log in button (help) for:
  • WHEB Activities for partners
  • EU Policy Guide
  • EU Funding Schedule
  • WHEB Facilities in Brussels

Welsh Higher Education Brussels
Wales House, 11 Rond-Point Schuman
B1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 22266698
Fax: +32(0)2 5028360
e-mail: info@wheb.ac.uk

Welsh Higher Education Brussels (WHEB) news and events

KITE Showcase Event, September 2011

The event, hosted by Alun Davies AM, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and European Programmes and supported by Derek Vaughan, Labour MEP for Wales, presented a project being delivered by University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC). Also in attendance were project directors Dr Peter Quantick and David Lloyd of UWIC, who spoke, as well as company representatives who have benefitted from the project which is having a significant impact on the performance of SMEs in Wales. KITE is a programme that has been developed by Food Network Wales (FNW) to provide a pan Wales advisory service on food technology related issues. It offers food companies access to the knowledge and expertise of specialist, industry experienced food technologists. The ultimate objective for the KITE programme is to increase sales of Welsh food products by £10 million before the end of 2011.

Photograph

From Left: Derek Vaughan, MEP, David Lloyd, Director of UWIC’s Food Industry Centre, Alun Davies, AM, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and European Programmes and Martin Jardine from Food Technology Centre at the Knowledge Innovation Technology Exchange (KITE) Showcase Event on September 19th.

Dragon Innovation Partnership event in Brussels, July 2011

Three leading universities from the South West Wales region, travelled to Brussels to share best practice and create opportunities for collaborative business development and innovation across Europe. Representatives of Swansea University, Swansea Metropolitan University and University of Wales, Trinity St David were in Brussels to host a networking event at the residence of the UK ambassador to the EU. Speaking on the Dragon Innovation Partnership (DIP), a unique higher education collaboration aimed at consolidating links between the sector and businesses and community organisations at all levels, the focus was on EU funding and past successful regional projects.

Ceri Jones, Deputy Director of Swansea University’s Department of Research and Innovation, who introduced the DIP said, “The event was highly successful and with the support of the WHEB Office, we demonstrated that the three universities in the South West Wales region have a unique proposition; one that other member states find engaging and valuable.

Photograph

“We felt that the event offered the South Wales region invaluable international exposure to organisations from across the EU and we believe will lead to further future projects and collaborations that will strengthen links with economies of other EU countries”.

For more information about the DIP see http://www.dragonip.ac.uk/

Documents available for download:

WHEB Skills Roundtable discusses ESF Supported skills projects based in different European Convergence Regions, April 2011

Photograph of all participants of the Skills Roundtable event, Photograph of our Chair Professor Brian Hobbs, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research, Glamorgan University, Wales. Photograph of Berwyn Davies, Head of WHEB Office, addressing the EU Commission Representatives Ricardo Ferreira, Policy Officer, Economic Partnerships, European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Directorate-General for Education and Culture; Brigitte Brockmoeller, Policy Officer for the UK, Ireland, Greece and Cyprus, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Directorate-General for Employment; Dr. Endika Bengoetxea, Programme Manager, EU policies, Erasmus Country Desk Officer UK, Higher Education Policy Officer; Centralized Actions Coordinator, Directorate-General for Education and Culture; and Guy Flament, Programme Manager EU Policies for Ireland and the United Kingdom, Directorate-General for Regional Policy.

WHEB brought together different regional and local authorities and higher education institutions from across Europe committed to skills development with experts from the European Commission to share experiences and best-practices on ESF funded Skills projects, with a special emphasis on convergence regions. This event highlighted the series of pan-Wales collaborative projects led by Welsh Universities across different regions in Wales funded by the ESF and resulted in the fruitful exchange of ideas between the different regional players, University representatives and European Commission officials.

The presentations of the following regions are available to download:

HEURO Brussels Seminar centred on the theme of developing trends in Erasmus Mundus and Higher Education, November 2010

WHEB coordinated the roundtable discussion with the UK Higher Education European Officers (HEURO) and various Brussels-based participants including European Commission representatives. Following the success of last year's seminar, WHEB was again keen to promote Welsh experience in international collaboration.

WHEB members can read a summary of the event in the November Monthly Report in the log-in section of this website and the programme and presentations are available to download:

Roundtable and Reception 'Creating a Low Carbon Society 2020: Finding solutions through multi-sectoral collaboration', European Parliament, November 2010

Photograph Photograph Photograph Photograph

WHEB and the Welsh Assembly Government coordinated the event, which was hosted by Derek Vaughan MEP, to showcase Wales' Low Carbon Research Institute (LCRI)

The LCRI provides a research base for energy sector industries in Wales and is made up of partners from 6 Welsh universities, led by Cardiff University. A delegation from the LCRI met with European energy sector stakeholders engaged in the research and application of low carbon technologies at the roundtable and reception.

