Annual Conference 2026

Date: Wednesday, 23 September 2026, 10:00–16:30 (registration from 09:00)

Venue: University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten

Call for contributions available via this link; registration for the Annual Conference will open around mid-June 2026

The AQ Austria Annual Conference will focus on how quality assurance can proactively promote the sustainable and high-quality development of international cooperation in higher education and contribute to shaping a future-proof European Higher Education Area.

Today, higher education institutions across Europe operate in contexts that are inherently international. With more than 60 European University Alliances, a considerable number of joint programmes and transnational research and study formats, as well as a wide range of networks and mobility opportunities for students and staff, internationalisation has become a lived and dynamic reality throughout Austrian higher education. This also applies to the field of quality assurance, which supports successful international collaboration through established tools such as the European Approach and the development of new formatsfor the quality assurance of alliances.

Cross-border collaboration, beyond institutional, disciplinary, and national boundaries, enables educational, scientific, and institutional advancement, opens up multiple learning and qualification pathways for students, and strengthens the visibility, status, and competitiveness of higher education institutions. University alliances, in particular, act as key drivers of innovation by developing pioneering formats for teaching, research, and third mission, thereby setting new standards for transnational, socially responsible, and transformative education.

In practice, however, embedding international cooperation formats into existing structures also entails challenges. Tensions may arise at the interfaces between cooperating groups and their home institutions or among partners, when differing understandings, institutional contexts, and practices meet. Furthermore, specific national legal frameworks, along with the global trend towards stronger national demarcation and the questioning of democratic principles, considerably limit international collaboration and innovation.

AQ Austria is committed to actively foster the sustainable and qualitative development of international higher education cooperation. Building on diverse positive experiences, while also addressing current and future challenges, this year’s Annual Conference offers a platform for reflection, exchange, and networking on the topic “International Cooperations & Quality in Higher Education.”