6th Forum ‘Higher Education and the Labour Market’ (HELM)

The HELM conference, jointly organized by the IAB and the DZWH (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies), combines contributions with a general perspective on ‘Higher Education and the Labour Market’, for example, on returns to tertiary education, dropout, or graduate placement in the labour market, with contributions on alternating focus topics.

This year’s focus topic “The Bologna Process After 25 Years: Continuities, Changes, and Evaluations” commemorates the signing of the Bologna Declaration on June 19, 1999, which initiated one of the most far-reaching reform processes in European Higher Education. The reform was accompanied by e.g. improvements in comparability and mutual recognition of degrees and study credits, easier mobility of students, and the harmonisation of study structures, which for many countries implied the introduction of a two-cycle system (BA/MA). We, therefore, welcome contributions that bring together experiences and research results on different aspects of the Bologna reform process. We are particularly interested in:

• Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees on the Labour Market: With the introduction of these two degree types that were new in many European countries, an important question is how BA and MA compare on the labour market, e.g., regarding labour market entry, wages, unemployment risk, or career prospects.
• Continuing and New Inequalities: In many countries, changing from a single-cycle to a two-cycle qualification structure brought new or additional social selection. We welcome contributions that evaluate such (potential) selection at the micro-level, either within or across countries.
• Student Mobility (Before and) After Bologna: As the Bologna reform included numerous elements that facilitated international mobility of students, we are interested in contributions examining effects of the reform on overall student mobility and (changes in) effects of mobility on educational or labour market outcomes.
• Differential Impact of the Reform in International Comparison: Given that the elements introduced by the reform, in particular, the two-cycle qualification structure, entailed a different extent of changes to European countries, we welcome papers that provide a comparison of such differential impact of the reform or that analyse the specificities of individual countries.
• Attainment of Goals of the Reform: For some countries, additional goals were linked to the Bologna reform. In Germany, for example, the reform was expected to increase employability and to substantially reduce the study duration of students. Moreover, it was assumed that after the reform, most students would enter the labour market directly after obtaining their BA. We welcome contributions that evaluate such additional goals at the national or European level.

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