The recurring precariousness of some students’ situation when participating in European higher education mobilities is well-known. The Bologna process has three overarching goals – furthering mobility, employability and Europe’s competitiveness and attraction in higher education. Not all European countries have implemented this framework to the same degree, however, which may complicate the situation for Nordic students as achievements may not be valued in the same way in all countries. One aspect emphasised by the Nordic Council of Ministers concludes that micro-credentials (MCs) potentially add value through flexibility, employability and possibilities for lifelong learning, but that there are also limitations regarding academic recognition (Nordic Co-Operation, 2025). The lack of transferability of student achievement challenges the academic credit system, may hamper student mobility, and complicates collaboration between European higher education institutions. What is the added value of MCs from a Nordic student perspective as they wish to  integrate them into their exams from Nordic higher education institutions?

Research topic/aim

To visualise the potential lack of validity and usefulness of MCs, speculative methods enable exploration of possible hurdles for Nordic students if student merits risk being irrelevant at home.

Theoretical framework

With experience from mobility and European higher education collaborations, we apply speculative fiction and vignettes (Selwyn et al. 2020; Ross, 2023) to visualise several fictional possibilities and challenges that surfaced from a student perspective.

Methodology/research design

With speculative fiction (Bayne, Ross & Gallagher, 2022; Jasanoff & Kim, 2015; Lindberg, Godhe, & Bäcke, 2025) we explore potential scenarios of Nordic students with merits from European higher education institutions that currently hold little value in the Nordic education systems. Explorative and speculative  scenarios become an analytical tool and lens to highlight problematic aspects related to the differences in validating and accepting new forms of learning achievements in higher education.

Expected results/findings

Where there is a lack of shared conceptual understanding or common knowledge base in line with the Bologna process, a unified assessment of higher education achievements becomes difficult. The major finding in this study is the speculative methodological approach, which allows us to explore varying viewpoints.

Relevance to Nordic educational research

From a Nordic student perspective, we point to critical questions not yet properly addressed. Vignettes help us critically discuss the complexities of student mobility in Europe.