The Bologna process is proceeding successfully. In half of the involved countries, all students are now doing courses that comply with the new Bachelor/Master (Ba/Ma) system, while the other countries are working hard to achieve the same level. In many countries, graduates with a Bachelor or Master degree are already a familiar phenomenon on the labour market. This means that we now have a situation in which empirical information becomes available that can provide insight in the integration of graduates from the new system in the labour market.

A few years ago, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA) of Maastricht University (UM) initiated a conference in Maastricht on the European Labour Market for Academic Graduates (ELM) after the introduction of the Ba/Ma system. This conference was held from 19 to 21 October 2006. It was attended by more than 100 representatives from the worlds of education, business, government and research. With reference to the rapidly progressing Bologna process and the new labour market information becoming available now, but also the wide international interest shown in the 2006 conference and the lively discussions during that event, another European conference on the theme of higher education and the labour market will be organized: ELM 2009.

The conference will take place from 22 to 24 October 2009 in Maastricht. It will be organised by the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (formerly known as the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration) in co-operation with the Institute for Employment Research of the University of Warwick.

Conference Themes

The conference will provide greater insight into the developments in European higher education and the labour market, and the way in which higher education may contribute to strengthening the position of Europe in the world. The information, insights and visions provided constitute the components for the foundation of further policy development regarding topics such as:

· The global competition for the highly talented graduates vs. the requirements for a European knowledge economy (Lisbon objectives).

· The design of Bachelor and Master programmes that adequately matches the preferences of the students and the requirements of the labour market in a knowledge-driven economy.

· The different models of collaboration between the business community and higher education to meet the demands for higher qualified employees, as well as for tailor-made continuing (executive) education.  

· The necessity of adaptation of the various national HE systems to the emerging international competitive environment.

· The broadening of graduates’ career perspectives and the recruitment of the higher educated by small and medium-sized businesses.

Postal address:  
P.O. Box 616
NL - 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands

Phone: + 31 (0) 43 388 5983 (Mr Kim Willems)
Fax: + 31 (0) 43 388 5981
e-mail: elm2009@fd.unimaas.nl

ELM 2009 is made possible with the support of

and our Communication Partners: