June 2023 was truly a special month for the IHES project. On June 14 the Transnational IHES Project Meeting at the Espai Catalunya Europa in Brussels provided a very useful opportunity to discuss successfully the progress of IHES intellectual outputs, particularly the IHES Laboratories, IHES Guidelines, IHES Model, IHES Repository and IHES Network of Organizations. 

In addition, June 15, 2023 brought another significant event, the IHES Project Final Conference, which was held in the same location and focused on the presentations and debates concerning the following topics and speakers.

State of play: Internationalisation of Higher Education for Society in practice 

Moderators: Martin Bogdan (Academic Cooperation Association) & Erika Somlyay (Lifelong Learning Platform)

Speakers:

• Alexandra Hughes, Deputy Vice Chancellor Global Engagement and Employability, University of Westminster – SGroup Think Tank for the Social Mission of Universities
• Mieke Van Herreweghe, Vice-Rector, University of Ghent
• Win Gabriels, Director of the Erasmus Student Network
• Panagiotis Chatzimichail, External Affairs Manager, Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions

Exploring IHES Labs  
Moderator: Martin Faix (Vice-dean for International Affairs, Head of Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic)

Speakers:

• Marina Casals, Director of International Relations at URV
• Palacký University Olomouc Representatives
• Aïda Díaz Sàez, Generalitat de Catalunya

How to do it – IHES Guidelines and Model
Speakers:  

• Uwe Brandenburg, Director of the Global Impact Institute
• Adina Fodor, Executive Committee Member of SGroup – Universities in Europe

IHES as a path to tackle challenges in Higher Education and society
Moderator: Uwe Brandenburg

Speakers:

• EU Commission representative: Vito Borrelli, Head of Sector for the Erasmus Mundus Programme (Higher Education), Directorate General Education and Culture of the European Commission
• Stakeholder representing HEIs: Alexandra Hughes, Deputy Vice Chancellor Global Engagement and Employability, University of Westminster & Adina Fodor, Centre for International Cooperation Babes-Bolyai University – SGroup Think Tank for the Social Mission of Universities
• Aïda Díaz, Responsible for the internationalisation of knowledge program of the Ministry of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia
• Stakeholder representing CSOs - Brikena Xhomaqi, LLLP

How to manage diverse consortia in Erasmus+ projects            

Moderator: Irina Ferencz (Director of ACA - Academic Cooperation Association)

Speakers:

• Dalibor Mikulas, IHES Project Coordinator, Palacký University Olomouc  
• Wim Gabriels, Director of the Erasmus Student Network – SIEM Project
• Lucie Munchova, Czech Liaison Office for Education and Research in Brussels (Czech National Agency for International Education and Research)

How to make IHES sustainable? IHES Repository and Network of Organisations

Speakers:

• Dalibor Mikulas, IHES Project Coordinator, Palacký University Olomouc; 
• Peter Nemec, IHES project investigator;
• Martin Bogdan, ACA – Academic Cooperation Association

All of the aforementioned has created a suitable platform for bringing the project consortium closer to the final phase of the project period and its preparations. Many thanks to all the guest speakers and their valuable contributions.