SPHERE 2025 Annual Conference and Bologna Process Symposium

The National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest hosted the SPHERE 2025 Annual Conference, an international milestone event held in partnership with the European University Association (EUA) and OBREAL, under the umbrella of the European Commission’s SPHERE initiative. Across three days of dialogue and collaboration, our campus became the focal point for academic leaders, policymakers, and experts committed to shaping the future of higher education at European and global levels.

Two Pillars of Strategic Dialogue: Bologna Policy Symposium & SPHERE 2025 Conference

Bologna Process Symposium

The first component of the event focused on the Bologna Process, exploring its achievements, challenges, and future directions within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Key themes included:

• - Progress and implementation of Bologna objectives across member countries and HERE partner nations

• - Evaluation of European quality-assurance instruments, including the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG)

• - Discussions on the latest edition of the ECTS Users' Guide and its role in ensuring academic transparency, flexibility, and student mobility

• - Reflections on global perspectives and the positioning of the EHEA in the evolving international education context

Interactive dialogues gathered policymakers, academics, and international experts around the mission of continuing to strengthen harmonized academic standards and mobility pathways across Europe.

SPHERE 2025 Annual Conference

The conference’s second phase served as an engaging platform centred around innovation, capacity-building, and the transformation of higher education systems. Key highlights included:

• - Parallel sessions on the role of Artificial Intelligence in higher education

• - Strategic debate on the growing importance of micro-credentials as flexible, lifelong-learning pathways

• - Presentation of the SPHERE 2025 Report examining universities’ “third mission” - their societal role beyond teaching and research

• - Workshops fostering capacity-building for National Erasmus Offices and HERE teams

• - Case studies covering synergies between European educational projects, advancing institutional cooperation and system-level innovation

A Hub of International Academic Cooperation

For three consecutive days, POLITEHNICA Bucharest transformed into a vibrant hub of global dialogue. Experts, rectors, institutional leaders, and representatives of policy and funding bodies shared visions and strategies aimed at modernizing higher education, fostering inclusivity, strengthening knowledge ecosystems, and stimulating cross-regional collaboration.

This event reaffirmed our university’s position as a leading academic institution in Eastern Europe and an active contributor to shaping the European Higher Education Area. Hosting the conference underscores Romania’s strategic role in facilitating regional cooperation and amplifying the voices of academic communities in international policy.

We extend our gratitude to all organizers, institutional teams, international partners, and participants whose dedication and expertise contributed to making the SPHERE 2025 Annual Conference a resounding success. This gathering marks another important step in advancing educational innovation, institutional capacity-building, and strategic academic cooperation.