SPACE, Secretariat

Space: European Network For Business Studies and Languages with more than 90 Higher Education institution members in 25 European countries.

Since SPACE was founded in Lille (FR) in 1989, the network has been growing to reach a membership of about 90 HEI in 30 countries from both the 'old' and emerging new Europe. The network has changed in that the nature of our collaboration has a greater emphasis on Business (in its many forms), Language and Intercultural Communication, Hospitality & Tourism Management. Further we concentrate on Bachelors and Masters Education as our basis for membership. Though the remit of our Network has widened to develop European and global co-operation in the above areas, our motto remains the same: Learning by Sharing. Developing a spirit for quality in teaching and a commitment for research have become main objectives.
Mission Statement:
We are

a network of higher education institutions that are operational in the European Educational Area and the European Research Area;
a multicultural, pluralistic and forward looking organisation that strives for educational aims on the basis of equality of gender, thoughts and opinions;
a dynamic association of inspired educationalists that wants to efficiently cooperate in order to achieve the goals we have set to ourselves and the educational world.

We feel it our duty
to increase the professional skills of students in higher education, and those who aspire to it through lifelong learning;
to stimulate the language and intercultural awareness of those learners for whom we are the intermediaries;
to further the employment prospects of the same learners by helping them develop their skills and competencies;
to enhance the professional skills of staff at partner institutions by sharing with each other innovative ideas and examples of good practice;
to encourage applied research in all professional higher education institutions, along the lines of the Bologna agreement;
to grow as a network so as to become more representative by expansion in existing member countries and getting ourselves involved in new European markets, and also in non-European markets for institutions which endorse our mission statement and constitute an added value for our European network;
to facilitate the implementation of the Bologna process in our member institutions by informing our members of the ongoing processes on Bachelor and Master’s level, and on the Short Cycle programmes within the First Cycle, thus stating that our network is offering undergraduate degrees (Bachelor level), completed by graduate and postgraduate degrees (Master’s level);
to promote the idea of a common European heritage and future through the study of the European integration process;
to build bridges with the business community in order to enable SPACE members to provide to their students an effective and industry-relevant education, as well as help schools enhance their reach and impact on a number of key stakeholders.


In order to reach our goals we aim at

developing educational programmes which maintain a high degree of quality across the range of partner institutions;
adopting a flexible and online approach to programme provision across our network members;
encouraging the exchange of students to develop an awareness of other cultures and values;
encouraging the exchange of staff of partners as a means for staff development and for creation of awareness of different academic cultures;
sharing expertise and know-how in various disciplines, in project work and other joint initiatives;
developing in the affiliated institutions a spirit for quality in teaching and a sense for research;
making education more accessible to all, including underprivileged groups by lowering the thresholds to higher education via the recognition of experiential learning;
facilitating the bridging of the gap between higher education institutions and the business community and key stakeholders.