The annual conference of the European Association for International Education (EIAE), the most important higher education fair in Europe, awarded the Catalan universities the " Bo Gregersen Best Practice Award 2014" in recognition of the work involved in the joint initiatives by their international relations services.

The award ceremony took place on 19 September during the closing ceremony of the 26th Annual EAIE Conference, which was held in Prague (Czech Republic).

The EAIE gave the award to the " Green Cockatoo" working group, which was set up in 2004 and includes Pompeu Fabra University, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the universities of Girona and Lleida, Rovira i Virgili University, Ramon Llull University and the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, as well as the University of the Balearic Islands.

The award won by Green Cockatoo (the name which includes the heads of the international relations services at the universities mentioned above, and including Sara López, who is the head of this area at UPF) is in recognition of the group's stable relationship over ten years, as well as its ability to share experiences and practices in the management of internationalization, and its implementation of joint projects.

Green Cockatoo works to improve the university system

It is a local network with an international outlook that looks for shortcomings in a specific area or possible projects that could benefit its member universities, and acts together to achieve their goal. One of its most significant projects is the production of a series of internationalization indicators so that the entire Catalan university system can work with the same parameters.

These indicators have been approved and accepted by the rectors of the universities and the Catalan government, and the process for incorporating them into the Spanish university system is currently underway, and involves the CICUE, the committee responsible for international relations of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), and subsequent negotiations with the Spanish government.

Catalan universities at the EIAE

The EIAE's annual conference brought together over 8,000 delegates from 120 countries in order to exchange ideas about developments in international mobility programmes and best practices in the field.

Those attending were offered comprehensive information on the Catalan university system at the stand "Study in Catalonia. A knowledge hub in Southern Europe", a joint space shared by the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) and its member universities, including UPF.