The implementation of the European project APEL-WB (Accreditation of Prior Learning in the Western Balkans), funded under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) programme, has been successfully launched. The project aims to strengthen systems for the Recognition and Accreditation of Prior Learning (RAPL) in the Western Balkan countries, promoting a more inclusive, flexible and transparent framework for access to higher education.

The project is based on the principles of the Lisbon Recognition Convention and contemporary European lifelong learning policies. Within this framework, guidelines, institutional tools and quality assurance mechanisms will be developed for the recognition of knowledge, skills and competences acquired through professional experience, self-directed learning and other forms of non-formal and informal learning. In parallel, training initiatives will be implemented for the academic and administrative staff of higher education institutions, employees of quality assurance agencies and representatives of the relevant public authorities, with the aim of establishing sustainable and reliable procedures for the recognition of prior learning.

The University of Patras (Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, Laboratory of Pedagogical Research and Lifelong Education) is a member of the project consortium, contributing its academic expertise to the development of the methodological framework and the promotion of innovative practices for the recognition of prior learning in higher education.

The project consortium is coordinated by LOGOS University College (Albania) and comprises the following partners:

1.    LOGOS University College, Albania (Project Coordinator) 
2.    University of Shkodra “Luigj Gurakuqi”, Albania 
3.    Quality Assurance Agency of Higher Education (ASCAL), Albania 
4.    University of Prishtina, Kosovo 
5.    RIT Kosovo (A.U.K.), Kosovo 
6.    University of Akureyri, Iceland 
7.    Tallinn University, Estonia 
8.    Ministry of Education and Sports, Albania 
9.    University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
10.    University of Patras, Greece 
11.    Centre for Information and Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education (CIP), Bosnia and Herzegovina 
12.    Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Kosovo, Kosovo