Successful previous LA and EU HE cooperation revealed differences between HESystems, academic recognition principles and practices. A long path is still ahead in terms of streamlined mobility recognition with fair credit transfer and grade conversion. Most LA countries have no credit system nationally applying to HEIs and the majority has regulations to frame mobility abroad, but handles recognition on individual basis and equivalence without grading is very common, negatively impacting students. RecMat joins partners from AR, BR and EU with the core aim of contributing to promote mobility between EU and LA, by reducing barriers related to academic recognition and building LA HEIs capacity to implement a fairer recognition process. Partners will work at two levels, linking the policy and practical dimensions behind academic recognition. Unlike previous initiatives, RecMat targets not only International Officers, but teachers who are the main decision makers in LA HEIs in what recognition is concerned, who are distant from Bologna rationale and usually show high resistance to recognition. This will be achieved by involving teachers in blended-training and in piloting concrete case studies, to evidence practical successful processes. Through a peer-to-peer approach, RecMat will raise teachers’ awareness about the importance of ensuring full recognition and stimulating fair grade conversion. RecMat activities will capacitate HEIs to formally frame recognition and build a linkage with IT teams by providing training to IT staff and enabling LA HEIs to outline concrete technical solutions to ease recognition. Through the organisation of public (inter-)national events and policy forums, RecMat will bring the topic to wide discussion, encouraging a high number of HEIs to adopt similar processes and sharing with them the project's innovative outcomes (MOOC, Digital Compendium and Conclusions Paper) towards the improvement and transparency of academic recognition processes.

By initiating a Latin American-European cooperation on innovation and entrepreneurship, the LISTO project adresses the LA universities' need to keep developing their capacities in connecting with the wider economic and social environment. The project has identified three target areas. 1.) University-industry relations; 2.) Teachings entrepreneurship skills; 3.) entrepreneurial universities. LISTO will establish an exchange of methods for matching researchers with industry R&D staff (AIMday), develop an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship skills module and train teachers in delivering an international classroom, and work on strategies for fostering an entrepreneurial spirit and innovation governance. There will be an open access ebook (in English, Spanish and Portuguese) summarizing the results and the teaching methods.

A global discussion is taking place among Higher Education (HE) stakeholders to strive for HE that does better justice to the needs of the learner and of society. The relevance of study programs is probably the most pressing issue in HE today worldwide, including the countries in South America. In the public eye HE institutions should offer high quality programs that contribute significantly to the welfare of society by preparing graduates well for work and for civic and social engagement. To meet this need, a paradigm shift is required from traditional expert-oriented teaching to student-centred and active learning, based on competences and learning outcomes. Although there is full awareness that this shift is to be made, HE institutions and their academic staff in SA (and beyond) lack capacity, expertise and experience to make this happen. Building on work already done in Europe and in LA, ACE aims to develop effective mechanisms to give student-centred education a serious boost by acting as a catalyzer in 6 South-American countries, involving 13 key universities. ACE covers in each country 1-4 core academic fields, Nursing, Environmental Engineering, Education and History, representing as many HE sectors. At the heart of the project are 20 local working groups (WGs) consisting of 5 academics and of 5 student representatives each. The broad involvement of (local) staff and students is a unique feature. The WGs are all represented in transnational Subject Area Groups. Its members will be empowered to train their local WGs to reform their own programs. For this purpose, subject area qualifications frameworks will be made, based on (updated) meta-profiles developed in earlier LA projects. These will be complemented with in-depth training at 7 transnational meetings. As a result, ACE will result in 20 well informed learning communities that have reformed their programs and be equipped to assist other programs to make the reforms so urgently needed.

CAMINOS deepened the Latin American Higher Education Space by improving the capacity of universities, associations and networks to enhance, promote and manage regional Latin American student and staff mobility. Specifically, the project developed a common mobility management model (defined by a Handbook) to this effect, premised upon and linking existing Latin American bi/multi-lateral mobility programmes and providing guidance on managing mobility. The project had three essential phases:1)A research phase for mapping a) existing Latin American mobility schemes and their management practices and rules, b) the actors and universities that participate in them and manage them2)A development phase for generating a Handbook that provided concrete advice to universities and networks/associations on how to enhance and promote mobility in the region. Focus groups on topics such as mobility management, credit transfer, recognition, institutional partnerships and joint degrees were organised to help draft the Handbook. In addition, study visits of Latin American partners to European universities were organised, to look at institutional case studies on these topics. 3)A pilot phase, whereby the Handbook was applied by both the partner associations/networks and the partner universities. Each partner implemented a pilot project that corresponded to at least one aspect of a mobility management ‘process’ listed in the Handbook. This included building a website for promoting mobility in the region, installing a new database for mobility, organizing international internships and summer schools in the LA region, etc. Coaching was provided by European partners to support the pilots. The project responded to the fact that LA regional mobility is a growing priority as it fosters academic cooperation and regional harmonisation. CAMINOS also reflected the interest to better promote ‘structured’ mobility and staff mobility. The project involved universities from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador, as well as university associations from these countries. Additional actors and related E+ projects were involved in project activities to ensure wider ownership and synergies. A final project conference was positioned as a larger event for generating ‘clustering’ and synergies between beneficiaries of E+ projects in LA, dealing with themes related to internationalisation, mobility, recognition and joint programmes. The project has a direct impact in the LA partner universities in terms of their ability to manage mobility and generate awareness for the importance of regional mobility. In addition, the associations in the project were able to launch and and conduct a first assessment of a regional programme for mobility – ‘PILA’ – which allows for mutual exchange between Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, and should be expanded to other countries in the near future.