Education Minister Dolores Cristina yesterday opened a conference on ‘Learning Outcomes: A Bologna Process Training Conference’, which was addressed by five international experts, with feedback drawn from academics, administrative staff, students and employers.

The link between education and industry is crucial for competitiveness, Ms Cristina said. The Bologna Process is an intergovernmental project which aims to create unity and harmonisation among Universities in Europe. In 1999, the Bologna Declaration (of which Malta was a signatory) was signed by 29 European countries and aimed at creating a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by the year 2010.

Student or staff mobility has been encouraged and promoted with the introduction of various exchange programmes and scholarships. “My Ministry introduced a number of scholarships aimed specifically to increase participation rates in both under-graduate and post-graduate studies,” the minister said.

But mobility needs to be supported by recognition and in 2002, the Malta Qualification Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC) was set up in order to facilitate the comparability of degrees. Since 2002, thousands of statements have been issued by the Malta MQRIC, apart from the numerous consultations the centre provides to education institutions, warrant awarding bodies and policy making entities. In 2010 alone, more than 2,000 applications were received and more than 5,000 qualifications have been assessed and recognition statements sent to various people and organisations.

The conference was organised by the European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA) and the Bologna Experts Group (Malta), in collaboration with the Malta Qualifications Council (MQC) and the National Commission for Higher Education (NCHE).