The DEQU project aims at developing elements of quality assurance in selected “key processes” for practice and professional field oriented higher education under the outlines of the Bologna process as well as the Bruges-Copenhagen process.The focus is on practice oriented higher education institutions with an outlook to their integrative role between vocational education and training and higher education.DEQU will concentrate its work on selected key processes, which are applied in different QA-systems for practice oriented higher education institutions in different EU-member-countries. Concentrating on selected key processes will help to make QA-efforts and results comparable and applicable in different higher education systems. DEQU therefore will meet three main USPs:· A common focus on quality assurance for selected key processes in practice oriented higher education will be developed· Quality assurance processes specific to practice-oriented higher education will be developed on a European basis (these benchmarks will lead to a higher degree of international comparability)· Synergies in quality assurance of VET and HE will be validated in different settings, and harnessed through ongoing exchange and the creation of a practice-oriented network for the exchange of experiencesThe project partnership consisting of higher education institutions with similar outlook; research and consulting institutions, quality assurance agencies and political decision makers and other supporting institutions will develop common basic approaches to quality assurance.