On April 13, the first Steering Committee meeting of the new Best Practice Programme in Promoting Academic Integrity took place online. After fruitful discussions, the Steering Committee reviewed and endorsed the upcoming call for applications for promoting academic integrity during COVID-19 which will be published on April 28.

The Committee underlined the importance of the call given the increasing threats to academic integrity which may have been further exacerbated by the sudden switch to an online mode of delivery of teaching and learning during the pandemic.

“There is much need for this very important topic among higher education institutions and it is even more important during the times of COVID-19 because we see the impact of the pandemic on academic integrity not only in Europe but also globally”. said Hilligje Van’t Land, Secretary General of International Association of Universities.

The Steering Committee expressed their strong commitment to disseminate the call widely. Among other issues discussed were the selection of experts of the independent panel who will assess the applications.

The Steering Committee members include representatives of the Council of Europe Committee on Education Policy and Practice, Council of Europe Platform on Ethics, Transparency and Integrity in Education, UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, the ENIC-NARIC Networks, the European University Association, the International Association of Universities, the European Student Union, Transparency International EU, Education International and the Federation for Education in Europe.