The EC Communication on "Rethinking Education: Investing in Skills for Better socio-economic outcomes" highlights significant discrepancies between countries across Europe in their development of VET and PHE. It specifically points out that while some European countries have world-class VET and PHE systems (Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands), many others, typically in souther Europe, lag behind in terms of participation, quality outcomes and attractiveness. In countries with developed PHE systems, professional education is characterised by dual systems which have a high proportion of work-based learning, apprenticeships and other models which facilitate transition from learning to work. The communication further points out that excellence in PHE comes from systematically renewed curricula, constantly modernised delivery, and, crucially active involvement of businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The differences in development of PHE across Europe is due to differences in socio-cultural traditions and perceptions, diverse structures of education and training systems and of the economy and labour market, reforms undertaken, the extent of involvement of social partners as well as the employment prospects of PHE graduates, and the preferences of individuals. The objectives of this project are to: • encourage institutions of professional HE to analyse their internal policies for cooperation between education, research and business • implement improvements and reforms to policies and practices as regards cooperation with the world of work • support the sharing of best practices with respect to interventions for strengthening the knowledge triangle • design a set of supporting tools, in particular framework policies and/or implementation guides, to strengthen active cooperation between HEIs and partners from outside academia The project involves policy- and decision- makers from 15 institutions of Professional Higher Education, who will collaborate within the structures set up by their national associations for PHE, who are members of the consortium. Through their participation in the project, each of these institutions will analyse their overall connection with the world of work, formulate improvements with the help of best practice in the field and mainstream these practices into institutional strategy. The project proposed uses a definition of PHE, and additionally determined a set of core quality characteristics for Professional HEIs, based around three areas, developed during the Initiative on Harmonising Approaches to PHE in Europe (http://haphe.eurashe.eu): • Policy & Strategy – PHE and the connection with the WoW embedded and represented in the overall strategic framework and policies of higher education institutions? • Teaching & Learning - How is teaching and learning influenced through specific characteristics of PHE, in particular the connection with the WoW? • Research, Development and Innovation – How is Research conducted in collaboration with the WoW integrated as part of a sustainable PHE, recognising that it might differ from level to level and is not implemented in all institutions yet? The main outputs of the project will be: • Self-Assessment Reports produced by 15 institutions, describing the extent and quality of their connections with the world of work • Implementation Plans describing proposed improvements to policies and strategies to better cooperate with the world of work created and endorsed • A Peer-Learning Event bringing together representatives from Institutions around Europe • 70 best-practice cases collected and published, with at least 5 cases published under each HAPHE-criterion • A set of supporting tools for PHE-business cooperation, in particular, framework policies, published as a best-practice implementation guide for Higher Education institutions At local and regional level, the project will: • foster improved collaboration between PHEIs and enterprises • increase the choice of learning pathways available to students, in particular strengthening 'dual' options involving a mixture of studies and work experience such as apprenticeships • contribute towards addressing skill-shortages in key technical areas of employment • enhance the quality of the 'professional' experiences offered by PHEIs At national level, the project will make recommendations to policy-makers as to measures to improve and enhance cooperation between academia and enterprises. Adoption of such recommendations should primarily facilitate the provision of apprenticeships by enterprises. Evidence suggests that this in turn would lead to lower levels of youth unemployment. At EU level, the project will facilitate exchange of practice and increased cooperation between Institutions and Associations of Professional Higher Education.