Collaboration and networks

The overall aim of APELE (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning in European Universities) research project is to focus on students who follow a non-traditional path to university, and on the legal and de facto barriers they encounter before being admitted to Higher Education.

Besides being relevant for the local population, access to university is extremely important for migrants across Europe, as universities offer possibilities for further education and development, which in turn can foster immigrant integration, especially on the labour market.

This project will record how prior experiential learning (both formal and informal), is recognized in different European countries, with an aim of enabling people with fewer opportunities (including migrants) to have access to study at Higher Educational Institutions in Europe.

In accordance with the 2014 Inclusion and Diversity Strategy in the field of youth by the European Commission, the notion of ‘people with fewer opportunities’ includes people with learning difficulties, people without high school degree, people with geographical obstacles as well as migrants and refugees facing cultural barriers.

Researchers from European universities and organizations located in Iceland, Italy, Greece and Denmark will produce five intellectual outputs and the overall results will provide policy-related recommendations.

 Key aims of the project are:

• To create innovative tools for the accreditation of prior experiential learning of people with fewer opportunities
• To foster social inclusion In Higher Educational Institutions and society
• To promote active European citizenship
• To provide outreach and dissemination activities

The timeline of the project is October 2019- September 2021.

Publications 2019-2020: The following Intellectual Outputs are available at: www.apele.eu.

IO 1- Overview of the legal status in the involved countries concerning the institutional and legal framework for entering and studying at university level, and outline of the national systems set up regulating the conditions for entering Higher Education for people with fewer opportunities, including migrants.

IO 2- Report on the perceptions of academics and policy makers regarding the procedures of accreditation of prior experiential learning in the four different countries in exam, with special focus on students with fewer opportunities (including migrants) who follow a non-traditional path to university.

IO 3- Need Analysis investigating the needs of people with fewer opportunities in regards to an innovative procedure of accreditation and outline of any relevant prior experiential learning, demographic and special characteristics of the target group.

Funding:The project has been funded with support from the European Commission, Erasmus+ program.

Partners at UCPH: Silvia Adamo (Associate Professor)

                                 Wiebke Sandermann (Research Assistant)

International partners: University of Akureyri, Iceland

                 University of Patrás, Greece

                 ARMES Progetti, Italy

                 University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy

Read more about APELE (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning in European Universities)

The green transition will generate new types of products and services in all stages of the value chain and in all sectors. In order to create behavioral change, the sustainable character of these products and services must be documented and communicated to potential buyers. Green labels are going to be an important tool in this regard. Already, numerous green labels exist worldwide, and studies show that labels often play an important role for buyers’ decisions to acquire a specific product or service.

However, it is also common knowledge that not all labels are equally trustworthy and that labels can play a part in the ‘greenwashing’ of products and services. Thus, a major challenge in the coming years will be the creation of effective green label systems that correctly assess and communicate the ‘sustainability’ of a specific product or service. The network focuses on this challenge. 

Members of the network

Vibe Ulfbeck (LAW, KU)
Professor of private law. Will lead the network and contribute with insights on legal implications of private governance systems in particular with regard to consumer law, liability law and transport law.

Ole Hansen (LAW, KU)
Professor in contract law and construction law. Will contribute with insights on the legal implications of private governance systems with regard to contracts and construction projects.

Carola Glinski (LAW, KU)
Associate professor in environmental law. Will contribute insights on legal implications of private standardisation and certifications systems, legal frameworks for sustainable supply chains including for biofuels, and more broadly with regard to environmental law, EU and WTO law.

Karsten Ronit (SAMF, KU)
Associate professor in political science. Expert in private governance systems at national and international levels and in diverse of business sectors.

Carsten Daugbjerg (IFRO, KU)
Professor of agricultural and food policy with a background in political science. Expert in agrifood policy and governance, including private governance systems. Works with issues of legitimacy, transparency and accountability of such systems.

Thomas Bøker Lund (IFRO, KU)
Associate professor, sociologist. Has published on carbon labels and ascription of responsibility as a motivating factor. Will contribute with sociological aspects of green labelling.

Frida Hastrup (Saxo, HUM, KU)
Associate professor in ethnology, with a special expertise in environmental anthropology. Will contribute with insights on the social and cultural life of ‘standardizations’, including their perceived trustworthiness and the extent to which they make sustainable choices easier.

Andrea Veggerby Lind (Communication, HUM, KU)
PhD fellow in climate communication and environmental social psychology with a background in cognitive sciences, and will contribute with perspectives on the psychological aspects of public perception of green labels, including the implications of different communication strategies.

Emil Engelund Thybring (IGN, KU)
Associate professor. Expert in the utilisation of wood and biomaterials in building products and their performance.

Niclas Scott Bentsen, (IGN, KU)
Associate professor, head of research group. Expert in biomass resource assessment, climate impact and sustainability assessment of biomass use and bioproducts.

Kenn Steger (Engineering, The Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, AAU)
Professor, MSO, civil engineer, with expertise in green production, logistics and sustainable supply chains.

The network is funded by a KU grant (internal funds)