The LCRI's director, Professor Phil Jones, and Dr Ron Loveland, Head of Sustainable Energy and Industry at the Welsh Assembly Government, chaired the roundtable discussion, which included interventions from the European Commission, European technology platforms and industrial stakeholders.

The successful launch event increased the awareness of the LCRI's activities to a European audience to ensure that the institute continues to develop at regional and international level and leads the way in renewable energy research.

The following documents are available to download -

WHEB's response to the European Commission Consultation on the 'EU 2020' Strategy, January 2010

WHEB and HEURO Seminar ‘Promoting the Learning Mobility of Higher Education Students’, November 2009.

A delegation of the Association of UK Higher Education European Officers (HEURO) as well as representatives from other regions, the European Universities Association and DG Education and Culture attended the seminar address specific issues relating to higher education within the context of the consultation on the European Commission’s Green Paper on Learner Mobility.

The seminar included the following presentations -

Seminar on Design held at Wales House as part of Glyndŵr University launch, July 2009

WHEB organised a seminar on potential for higher education institutions in the development of design thinking. This was based on the European Commission consultation ‘Design as a driver for user-centred innovation’, to which WHEB submitted a response. Speakers included Commission official responsible for the consultation, the Rector of the new Alto University in Helsinki, Dave Gill from Glyndwr University and Andy Goodman from Bangor University.

The seminar included the following presentations -

WHEB and HEW evidence to the National Assembly for Wales

In September, WHEB and Higher Education Wales gave joint written and oral evidence to the National Assembly for Wales inquiry on the future of EU regional policy after 2013. The evidence and transcripts can be viewed at http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-committees/bus-committees-third1/bus-committees-third-eur-home/bus-committees-third-eur-agendas.html

WHEB hosts Brussels Informal Education Network meeting on the EU Adult Learning Action Plan

This featured presentations from:

WHEB seminars in Brussels mark St David's Day 2009

WHEB hosted two seminars in Brussels before and after the First Minister's reception celebrating the national day of Wales.

Guests listen to a presentation at one of the seminars celebrating the national day of Wales Guests taking part in a discussion at one of the seminars celebrating the national day of Wales

ICT Assisted Living Round Table

Practitioners from three Welsh HEIs participated in the ICT Assisted Living round-table organised in Brussels by WHEB. There were around 20 other speicialists attending from four European regions, two European eHealth platforms, a technology company in a current FP6 project and the European Commission. The three EU funding schemes in this area were explained.

Research on the Wellbeing of Young People

Six Welsh universities participated in a seminar on 27 February profiling the sector's expertise in research on the wellbeing of young people. It was attended by 40 Brussles / European representatives, three European Commission officials and a number of other experts who had travelled from across Europe. The seminar:

'EU-Asia Higher Education Platform Round Table 1: Autonomy, Governance and Management in Higher Education in Asia and Europe', Hanoi, Vietnam, 25-26 November

Presentation of Professor Siân Hope (Bangor University) on The Entrepreneurial University

ERRIN Entrepreneurship Market Place, 18 November

UNICA Conference, Thursday 12 June 2008

The UNICA network of universities in European capital cities invited two industrial liaison officers from the Welsh HE sector (Bangor and Swansea Universities) to present at a seminar in Paris On 12 June 2008 on Enterprise-University Partnership in Doctoral Education. Presentations from the meeting are available at the UNICA website

WHEB conference 'Higher Education and Sport: Delivering the skills for growth and jobs', Tuesday 26 February 2008

WHEB held its annual conference on sport, higher education and skills as part of the St David's Day celebrations in Brussels. Speakers included a European Commission official working on sports policy and Turin University on interaction with the Olympic Games. Representatives of sports employers and regional governments participated. Following the seminar, an exhibition of photography related to sport from Welsh HEIs was launched, where (former) students from Swansea Metropolitan University, UWIC and University of Wales Newport spoke about their work.

Photograph of the first panel. Photograph of the second panel. Photograph of delegates. Photograph of male speaker. Photograph of a male and female looking at art. Photograph of a group of people.

Available for download:

Presentations:

Description of photographic exhibition

WHEB Seminar 'Fostering European partnerships between innovation professionals', Tuesday 12 February 2008

WHEB organised a Brussels programme for a delegation of Industrial Liaison Officers from Welsh higher education. It included a seminar on forthcoming funding opportunities for innovation, attended by three EU speakers and a number of representatives of European states and regions. It was chaired by the head of the ProTon Europe network of technology transfer offices.

