Chairs

Yves Deville, UCLouvain (Belgium)
Michael, Gaebel European University Association (Belgium)

Call for Papers

The growth of MOOCs has helped to make higher education institutions (HEI), higher education organsiations, quality assurance agencies, national higher education authorities and policy makers, but also societies at large more aware of the wide and still untapped potential of open and online education.  MOOCs can provide flexible and scalable solutions for a transnational, truly European response to the lifelong learning needs of the European societies and economies, to be shared globally. Through continuous education and training, they can keep knowledge and skills of the workforce up to date, and  in view of the rapidly changing careers of tomorrow. But they also provide an offer for a wide range of learners of different ages and backgrounds, to explore knowledge beyond the offer of their formal education, and contribute to knowledge creation and sharing in Europe’s society, as part of the European citizenship project. Within HEI, they make part of the ongoing digital transformation that impacts the education offer, but also research and administration. 

Therefore MOOCs and MOOC platforms should be considered in university strategies, but also in regional, national and European policies for education and training, employment and growth proposing strategies for change and action plans. Supportive policies, in turn, can enable and promote the further development, uptake and use of Europe’s MOOC offer, at various levels.

The policy track sessions will address the potential of MOOCs for the enhancement and transformation of higher education institutions as well as their contribution to Europe’s general political and societal needs and challenges. This includes HEIs policies, conditions/possibilities to include MOOCs for credits or micro-credentials in short programs and traditional degrees, supporting policies of IGOs and governments. There is also a growing need for additional new applications of MOOCs for K-12, high school, lifelong learning, continuing professional development and professional training.

For the Policy Track the following topics are proposed:

  • Higher education institutional strategies and approaches on MOOCs regarding
    • increasing visibility and impact at regional, national and international level
    • tackling global and social challenges
    • widening access and participation, in addressing a wider range of  learners, etc.
    • aspects of research and open science
    • Interinstitutional collaboration and partnership in Europe (such as the European University Alliances) & internationally 
    • innovation and transformation of education, also in view of role that play of Moocs for degree programmes, and other formats (microcredentials)  
  • Governmental policies and approaches of using MOOCs for lifelong and continued learning, and for tackling general political and societal issues (e.g., unemployment, skills mismatches, accessibility and inclusion, refugees and migrants’ crisis)
  • National and European strategies and approaches including MOOCs as part of a European and national open learning space (informal learning, micro-credentials, credits in short programs and conventional degrees, joint programs of HEIs, related policies and practices for quality assurance and accreditation)

Submission of Papers

We have extended the deadline for submissions by one week. Please make sure to submit at least a short abstract and the title of your paper by March 15, 2023. The finalized paper can be submitted by March 22, 2023.

Submission should present policies, initiatives, or projects, and their results. They are welcome to point to particular challenges and barriers that should be addressed through institutional, national, or European policies

  • Short Paper: up to 5 pages including references
  • Full paper: up to 10 pages including references

For the short and for the full paper you may use either this Word Template or this LaTeX Template.

There will be official conference proceedings for this track and submissions will be handled through EasyChair. The use of the supplied template is mandatory for your paper to be published in the proceedings. Please remember to indicate the relevant track when you submit your paper.

Short and full papers must be uploaded anonymously as a pdf. Once the paper has been accepted, you will be asked to upload the un-anonymized, camera-ready version (including the Word or LaTeX sources).

Important Dates
for all time specifications applies the “Anywhere on Earth” time zone (AoE)

  • 15th March 2023: Deadline for submission of short abstract and title of paper
  • 22nd March 2023 (23:59 GMT+12 / 11:59 PM AoE): Deadline for submission of papers
  • April 2023: Notification of acceptance/rejection