#NARIC - Developing and maintaining the ENIC-NARIC website
Development, management and maintenance of the joint ENIC and NARIC networks website. A website which centralises recognition information centres of the 55 countries belonging to the Europe – North America UNESCO Region, supervised by the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. The #NARIC project is the follow-up of the previous ENIC-NARIC WEB and MEETWEB projects. CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project. CIMEA has managed the ENIC-NARIC website since 2012.
@NARIC - Supporting the ENIC-NARIC Social Media and Communication Strategy
Maintenance and development of the joint ENIC-NARIC website, a website which centralises recognition information centres of the 55 countries belonging to the Europe – North America UNESCO Region, under the supervision of the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. The project also aims to supporting the adoption of a social media and communication strategy by ENIC-NARIC centres to ensure their visibility and reach all the interested stakeholders. CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project.
AR25 – Automatic Recognition in the EEA, 2025
Promote and implement the Council Recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad. AR25 aims to support the recognition of learning periods of upper secondary education through mapping national agreements on recognition. Moreover, the project intends to consolidate skills between institutions in the field of micro-credential evaluation.
AdReN - Automatic Recognition In the Adriatic Region
The project supported the fulfilment of the objectives of the European Higher Education Area by implementing automatic recognition in the Adriatic region. AdReN had the aim to implement a table of comparison of Pre-Bologna and Bologna qualifications in partner countries, together with the realization of a comparative study of the different higher education systems in the region. A secretariat of the network has been set at the Iuav University in Venice, which guarantees the sustainability of the project after its lifetime.
AR-Net - Automatic Recognition in the Networks in 2020
The goal of AR-Net was to develop and promote instruments that support Automatic Recognition in the EHEA. AR-net contributed to Automatic Recognition (AR) from different points of view, proposing recommendations, producing a Policy Paper on the Portability of Recognition Decisions; updating and promoting existing recognition tools: EAR-HEI, EAR (e)manuals and STREAM admissions platform; strengthening the quality assurance of the ENIC-NARIC Networks. CIMEA has been project partner and participated on the development of activities and final results.
ARAQUA – Road to Automatic Recognition of Higher Education Access Qualifications
The project aims to facilitate automatic recognition of qualifications for access to higher education between partner countries, through mapping and tracking qualifications at national level, aimed at developing recommendations for ENIC-NARIC centres and higher education institutions.
ARENA - Refugees and Recognition – Toolkit 3
As a natural continuation of the projects Refugees & Recognition and REACT, ARENA intervened on the enhancement of recognition practises for refugees’ qualifications, starting from the updating and the adaptation of the existing ones in relation to other national contexts. The release of new Refugees Country Briefings responded to the information needs of the recognition national centres for recognition and the higher education institutions. Particular attention has been given to the Italian case and to the use of EQPR as a supporting document for the refugees’ access to universities, especially in case of poor documentation.
CIME-A-TeaM - CIMEA against the mills - How to spot and counter diploma mills
CIMEA-A-TeaM objective was the publication of the English language guide dedicated to the so-called Diploma Mills phenomenon, including 50 concrete examples of institutions operating in this sector. CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project.
CIMEA-MaCLaude: Magna cum Laude - Worldwide Database on university grading systems
CIMEA-MaCLaude objective was the creation of a database containing the various grading systems in place in the academic field in 100 countries, referring for the most part to non-European systems. The project also entails the publication of an English language guide with information on grading systems and qualification conversion systems. CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project.
DigiLink – Advancing digital solutions in recognition data sharing
Support the ENIC-NARIC networks in developing digitisation strategies for sharing recognition information. The project aims to identify the minimum semantic and technical requirements for recognition certificates of ENIC-NARIC centres and collect them for the creation of a standardised European Digital Credentials for Learning (EDC). The results will be presented in a practical guide for networks. DigiLink also aims to identify opportunities for integration between the information systems of ENIC-NARIC centres and their respective admission procedures for secondary education.
DigiNet – Digital innovations in credential evaluation and the networks
Contribute to the implementation of efficient and transparent digitalisation strategies for credential evaluation. This will lead to faster and more consistent recognition practices, fostering automatic recognition and leaner procedures for applicants.
DigiRec - Connecting digital exchange of student data to recognition
Support learning mobility in the EHEA, linking the digital development to the acceleration of recognition procedures of international students’ qualifications. DigiRec explored the connection between digitalization and recognition, creating awareness about the possible impact of digitalization on recognition practices and contributing to the development of a shared vision. The outcomes of DigiRec, in particular the White Paper on the connection between digital exchange of student data and recognition, can assist the networks and individual centres in the development of policies on this important topic. CIMEA was a project partner and participated in the development of the activities and the final results.
