This is to draw your attention to major European events related to VET and HRD research taking place next year: in particular the annual conferences of ECER/VETNET and of HRD Research and Practice across Europe, and the triennial conference run by ESREA. While each conference has its own individual profile, there is considerable common ground in their thematic strands, notably those related to issues of learning and work. In the following notes, the three conferences are briefly presented in chronological order:

HRD Conference
The 11th International Conference on Human Resource Development Research and Practice across Europe will take place 2 to 4 June, 2010, hosted by the University of Pécs, Hungary - the 2010 European Capital of Culture. The conference focuses on the theme "Human Resource Development in the Era of Global Mobility". Within this theme a number of streams have been identified, several of which link up with issues of vocational education:

    * Global Mobility and Talent Development;
    * Learning and Performance at Work;
    * Vocational Education and Training and Continuing Professional Education and Development;
    * Work-Life Balance, Organisational Culture and Corporate Social Responsibility;
    * Business Strategy, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning and Change.

The submission deadline for abstracts and proposals is 18 January, 2010. Detailed information on the conference, including the call for papers, can be obtained from the website (http://www.hrdconf-pecs2010.eu).

ECER/ VETNET
The next European Conference on Educational Research, highlighting issues of "Education and Cultural Change", will be held in Helsinki, Finland from 23 to 27 August 2010. The call for proposals and further details are available on the conference website (http://www.eera-ecer.eu/ecer/ecer-2010-Helsinki/). The deadline for submission of proposals (online via ConfTool) is 15 January 2010. The pre-conference (23-24 August), organised for PhD students and new researchers, is followed by the main conference (25-27 August), including the VETNET programme.

Specific objectives and thematic keywords of the VETNET programme can be looked up on the network page (www.eera-ecer.eu/networks/network2/). The general thematic areas identified by VETNET offer various links to adult education and human resource development:

   1. Globalisation, VET Systems and Innovation
   2. Accreditation, Qualifications and Frameworks
   3. Work Based Learning, Apprenticeship and Re-Training
   4.  Professionalisation, Competence Development and Lifelong Learning
   5.  Boundary Crossing, Transitions and Transfers
   6. Curriculum, Pedagogy and Learning Resources (including E-Learning)
   7. Cultural Diversity, Learners and VET

Proceedings of the previous ECER VETNET programmes, provided in collaboration between the VETNET Board and WIFO, are available online for the years 1998 to 2009 (www.ecer-vetnet.wifo-gate.org).

ESREA conference
The triennial conference of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) will take place September 23-26, 2010 at Linköping University in Sweden. Its theme "Adult Learning in Europe – understanding diverse meanings and contexts" will be addressed by keynote speeches, including:

    * Learning, work and social responsibility: Challenges for lifelong learning in a global age;
    * Adult and continuing education between self-motivation, knowledge access and professional monitoring.

In addition to the main conference, there will be a pre-conference organised for graduate students with the theme “Developing Graduate Research Capabilities” on September 22 (free of charge). The general deadline for submitting proposals is January 15, 2010. Please find the call for papers and further details on the conference web page (www.liu.se/esrea2010).

Information on further European and international conferences can be obtained from the WIFO page (www.conferences.wifo-gate.org), including the 12th international LLinE conference "Lifelong Learning and Wellbeing" in Tuusula (Finland) 27-29 January 2010 (http://www.lline.fi/), the 26th Colloquium of the European Group for Organisational Studies (EGOS ) in Lisbon, June 28 to July 3, 2010 (http://www.egosnet.org/), and the next workshop-style meeting of the VET&CULTURE network in Duisburg-Essen (Germany) in late August 2010 (http://www.peda.net/veraja/uta/vetculture).

Your updates on conferences for the WIFO page are welcome. Special announcements of European research events will also be forwarded via WIFO mailing lists.

Kind regards
Sabine Manning
Editor of the L&W Newsletter