Joanna WILSON

Abstract: As international education becomes more diverse, mobile and interconnected, qualifications recognition is increasingly central to supporting mobility and enabling students, graduates and academics to use their qualifications across borders. Fair, transparent and consistent recognition processes help individuals access further study, research opportunities and employment, while also supporting institutional partnerships, student recruitment, cross-border education and more flexible learning pathways. Recognition cannot operate in isolation: it relies on, and reinforces, strong quality assurance arrangements, credible qualifications frameworks and systems, and mutual understanding between education systems. This panel session will bring together regional perspectives on the role of qualifications recognition in advancing international education priorities, supporting student and academic mobility, and strengthening cooperation across borders. Discussion will focus on practical mechanisms to deepen trust and improve recognition outcomes, including regional and global recognition conventions, bilateral cooperation, information-sharing networks, alignment with quality assurance and qualifications frameworks, and emerging approaches to digital credentials and non-traditional learning. The session will highlight how greater cooperation in recognition can reduce barriers to mobility, support the effective use of qualifications, enable institutional collaboration and contribute to more coherent internationalisation strategies across the region. Learning objectives: - Understand how qualifications recognition enables students, graduates and academics to use their qualifications across borders for further study, research and employment. - Examine how recognition supports internationalisation agendas, including mobility, cross-border education, institutional partnerships and flexible learning pathways. - Explore the links between qualifications recognition, quality assurance and national or regional qualifications frameworks. - Identify practical mechanisms for strengthening international cooperation and engagement, including recognition conventions, information-sharing networks, bilateral dialogue and trusted credential verification. - Consider how more transparent and consistent recognition practices can reduce barriers to mobility, build trust between countries, including among governments and institutions, and support deeper international collaboration. Target audience: This session will benefit international education leaders and practitioners working in admissions, mobility, student support, qualifications recognition, quality assurance, transnational education, and cross-border partnerships, as well as policy makers seeking to strengthen international cooperation.