Pilot: a more transparant professional profile with Microcredentials

In December, Radboud University formally entered the national Microcredentials pilot created by Universities of the Netherlands. Microcredentials are proof of the result after a short learning experience. This guarantees to the employer that the education received is of a high level and meets European quality standards, and that the learning outcomes have actually been achieved.

The pilot is intended to further develop both the policy framework and the IT solutions required to be able to issue a Microcredential. The national pilot focuses on postgraduate education. A wider application of Microcredentials, also in initial education, is certainly not excluded in future. The Radboud Centre for Social Sciences will issue an initial Microcredential to participants in Dutch and international refresher courses and further training.

Exemptions

Goof Claessen is project manager of the pilot: "A Microcredential is recognised within and outside educational institutions and is registered at national level. It can help professionals and organisations to issue exemptions, move faster through training programmes, and design study programmes more flexibly. It allows us to join forces with other accredited institutions of higher education institutions to stimulate lifelong learning in the Netherlands."

Proven competences

Ezra Niessink of the Centre for Professional Legal Education is really enthusiastic about this development, which makes the Netherlands one of the forerunners worldwide. "You are continuously investing in developing your professional competences, but you may not always be able to demonstrate it so easily. Microcredentials help you make your professional profile clearer and more transparent."