EBSI-VECTOR – EBSI enabled VErifiable Credentials & Trusted Organisations Registries
Implement and expand the capabilities of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), through the simplification of verification processes and the refinement of the decentralised identity of legal entities, regarding the use of blockchain services.
EQPR - European Qualifications Passport for Refugees
The project has a three-year duration and takes place at Italian HEIs under the coordination of CIMEA. Cooperation with higher education institutions was strongly desired because the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees, which is issued in case of a positive outcome following an assessment process, is a tool that can be used in the enrolment procedures for refugees who, having achieved a qualification, do not have documents to prove it. Partners project now include the ENIC centres of Italy, Armenia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. In 2018, the project EQPR conceived by the Council of Europe and started on Greece in 2016, was adapted to the Italian national context and funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research.
EQUAL – European Qualifications – Refugees and Recognition 4
As a natural continuation of the projects Toolkit, REACT and ARENA, the project supports the ENIC-NARIC centres for the design of sustainable recognition policies, aligned with national legislation and admission procedures.
The aim is to strengthen the capabilities of authorities responsible for recognition through training and mentoring courses, in partner countries (Poland, Lithuania and Romania).
EU-MTR - Enhancing the use of mobility tools for recognition
Increase the knowledge and the application of transparency tools useful during the recognition and evaluation procedures of qualifications, as the European Qualification Framework, the Europass documents, the Diploma Supplement and the ECTS system. CIMEA was a project partner and participated in the development of activities and final outcomes.
FAIR - Focus on Automatic Institutional Recognition
Verify recognition procedures and methodologies implemented in 23 higher education institutions in six European countries, with the aim to analyse and incentivise “automatic recognition” policies between member countries of the European Higher Education Area and to produce helpful final guidelines to achieve such goals. CIMEA was a project partner and participated in the development of the activities and the final results.
FRAUDOC - Guidelines on Diploma Mills and Document Fraud for Credential Evaluators
Realise two manuals in English: one dedicated to qualification evaluators in relation to the Diploma Mills phenomenon, while the other is dedicated exclusively to the ENIC-NARIC centres and refers to the counterfeiting of qualifications, to the techniques and tools used in this area and the verification tools used in determining the genuine nature of qualifications. Both publications have been provided by concrete examples of qualifications and institutions. CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project.
FraudSCAN - False Records, Altered University Diploma Samples Collection and Alert for NARICs
Provide two main instruments in order to fight the use of fraudulent qualifications:
- A database of fraudulent qualifications: this tool collects the scanned copies of fraudulent qualifications received by ENIC-NARIC centres, allowing users to compare fraudulent qualifications with authentic ones.
- Guidelines to establish an Alert Mechanism among ENIC-NARIC centres.
CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project.
FraudS+ - False Records, Altered Diploma and Diploma Mills Qualifications Collection
Expand the existing FraudSCAN database, containing samples of fraudulent academic titles. The project has foreseen the involvement of students. An analysis will be carried out to gauge the level of awareness regarding this phenomenon, through questionnaires addressed to student unions, in order to design useful tools for the promotion of the fight against fraud in the academic field. FraudS+ promoted dialogue on the issue of fraudulent academic qualifications in collaboration with policy makers, higher education institutions and relevant stakeholders.
I-AR – Implementation of automatic recognition in the networks
Support the process of implementation of automatic recognition within the ENIC-NARIC centres, mainly by updating the EAR Manual and reviewing the ENIC-NARIC centres’ recognition procedures starting from the existing good practices. A practical approach will be used in order to offer a concrete support to relevant stakeholders, especially HEIs.
I-COMPLY – Implementation of LRC COMPLIant recognition practices in the EHEA
Improve compliance with the Lisbon Recognition Convention through the strengthening of national, institutional recognition structures. Three Peer Learning Activities have been organised with the aim of sharing practices on the issues of recognition, automatic recognition and access to higher education for refugees.
MAReN – Mediterranean Automatic Recognition Network
From the experience of the AdReN project, the main objective of MAReN is to implement the Council Recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad in the countries of the Mediterranean region. MAReN aims to create a network between the ENIC-NARIC centres of the involved countries, to develop support tools to the daily work of credential evaluators and to promote synergies with other initiatives related to automatic recognition.
MARTe – A technological approach to micro-credentials
Support and promote the European Education Area objectives and the application of the automatic recognition concept. The project aims to explore the possible applications of automatic recognition to micro-credential, by applying the text mining technology to learning outcomes. The project foresees a pilot stage during which it will be possible to test the development, the release and the recognition of a micro-credential provided by a non-traditional institution.
