Challenges and Prospects for a European Dimension in Academic Teaching in Southeast Europe
©PxHere/738738 The workshop “Learning for Europe” took place on March 14, 2026, at University of Regensburg. Lecturers and researchers from Germany, Croatia, Greece, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia came together to discuss the future of a stronger European dimension in teacher education.
In light of EU enlargement and globalization, European education systems are facing new challenges. Beyond teaching knowledge about Europe and its neighboring countries, there is an increasing need to promote shared European values and prepare younger generations to actively and critically participate in shaping Europe’s future. Teacher education plays a key role in this process as the foundation of the entire education system.
Long-Term International Cooperation
The workshop is part of a broader international initiative that began in 2024 with a workshop in Regensburg supported by BAYHOST and continued through additional conferences and workshops in 2025.
The discussions build on the project “Hope Europe?” conducted by the Center for German and European Studies (CGES) of University of Zagreb and University of Regensburg together with the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The project explored how students from universities in Germany and Southeast Europe perceive the European integration project, including its opportunities and challenges.
The international working group included lecturers from seven Southeast European countries as well as the project coordinators Prof. Dr. Siegfried Gehrmann (University of Zagreb), Prof. Dr. Rainer Liedtke (University of Regensburg), and Dr. Manuel Mork from the Department of History at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Key Topics and Future Perspectives
The aim of the workshop was to develop conceptual and practical foundations for a pan-European approach to education in teacher training and to prepare a comprehensive international research proposal on “Learning for Europe” with a particular focus on Southeast European countries.
Participants analyzed findings from previous events and identified key topics for European education, including multilingualism, human rights, migration, European integration processes, environmental issues, and sustainability.
One of the main outcomes of the workshop was the development of a proposal for a follow-up international three-year project. Planned activities include the analysis of existing teacher-training curricula, the development of updated teaching materials, and their practical implementation and testing within university education programs.
The workshop “Learning for Europe” therefore represents an important milestone in strengthening European educational cooperation and fostering international dialogue in the field of education.