Insights from the 2025 EWP Convention in Warsaw
The inaugural EWP Convention, held at the University of Warsaw on 17 – 18 June 2025, brought together more than 150 participants from all over Europe for a comprehensive stock-taking of digital transformation of Erasmus+ student mobility. Over the course of two days the programme featured expert panels, hands-on workshops as well as peer-led discussions. The EWP Convention marked a defining moment for the Erasmus+ digital journey, and revealed both how far we have come and the enthusiasm in the community about what comes next in the Erasmus+ digital transformation.
Celebrating our joint achievements and some unsung heroes
The opening remarks by the Vice-Rector of University of Warsaw Professor Sambor Grucza set a confident tone, underscoring how years of groundwork are now bearing remarkable fruits. This was also showcased by the data illustrating the extraordinarily swift and smooth adoption of digital Learning Agreements, exemplified by the fact that six countries have already reached the European Commission’s 95% digital Learning Agreement target, while almost all Programme countries show double-digit progress in comparison to the last year. It is critical to recognise the role of all the International Relations Officers (IROs) who made such achievements possible by implementing this digital transition at their Institutions and what support and information is still required to further facilitate their day-to-day work.
A recurring theme throughout the Convention was that Erasmus+ digitalisation is not merely a technical upgrade, but a collective shift in mindset that requires a shared commitment. The call to collaborate resonated deeply; as Bruno de Oliveira Alves of the European Commission put it,
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
While Community Space discussions captured the realities on the ground from the early stages of testing to the missing steps of Erasmus administration that still require digitalisation, the tone remained buoyant. In addition to sharing challenges, IROs took time to recognise achievements and expressed shared ownership for building and improving a truly connected digital infrastructure.
Crafting the next steps together
This spirit was reinforced by DG EAC’s renewed commitment to supporting the initiative in its current form until at least the end of the current programme and the extensive Q&A sessions with DG EAC, as well as technical experts, allowed for establishing more transparency with regards to the planning.
So, what comes next? That was another key focus of the EWP Convention – to discuss the next steps of the digital Erasmus roll-out and engage in a dialogue with the colleagues about the practical implementation. The panel discussion on the nominations illustrated the enthusiasm in the community to finally streamline this administrative step and allowed for sharing good practices from the institutions that have already progressed.
EWP Convention also offered space for 10 different workshops focusing on forward-looking topics, such as Transcript of Records roll-out in digital form, Interinstitutional Agreement renewal process in the next Programme, the digital certificates of arrival/departure or progress made on the course catalogue data digitisation, to name a few. It allowed for discussing the user requirements in more depth which is of pivotal importance for the digital transition to be a success.
Next to that, the convention participants also got insights into the preliminary findings of the user consultations that have been ongoing since January 2025. It went hand in hand with the recommendations shared by the National Digital experts from Germany and Poland urging for more stability, transparency and a strategic approach to the full digitalisation of the Erasmus+ lifecycle, prioritising the nominations and transcripts of records next as well as being underpinned by the enhanced quality assurance.
Continuing the conversation
On the whole, the first EWP Convention saw strong and energised participation, produced concrete outcomes and provided a clear sense of direction. We thank the University of Warsaw for their exemplary role as both host and a leader of the digital transformation of Erasmus+.
We look forward to engaging with the community at the upcoming events! The next EWP Convention will be hosted by the University of Naples Federico II on June 16-17, 2026 – join us on this journey and let’s co-create it together!
Cover photo by Krystian Szczęsny