Achieving full interoperability—where all higher education systems can seamlessly exchange machine‑readable data for inter‑institutional and learning agreements—remains a key goal for the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) Network. To reach this objective, the European Commission and the EWP Consortium launched the Interoperability Reinforcement Plan, targeting issues raised by stakeholders and strengthening the foundations needed for smooth digital exchanges.
Building Shared Rules and Standards for Reliable Data Exchange
Ensuring consistent data transfer across diverse systems is technically complex and relies on close cooperation between IT teams, international relations officers, and institutions across Europe. While many institutions have made strong progress, the community recognises the need for clearer rules and shared standards to ensure reliable data flows. The action plan therefore includes defining minimum business requirements, identifying and fixing interoperability issues early, enhancing testing protocols, and creating tools to automatically log network errors.
Strengthening Support for Institutions and System Providers
Improved support for end users is also central to the plan. Actions taken include expanding the ESCI Service Desk to all users experiencing interoperability issues, hosting Town Hall meetings, creating system‑specific business user groups for peer exchange, and preparing an updated EWP Assessment Report. Collaboration with third‑party providers has been strengthened through additional guidance, peer‑review workshops, and increased engagement from EWP Relationship Managers. These combined efforts aim to improve the overall EWP user experience.
Keeping the Community Engaged as the Plan Advances
Progress updates on the Interoperability Reinforcement Plan have been shared through dedicated webinars, and institutions are encouraged to follow ongoing developments, join business user groups, and stay informed through ESCI communication channels.
For more details see: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/news/seamless-data-exchanges-for-erasmus-without-paper-for-2022