EURASHE – the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education was founded in Patras (Greece) in 1990 as an international association that promotes and emphasises professional higher education (PHE). While EURASHE originally admitted only national organisations (such as Councils of Directors) as members, it later opened up membership to individual institutions. Nowadays its members are Colleges, Polytechnics, University Colleges, Universities of Applied Sciences and Universities with their professional trainings.
Three purposes were at the origin of EURASHE: to promote the interests of PHE at a national and European level; to cooperate internationally on the development of PHE; and to promote internationalisation within its member institutions.
From a gathering of 5 national associations of Directors of Colleges we have evolved into the acknowledged representative of PHE on the European higher education forum, not the least through our active involvement in the major reform of European higher education, the ‘Bologna Process’.
The introductory text for this publication very well summarised our intention with this ‘Bologna Anniversary’ publication, where it says: “We wish to communicate an optimistic look at a potential progress in the different areas covered in the Communiqué, realising that progress in each domain very much depends on our willingness to change things.