What ACA - Academic Cooperation Association does

The Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) is a Brussels-headquartered, non-profit membership association founded in 1993 and constituted as an AISBL/VZW under Belgian law. It aggregates European national-level organizations responsible for promoting and funding the internationalization of higher education, and operates as a think tank, peer-exchange platform, and advocacy body for its members vis-à-vis European institutions and national governments. ACA's primary customers are public or quasi-public national agencies involved in managing exchange programmes, funding international cooperation, and formulating higher education policy, rather than individual scholars or students — the organization explicitly does not provide scholarships or researcher funding.

ACA's product portfolio is knowledge- and convening-oriented rather than technology-based. Core offerings include the annual Think Pieces flagship publication series, the historical ACA Papers monograph series (22 titles published 1999-2014 by Lemmens Medien GmbH), the monthly ACA Newsletter – Education Europe (reaching over 25,000 global subscribers since 2000), policy position papers, flagship events such as the 'What's new in Brussels?' policy seminar and the Strategic Summit, and coordinated research projects such as PROFFORMANCE. The organization does not develop proprietary technology platforms, APIs, or software products; its underlying 'technology' is its content library, policy expertise, and convening network built over three decades.

Revenue is generated through two principal streams: annual membership fees paid by national-level member agencies, and co-funding from the European Union's Erasmus+ Programme (confirmed for the 2025-2026 period). Publications and the newsletter are distributed free of charge; event registration applies differentiated pricing with member rates, non-member rates, and early-bird discounts. The organization is governed by its members through an Administrative Council, currently presided over by Gro Tjore, and operates a lean Secretariat of approximately 14 employees in Brussels.

Name

ACA - Academic Cooperation Association

Legal name

Academic Cooperation Association, AISBL/VZW (ACA)

Website

https://aca-secretariat.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACA is a Brussels-based non-profit membership association founded in 1993 that serves European national agencies responsible for promoting and funding higher education internationalization, functioning as a think tank, peer-exchange platform, and policy advocate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Policy and Internationalization Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

International/Transnational Accreditation & Recognition Bodies (EDADACAG)

Keywords

• Higher education internationalization
• Membership association services
• Education policy advocacy
• Academic cooperation consulting
• Erasmus+ programme support

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ACA generates revenue through membership fees from national-level organizations which promote and fund the internationalisation of higher education in their countries.
2. Erasmus+ Co-funding: ACA's activities are co-funded for the period 2025-2026 by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACA is a membership association that serves as a European platform for national-level organisations promoting and funding the internationalisation of higher education. Its core offering consists of membership-based services (advocacy, EU policy briefings, peer groups, project coordination) complemented by free knowledge products including the Think Pieces flagship publication series, the monthly Education Europe newsletter, policy seminars, and joint research projects.

Product overview

ACA is a membership organization offering a portfolio of knowledge products and services focused on international higher education. The core offerings include the Think Pieces flagship publication series (with annual thematic editions on topics like inclusion, digitalisation, and global cooperation), the ACA Papers monograph series, the monthly ACA Newsletter - Education Europe (reaching 25,000+ readers), events including the flagship 'What's new in Brussels?' policy seminar, and coordinated research projects. ACA also provides advocacy services and EU policy briefings for its member organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ACA Think Pieces ACA's flagship publication series featuring annual thematic editions with contributions from leading experts in international higher education. Topics address timely themes including COVID-19 recovery, inclusion, digitalisation, and European higher education cooperation in a global context.
• ACA Papers on International Cooperation in Education ACA's monograph series published by Lemmens Medien GmbH from 1999-2014, containing 22 titles covering multiple aspects of international cooperation in higher education.
• ACA Newsletter - Education Europe Monthly newsletter providing policymakers and practitioners with concise, up-to-date information on developments in higher education policy at national, European and global levels. Reaches over 25,000 global readers and is free of charge and open access.
• ACA Events (Seminars and Conferences) ACA organizes events including the flagship 'What's new in Brussels?' policy seminar, the Strategic Summit, and various member conferences for the higher education internationalisation community.
• ACA Projects ACA coordinates and participates in joint projects and activities related to international higher education, including current initiatives such as PROFFORMANCE and other collaborative research projects.
• ACA Policy Positions ACA serves as advocate for its members and advisor to European institutions, developing position papers and joint stakeholder statements on internationalisation and innovation in higher education.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25,000+ newsletter subscribers globally

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service): Germany's national agency promoting international academic cooperation; analogous in role to an ACA member organisation at single-country scale and a much larger incumbent with broader funding base and global offices.
• European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA): EU agency managing Erasmus+ and other education programmes; relevant as the principal funder-adjacent body to ACA and a comparable Brussels-based actor in the same EU education-policy ecosystem.

Direct peers

• European University Association (EUA): Brussels-based membership association representing Europe's universities; directly comparable to ACA as a pan-European higher-education advocacy, policy and knowledge platform, though EUA focuses on institutional members (universities) rather than national agencies.
• European Students' Union (ESU): Brussels-based umbrella organisation for national student unions; shares ACA's Brussels location, EU advocacy role and membership-based governance model serving national-level HE bodies.
• Nuffic: Dutch organisation for internationalisation in higher education; directly comparable as a national ACA-member-style agency focused on internationalisation policy and practice.
• Campus France: French national agency for promotion of higher education and international mobility; directly comparable to an ACA member agency and an ACA network peer in international HE cooperation.
• EURASHE: European Association of Institutions in Higher Education, focused on professionally-oriented higher education; directly comparable to ACA as a Brussels-based European HE association engaging EU institutions on policy.
• OeAD (Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation): Austrian national agency that is itself an ACA member, directly comparable as a national-level international HE agency and partner in ACA-coordinated events such as the 2026 OeAD Higher Education Conference.
• European Association for International Education (EAIE): Amsterdam-based membership association for international higher-education professionals; closely comparable to ACA in mission (internationalisation of HE), membership model and convening/knowledge-broker function.

Regional players

• UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC): UN-anchored higher-education think tank and policy platform for a different region; thematically comparable to ACA as an international higher-education policy observatory and convening body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aca---academic-cooperation-assocation
• Xx.com/ACA_Secretariat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ACA - Academic Cooperation Association