EAIE Podcast

In May 2021, the EAIE podcast published an episode on micro-credentials. At that moment, there was a thrilling mix of excitement and uncertainty surrounding this topic. Would micro-credentials live up to the expectations? How would higher education institutions be transformed, and how would they adapt? Maria Kelo, then the Director of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, answered some of these questions, unaware of what the world would have in store for all of u...

At the EAIE, we believe that advancing international higher education starts with empowering the people behind the ideas. Guided by this commitment, we were thrilled to announce our first round of EAIE Doctoral Research Grants winners in September 2025. The grants reflect our commitment to inspiring and uniting the community throughout the year by connecting professionals, policy-makers and scholars through ideas that matter. This initiative helps open doors to new voices, fresh insights, and...

From handshakes and sharing cultural highlights to photo opportunities and campus tours, delegation visits are activities many HEIs across the globe spend a lot of time on. But how can your institution move from simply making these visits happen to ensuring maximum partnership impact? At the EAIE conference in Gothenburg earlier this year, the Thematic Committee Partnerships organised a Spotlight Session zooming in on this topic. How can you transform delegation visits, both incoming and outg...

Every year on 10 October, we observe World Mental Health Day, which aims to raise awareness of mental health issues worldwide. While mental health is a topic that touches all of us, this EAIE podcast episode zooms in on student mental health: an area that continues to receive more attention but is still occasionally overlooked or underestimated. Navigating new cultures, academic pressures, and social isolation can take a toll on student well-being, making mental health support not just a serv...

The countdown to the EAIE 2025 Conference and Exhibition in Gothenburg has begun! Between 09 and 12 September 2025, many topics within the world of international higher education will be discussed during sessions, networking events, informal gatherings, and the opening and closing plenaries. As we look toward this exciting gathering, EAIE podcast host Laura Rumbley had the pleasure of interviewing both of our esteemed plenary speakers for this year, Andreas Ekström and Melati Wijsen. In these...

Since the start of the Erasmus+ programme in 1987, some 15.1 million people have been provided with the opportunity to study, train, work and volunteer abroad. In 2025, a mid-term review of the 2021–2027 Erasmus+ programme will provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the current programme, while efforts are underway to shape the next edition of Erasmus+ for 2028–2034. Many eyes are on Erasmus+ just now, at this important moment for reflection and strategic planning for the futur...

Going abroad for a study exchange or mobility period is often described as a positive and life-changing experience. While many take this wonderful experience with them throughout their lives, there are also cases where disaster strikes and a mobility experience has an unexpected outcome. Laura Rumbley talks to international HE professionals who went through such an experience together and were willing to share their stories with others to learn from. Tineke van der Gaast (Head of Internationa...

It all started in September 2020: the very first episode of the EAIE podcast series, titled ‘The Stories We Tell.’ We had no idea what our podcast adventure would look like and how long we would last. Yet, here we are: roughly 4,5 years later and still going strong! With a total of 142 individual guests from 36 different countries, the EAIE podcast has focused on all kinds of topics with one main thing in common: a link to international higher education. From marketing and recruitment to lang...

Alumni are an important stakeholder group in higher education institutions across the world. An engaged alumni network can not only help an institution to benefit from the experiences and skills of its graduates, but alumni can also make a significant impact on individual students by providing mentorship, advice, and networking opportunities. A possible alumni relationship starts the moment a prospective student engages with an institution and can be the key to a treasure box filled with poss...

During the summer of 2024, many of us soaked up the energy and excitement of the Olympic Games in Paris, France. As a global event where people from all over the world come together to compete, collaborate, learn, and enjoy, the Olympics can, in some ways, be compared to international education, which also brings together individuals with shared interests and passions. Upon closer inspection, what are some of the key parallels between the worlds of international sports and international highe...

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." Martin Luther King’s quotes still inspire many across the world when it comes to peacebuilding. But in a world of constant change, challenge and conflict, is peace a mere utopian dream or something tangible that we can and should actively strive towards? In this episode of the EAIE podcast, peacebuilding takes centre stage as our host, Laura Rumbley, tries to uncover some of the fundamentals of this fascinating ...

We’re still 'En Route!' to the EAIE 2024 Conference and Exhibition, and we're getting closer and closer to that moment in September when we will meet in person in Toulouse! We’re looking forward to the numerous exciting sessions, networking events, informal gatherings and the opening and closing plenaries. After having had the pleasure several months ago of talking to this year’s opening plenary speaker, Élisabeth Moreno, EAIE podcast host Laura Rumbley also sat down with closing plenary spea...