Available for download:

Presentations:

eLearning networking event, Brussels, 20 November 2007

Please see password-protected area for presentations.

Multi-agency conference on HE competitiveness enhanced by engagement with the Bologna Process, Cardiff, 8 November 2007

This conference took place in Cardiff on 8 November 2007, and was attended by over 40 senior management staff from each of the higher education institutions in Wales. The event was supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, the British Council, the Higher Education Academy, Welsh Higher Education Brussels (WHEB), Higher Education Wales (HEW), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, (HEFCW), and National Union of Students in Wales (NUS Wales).

The following travelled from abroad to give their perspective: the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Coimbra Group of universities, the Secretary-General of the European University Association, and the EU Science and Technology Counsellor of the New Zealand Government.

M Langbein. Delegate.

The following meeting documents are available for download:

Presentations by:


EU Research Commissioner meets Vice Chancellors in Wales

EU Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik was in Cardiff also on 8 November 2007. His programme included visits to Cardiff University, and a meeting with the Higher Education Wales Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals.

Press releases are available from Cardiff University and the European Commission Office in Wales.

OPEN DAYS European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels 2007

The EQUAL project 'Gaining Work, Learning and Advice in Rural Areas - GWLAD' was promoted by colleagues from Bangor University on the Wales stand during the OPEN DAYS exhibition in Brussels.

The presentation on the GWLAD project is available here. The GWLAD interim report can be viewed in Welsh and English.

ERRIN network discussion paper on research and innovation in the structural funds

The discussion paper aims to highlight views expressed so far on the research and innovation aspects of the debate on structural funds reform. It results from discussions between research and innovation representatives participating in the ERRIN network. This work seeks to provide practitioners with knowledge to assist them to participate in the public consultation on the future of EU regional policy.

The discussion paper was distributed at the 4th Cohesion Forum and OPEN DAYS events in Brussels in October 2007.

Culture and Creativity for Jobs and Growth - Brussels seminar, 27 February 2007

Photograph of the conference

This conference is organised jointly by WHEB and the Welsh Assembly Government, with the support of the British Council.

Decision-makers across Europe increasingly recognise the significance of the cultural economy. In October 2006, the first Europe wide study on the cultural economy was published. EU Education & Culture Ministers will adopt a set of Conclusions in May 2007 on the subject.

The aim of the conference is five-fold:

  1. To debate the place for culture, creativity and innovation in the European Union focusing on how the Union through its policies and funding programmes, notably the structural funds, could further support the sector.
  2. To emphasise the contribution that culture makes to the economy which is often under appreciated.
  3. To examine the part that regional and local governments can play to strengthen their creative and cultural industries, to ensure that creativity is given a higher profile across the economy, and to promote creative exchanges that emerge from fusing arts, science and technology.
  4. To discuss the role of Higher Education Institutions in providing the appropriate skills, expertise, research and development for the employability of future workers - emphasising the relevance of creative skills- and to stimulate the sector's ability to innovate through the exploration of fresh and unconventional connections between the creative, business and academic spheres.
  5. To showcase successful initiatives to promote creative businesses, many of which are funded via the structural funds, with a view to promoting networking, European mobility and the development of future collaboration and joint projects.
Programme of the seminar 'Culture and Creativity for Jobs and Growth' 2007 culture and creativity conference report

Synergies between structural funds and FP7 - ERRIN Brussels seminar, 16 January 2007

Experts from sixteen European regions travelled to Brussels to discuss synergies between structural funds and FP7. The event was open to members of the European Regions Research and Innovation Network in Brussels (ERRIN).

The programme of the event is available here.

WHEB presentations - October 2006

PowerPoint presentations available to download:

Three other presentations will be avilable to download in the members section of this site.


WHEB seminar: “What’s in Brussels for universities?” – 18 October 2006

There are many different types of university and higher education institution in Europe. Wales is particularly diverse, with thirteen institutions ranging from larger campus-based universities to smaller, specialised providers of higher education, often in rural communities.

This WHEB seminar is designed to suggest some activities that could enable smaller higher education institutions to engage with European opportunities. Attendees will hear from:

You can download the programme here.


Launch of Welsh Higher Education Brussels – 28 March 2006

Photo of Janez Potocnik

Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research at the launch of WHEB on 28 March 2006:

"Welsh universities are to be congratulated on taking the decision to set up a dedicated office in Brussels, which shows their commitment in wanting to engage with the European Union, its institutions, and the European project, and the importance they attach to European funding supporting their collaborative working research and development, education, training, innovation and in many other areas of activity."

Read the full press release (PDF download, 207 kb).