QualityLink is a European project that is developing standards and practical tools for publishing and aggregating course data from multiple institutions into unified, searchable catalogues.

Using QualityLink, European Universities alliances can create joint course catalogues that enable students to discover learning opportunities across the alliance. The joint catalogue is foundational for virtual inter-university campuses and enhanced student mobility.

Joint catalogues directly address Use Case 1 “Discover” from the European Higher Education Interoperability Framework (HEIF).

What is QualityLink developing?

• Common language: Standardised format and approaches for publishing data, based on the European Learning Model (ELM)
• Data aggregator: Software that automatically collects course data from multiple institutional sources
• Europe-wide portal: Pilot platform showcasing learning opportunities from all participating institutions (mock-up of the platform)

What are the benefits?

• Your institution/alliance already has course data in ELM, OOAPI, Edu-API or OCCAPI: you can expose information on your programmes, courses and micro-credentials to a wider European audience with little extra effort. This can enhance your reach of potential learners and facilitate cooperation with others.
• Your institution/alliance maintains course data in different formats: by mapping your existing data standard to ELM or one of the interoperable APIs, you can improve your interoperability with other institutions across Europe. ELM is also the basis for European Digital Credentials for Learning (EDC), so if your data is mapped to ELM you facilitate the issuing of digital degrees and micro-credentials for your courses.
• If you need to renew your institution’s or alliance’s public course catalogue, you can use the hosted QualityLink portal for easy deployment. You can also use and customise the QualityLink software yourself, as it is fully open source.

What are the implementation options?

• Hosted solution: Use our maintained aggregator and portal. This is the easiest option for fast deployment and requires minimal own resources. Consider to start with this option for testing, unless you need advanced customisation from the outset.
• Self-deployed: Run the QualityLink aggregator and portal software on your own infrastructure. This allows for maximum customisation and control, but requires additional own resources and IT expertise to manage. Consider this option for use in production if you need advanced customisation.
• Hybrid approach: Mix and match components based on your alliance’s needs, e.g. you can use the hosted QualityLink aggregator but develop your own custom portal to serve the joint learning opportunities catalogue of your alliance.

All components are developed as open source and will be freely available to European higher education institutions and alliances.

What are the practical steps?

• Phase 1: Planning
  • Define scope: determine which learning opportunities to include (all offerings, pilot selection or courses dedicated for alliance students)
  • Plan technical implementation approach with IT teams, and choose an implementation option that suits your alliance’s technical capacity and customisation needs
• Phase 2: Preparation
  • Check data readiness: do local systems contain minimum required data based on the ELM Learning Opportunities and Qualifications (LOQ) profile, namely:
    • title/name of the course or learning opportunity
    • learning outcomes
    • language(s) of delivery
    • thematic area (ISCED-F 2013 Classification)
  • Review additional requirements, e.g. if you want that the QualityLink platform provides potential learners a direct link to your enrolment or application portal, these links need to be part of your data
• Phase 3: Deployment
  • Publish data in supported formats (ELM, OOAPI, Edu-API or OCCAPI)
  • Configure aggregation and validate data quality
  • Launch public catalogue with alliance branding
• Phase 4: Optimisation
  • Monitor usage and gather feedback from students and staff
  • Expand coverage to additional learning opportunities and enhance data quality
  • Use joint catalogue for further use cases, e.g. joint enrolment

When is this available?

The QualityLink project has developed the necessary technical and semantic standards, and we are currently implementing the pilot aggregator and platform. These will be launched during the autumn of 2025.

The more institutions and their courses will feature in a joint catalogue the more useful it will be. As an early pioneer you can support the community and help us support wider adoption.

Will this remain available when the project ends?

The Knowledge Innovation Centre (KIC) is part of the QualityLink project consortium and hosts the pilot aggregator and platform. As every project, QualityLink has a lifetime, but KIC commits to ensuring that the current aggregator and platform remain available for the European higher education community for the next *.

Moreover, all specifications and all software created by the QualityLink project will be open source forever.