Q-ENTRY - International Database on Higher Education Entry Qualifications
Create an online database containing a list of the final upper secondary school qualifications and, more in general, the qualifications that in the national education system of reference give access to Higher Education.
The database is available to the general public and has provided, in a simple and standardised format, all the relevant information concerning the upper secondary school qualifications giving access to higher education, delivered by competent national authorities. CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project.
qENTRY+ - International Database on Higher Education Entry Qualifications
Improve the existing Q-ENTRY database to foster the automatic recognition of qualifications giving access to higher education. The objective of qENTRY+ project was the further implementation of the database, both from a geographical and a quantitative point of view, together with the dissemination of the database itself. The database is meant to be used as a tool for the promotion of automatic recognition for access to university institutions. Guidelines to access higher education in partner countries have been developed and published.
REACT - Refugees and Recognition
As a natural continuation of the project Erasmus+ project "Refugees and Recognition", which developed a common methodological approach to the recognition of qualifications held by refugees. Taking this work, a step further, the REACT-project developed and tested this methodology in major refugee-receiving countries and in cooperation with higher education institutions. The aim is to establish a more efficient and consistent approach to the recognition of refugees’ qualifications in Europe. CIMEA was a project partner and participated in the development of the activities and the final results.
Recognition of Refugees Qualifications. A pilot project
Test and implement in the field of methodologies to rebuild the academic career and the competences of refugees in refugee camps even with insufficient or missing documentation, especially the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees. The project started in November 2016 and guided by the Council of Europe, included as partners the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs and 4 ENIC-NARIC centres: CIMEA – NARIC Italia, NOKUT (Norwegian ENIC-NARIC centre), UK NARIC and DOATAP (Greek ENIC-NARIC centre). The UNHCR Office in Greece also supported the project.
Refugees & Recognition: Toolkit for recognition of higher education for refugees, displaced persons and persons in refugee-like situation
Create useful tools finalised towards the recognition of qualifications held by refugees, who are not in possession of the documentation concerning the qualifications held necessary for recognition procedures. CIMEA was a project partner and participated in the development of the activities and the final results.
SCAN-D & SCAN-D2 - Samples & Copies of Academic National Diplomas
Develop a database containing examples of academic certifications (diplomas, exam certificates, certifications etc.) awarded by universities from the 24 countries participating in the project, for a total of over 4,000 examples of qualifications collected: access to the database is restricted to ENIC-NARIC centres. CIMEA conceptualised and coordinated the project.
SeARch ENGINE - Strengthening Educational and AwaReness Campaign in Automatic Recognition for Higher Education Institutions – Engage – Inform – Implement
Improve awareness and knowledge on the topic of automatic recognition, not only among Higher Education Institutions, but also among students from countries part of the European Education Area (EEA). In order to meet this goal, a series of seminars and webinars has been held and addressed to institutions, policymakers and other stakeholders working in the field. They have been recorded and made accessible on the internet to allow for a broader audience.
SQUARE - 'System of Quality Assurance for the Recognition Networks'
Develop an evaluation system for the quality of the activities performed in ENIC-NARIC centres with the aim of verifying the adherence of specific procedures to the criteria of the Lisbon Recognition Convention and highlighting best practices developed in the individual centres. CIMEA participated in the development of the activities and the final results.
STREAM - Streamlining Institutional Recognition: a training platform for admissions officers
Develop a platform and create an on-line course dedicated to higher education qualification evaluators, in line with the practices indicated in the EAR-HEI Manual, official Bologna Process tool developed by the EP-NUFFIC centre. CIMEA was a project partner and participated in the development of the activities and the final results.
Supporting an efficient national mechanism of recognition of refugees’ qualifications
Support the implementation of a national recognition mechanism of refugees’ qualifications with poor or no documentation, expanding the application of the European Qualification Passport for Refugees (EQPR) and the UNESCO Qualifications Passport (UQP) methodologies in the public administration. The project aims to develop and to implement reforms in Italy for a full professional and social inclusion of refugees, to encourage investments and increase competitiveness.
TST – Supporting and enhancing the role of ENIC-NARICs
Improve the quality and the efficiency of the NARIC network through the support of a technical secretariat, encouraging the work and the exchange of information between all the involved stakeholders. By the facilitation of the ENIC-NARIC network’s work, the project has supported the promotion of automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad.
TST2 – Supporting the ENIC-NARICs
As a natural continuation of the TST project, TST2 ensures the quality improvement of ENIC-NARICs centres, through training, peer review and networking activities, maximising the diffusion of the already available instruments to support the recognition of qualifications.