Past projects

Towards a European Framework for Community Engagement of Higher Education

An international project has been launched to address a new priority on the EU’s policy agenda for higher education: community engagement of universities. The project (entitled ‘TEFCE - Towards a European Framework for Community Engagement of Higher Education’) will develop tools to help universities to better interact with their communities at the local and regional level in order to address pressing social needs. The project is led by the Institute for the Development of Education (Croatia) and Technische Universität Dresden (Germany) and will gather leading researchers, universities, local authorities and university networks from seven EU Member States.

The project will first take stock of existing research and initiatives that have attempted to measure the community engagement of universities. The project will then develop a “toolbox” that could assist universities and policymakers at the EU level in fostering greater community engagement and that could provide a meaningful measurement of an institution’s level of community engagement.

The project’s expert team will include researchers from the University of Twente (Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies), Ghent University (Centre for Higher Education Governance Ghent), Dublin Institute of Technology, University of Rijeka (Faculty of Philosophy) and the Institute for the Development of Education. Universities and local authorities from the cities of Dresden (Germany), Dublin (Ireland), Enschede (Netherlands) and Rijeka (Croatia) will be piloting the developed toolbox, and additional expertise will be provided by the European Consortium of Innovative Universities, the Global University Network for Innovation (represented by the Catalan Association of Public Universities) and the Public Policy and Management Institute from Lithuania.

Project duration: January 2018 - December 2020, for more information, see https://www.tefce.eu

Knowledge Ecosystems

The "Knowledge ecosystems" project - led by IDEA consult - will contribute to investigate the organisation and spread of ecosystems at the EU, national, regional and local levels, the role of specific actors active at the core of ecosystems (in particular universities and research organisations), the circulation of knowledge by individual research & innovation talents, and the potential legal and financial measures to support research careers and cooperation. An extensive evidence base on knowledge ecosystems in Europe will be created, including  all levels: the ecosystem, the ecosystem actors and the individual talents. This evidence base is needed to assess how knowledge ecosystems across the ERA are organised, how they could be strengthened, both at the individual talent and organisational level, and how their attractiveness for talents and for investments can be addressed.

The study includes a comprehensive analysis of the state of play, the design of monitoring mechanisms, and the creation of a toolbox of support measures. One specific part of the larger project - in which CHEGG is involved - focuses on the legal toolbox to further support European cooperation in higher education and research and on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. 

Project duration: December 2020 - March 2022

Odysseus project 'Higher Education Governance'

The project was granted by the Flemish Research Council (FWO). It focused on governance issues at the system and organisational levels of higher education. 

Project duration: May 2013 - April 2021

The Future of Transnational Collaboration

The overall objective of this project (the Future of Transnational Collaboration in European Higher Education) – commissioned by the Directorate General Education, Youth, Sport is to gain insight in the nature and scope of transnational collaboration in higher education and research in the near future (2030), as well as the drivers and barriers that affect the nature and scope of collaboration.

The project consists of a literature analysis, an analysis of trends in the areas of ICT, social policy, economics and science & technology and a scenario (based on a survey among European experts0. The project is carried out by CHEGG, in collaboration with the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS), University of Twente, the Netherlands.

The final report can be found here.

Project duration: February - November 2019

Mapping of European Transnational Collaborative Partnerships

The Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) of the European Commission invited CHEGG to contribute to a study on transnational collaborative partnerships in European higher education. A survey was designed on the basis of a review of the literature on international collaboration in education and research, complemented with insights from a stakeholder consultation and feedback from higher education policy makers.

Questions in the survey focused on: the partnership's characteristics; funding sources, as well as their objectives for engaging in such collaborations; the benefits and added value these partnerships have brought; the barriers they face in further strengthening these collaborative activities; and potential policy options for alleviating these barriers. 

The final report can be found here.

Project duration: April - December 2018

Doctoral Education in Europe

The European University Association (EUA) invited CHEGG to support them in a project of their Committee for Doctoral Education, that focused on reform in doctoral education in Europe. The project entailed a survey among EUA members to take stock of important elements related to doctoral education (e.g. doctoral schools, supervision, examination).

CHEGG staff members Freek Van Deynze, Marco Seeber and Jeroen Huisman helped developing the survey, carried out the data analysis and were of further assistance in the presentation of the key findings. These findings were gathered from more than 300 institutions across Europe.  

The final report can be found here.  

Project duration: February 2018 - December 2018

Internationalisation in the city of Ghent

Annually, the city of Ghent hosts a high number of international students, that either come for a short stay or for a full degree (at e.g. Master´s or doctoral level). Obviously, most students will have fond memories of their stay at Ghent, but the Youth Agency of the city would like to know what Ghent can do to better cater for the rich variety of students. 

CHEGG will assist the city by developing and launching an online survey to map the motivations and experiences of international students. The higher education institutions located in Ghent (e.g. Hogeschool GentArteveldehogeschool and Ghent University) support the dissemination of the survey among their students.

The final report can be found here

Duration: November 2017 - January 2019

Relevance of Higher Education

Our centre, together with the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS, University of Twente) and the Deutsche Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung (DHWZ) have been commissioned by the European Commission to carry out a study on the relevance of higher education.

The general objective of the study is to produce evidence, conclusions and recommendations to support those involved in designing and implementing higher education reform in EU Member States to improve the effectiveness of policies and measures to promote the relevance of higher education systems to societal needs.

The final report of the project can be found here.

Project duration: November 2015 - July 2017