This is where we hit the I of ECIU, Innovation, how do you get everyone on board?
'We do this through constructive conversations, examples and good dialogues. The best part is that we all want to go in the same direction as we have signed up to the ECIU, so we are reading the same book, however I think we need to accept that some institutions are reading quicker than others, but thankfully we all share the same values and that is the foundation on which we continue to build in the ECIU.’
What did it take to bring Brussels into this story?
'Policy from Brussels is very important to us it has really pushed the agenda forward. Continuing EU support is needed, such as in funding calls, having Micro-Credentials included is critical. It allows us to support from an educational perspective what is needed to get done in our institutions, deliver to learners and innovate at the same time. It is really like a culture change. National structures and approaches are not always in line with European ambitions. Support is also needed at a national level to ensure that there is consistency across Europe for things like the the recognition of the credits.'
Is ECIU University leading the way?
'We do get a lot of questions from other universities, and university alliances asking us about how we are doing that. In addition, we have also written three white papers on this topic. At our online presentation of the paper Paving the road for the micro-credentials movement, there were more than 300 participants and we showed how a university alliance can issue micro-credentials on behalf of alliance members through the European Digital Credential Platform. There’s a lot of interest in it, and from that point of view, we are leading the way.’