The aim of RecoASIA project is to improve competencies and skills of credential evaluators of Partner countries by defining common practices and tools among European and Asian HE systems (at national and institutional level), starting from the needs expressed and sharing the experience of European HEIs in relation with the Lisbon Recognition Convention, Bologna Process and practices adopted by NARIC centres. Recognition procedures and practices do not only consist in technical issues but also in the structure of each HE system and its cultural approach. Recognition considers all the aspects of a HE system (QA; accreditation/recognition of institutions; etc.); in fact, to evaluate a foreign qualification, the knowledge of different elements and the consideration of the purpose of this evaluation procedure (academic or professional recognition) are needed. The partnership intends to develop national information centres and to provide their staff with training on recognition procedures, also taking into account the role of the Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education of Tokyo entered into force in 2018 and to establish a dialogue with the Lisbon Recognition Convention. We will draft National Reports of each partner country involved in the project in order to present their HE systems with the aim of enhancing the internationalisation of participating Partner countries. We will treat controversial recognition cases and sectors as TNE and international institutions, distant learning and non-traditional degrees, studying verification sources and the blockchain technology as a tool to fight credentials fraud. A work package will be dedicated to the methodologies for the evaluation of refugee qualifications and the possible implementation in the Asian context. To maximase the dissemination of the project's results two final conferences will be organised.

Internationalisation is one of the pressing issues for South-East Asian HEIs: Mission & Vision statements, as well as Strategic Plans confirm the strong will of the HEIs in the Region to strive for Internationalisation for the sake of students & graduates. Ministerial & Regional policy documents, too, advocate Internationalisation as priority for individual countries & the Region.What HEIs & policymakers lack are the core Recognition Mechanisms:- RM1 Regional Subject-Specific Qualifications & Assessment Reference Frameworks,- RM2 Measuring Full Volume of Student Workload as part of Programme Planning, &- RM3 Authentic Assessment of Programme Learning Outcomes.To address this gap, CALOHEA brings together 26 HEIs from 8 SEA Countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand & Vietnam), AUN-ACTS Network, AUN & 5 EU partners highly experienced in creating & helping HEIs adopt the 3 core RMs. University of Groningen & ASEAN University Network act as Project Coordinators &, together with all the Partners, will work to achieve the following:- create & install RM1-3 in 3 pilot areas – Civil Engineering (a door to the Engineering sector), Medicine (a door to the Health sector) & Teacher Education (a door to Social Sciences)- train Teams of Champions for Recognition & Internationalisation in 26 SEA HEIs- reach out to all ASEAN & many more SEA HEIs to encourage regional adoption of the 3 RMs &, thus, help any SEA HEI in Internationalisation efforts.Students & graduates will be direct beneficiaries, since RM1-3 will considerably facilitate mobility & employment. HEIs & their academic & administrative staff will be equipped with the tools to achieve higher level of Internationalisation. Policymakers, &the Region as a whole, will obtain the foundational tools and the Champions necessary to make a serious step forward in articulating a common HE Space and increase mobility among the SEA countries, as well as between SEA and other world regions