In 2004, seven European universities embarked on a project to develop a European Master’s Programme in Adult Education (EMAE). The German Institute for Adult Education followed the project closely as an external evaluator. The consortium developed a curriculum consisting of a common core (70 ECTS) and of university specific courses (50 ECTS). The idea is to offer the whole programme in most of the participating universities. Both the content and the delivery modes of the programme are characterised by a strong European dimension. The article describes the core curriculum, its structure and topics as well as the teaching formats which offer students a range of international and intercultural learning possibilities.
A big challenge is the implementation and accreditation of a common programme in different universities and different national contexts. The article illustrates the strategies adopted by the partner consortium to meet this challenge and describes the pilot implementation which started in winter 2006. The paper concludes by pointing out the main results of the evaluation of the curriculum development and implementation activities.
