Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning Capacity-Building in the Western Balkans

About the project

APEL – WB is an Erasmus+ International Capacity-Building project in the field of Higher Education (ERASMUS-EDU-2025-CBHE-STRAND-3), co-funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

The project addresses the limited use of Recognition and Accreditation of Prior Learning (RAPL) in the Western Balkans, despite its importance as emphasized in the Lisbon Recognition Convention (1997). While European frameworks and guidelines exist to support the recognition of learning acquired through work, self-education, and life experience, such practices remain insufficiently institutionalized in the region.

Aligned with European Commission and Western Balkan priorities for sustainable growth and knowledge-based economies, APEL – WB aims to institutionalize RAPL as a key component of inclusive higher education. The project builds on the growing adoption of competency-based learning in higher education and proposes a comprehensive framework inspired by established European practices.

With expertise from the University of Akureyri and the University of Tallinn, the project seeks to strengthen lifelong learning opportunities and workforce qualifications. Its overall objective is to establish an efficient and institutionalized system for recognizing and accrediting credits based on prior experiential learning in higher education institutions, in line with the standards of the European Higher Education Area.

Members

Collaborators

  • Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASCAL)
  • Ministry of Education of the Republic of Albania (ME)
  • Centre for Information and Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (CIP)
  • Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Kosovo (MESTI)
  • LOGOS University College (LOGOS)
  • University of Shkodra “Luigj Gurakuqi” (Unishk)
  • University of Prishtina (UP)
  • RIT KOSOVO (A.U.K) College (RITK)
  • University of Akureyri (UNAK)
  • University of Tallinn (TLN)
  • University of Sarajevo (UNSA)
  • University of Patras (UPAT)