Offering inclusive and flexible education and engaging with wider society is even more relevant in the current times of physical distancing and a fast changing labour market. Conventional education models are challenged. The micro-credentialing movement supports the increased flexibiliy of education, easing accessibility for life-long learners and enhancing possibilities to work with society. Micro-credentials are of crucial importance to exciting future-focused initiatives, like the European Universities Initiative and the ECIU University. However, a common understanding of micro-credentials is lacking and this is hampering the movement reaching its full potential.

The European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) strongly supports efforts to better define micro-credentials and more explicitly align them with existing national and European qualification frameworks. Micro-credentials have an innovative nature and great potential; this note puts forward key principles to support the development of a European Micro-Credentials Initiative.

The traditional architecture of the European education and training system needs to be modernised to harness the potential of micro-credentials. Moreover, micro-credentials must be implemented in the service of big ideas, they are not the idea itself. The ECIU University anchors new recognition models in more systemic and transformative efforts to develop 21st Century life-long learners capable of addressing major societal challenges. Next to this testbed, we need a European Micro-Credentials Initiative to support and widen learning at an unprecedented scale, serving society, economy and educational innovation. 

Download the note below to see the proposed guiding principles to proceed towards a European Micro-Credentials Initiative.