Ján Figel'-Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture, and Youth

The Future of Education - Bologna and Beyond

University of Sydney

Sydney, 19 April 2007

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Dear students,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am truly happy to be with you today. It is the first time I visit as a European Commissioner your amazing country and I was delighted to see that the programme included some time in one of Australia 's leading centres of learning.

I have been travelling a lot since I became European Commissioner for education, training, culture and youth and I always try to get as much first-hand information as possible. I have to say that calling at the leading local university is often the highlight of my trips.

There are other ways to collect real-life data on an economy or a society, and my dialogue with political and other leaders is central. But nothing beats a university if you want to know what a city or country will be like. This is where our future is being dreamed up and built.

Universities have many important functions in our contemporary life: they preserve and regenerate our heritage and values; they seek scientific and technological advances; they are an open forum for social and cultural debates.

But above all, it is on a university campus that teachers and students consider and discuss what they want their future to be like. Academic communities must be strong, lively and free because they are crucial for civic and political development.

This should be particularly the case here, in one of the top arts and humanities universities; at least according to the Times Higher Education Supplement that ranked Sydney University fifth in the world, just ahead of ANU and Melbourne University .

And because the world is growing smaller every day, the benefits of universities as drawing boards for the future will be enjoyed by local, national, and global communities alike.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This is the context I would like to adopt for our discussion today as I go through some of the current challenges for higher education and the solutions we are trying out for them back in Europe .

Education and training systems -both in Europe and elsewhere in the world- need to adapt to a fast-changing environment marked by globalisation, demographic trends, and increased competition.

This situation is forcing higher-education and vocational training systems to modernise if they want to continue to provide quality teaching and cutting edge research.

More specifically, we have identified a number of areas in which Europe's universities should improve . I would like to tell you about some of these so that you can see where our proposals for reform are coming from.

Europe 's universities are generally over-regulated and under-funded ; in particular they do not get enough money from the private sector.

There is also excessive uniformity. Too many of our institutions rely on the all-purpose model of the research university, along the lines of von Humboldt's design which is almost two centuries old now.

Given these premises, it would not come as a surprise that our analyses found Europe 's universities too distant from business and society.

As I said, I'm telling you this to give you a context for the reforms we propose. At this point, however, I should add that Europe is still one of the best places in the world where you can teach, learn and do research.

It is true that most world rankings include only a couple of European universities in the top ten; but they usually have about half of the top 100 places. Overall, the diversity, average quality and tradition of Europe 's universities is second to none.

So, given this state of affairs, what are our suggestions?

First, we are telling the 27 countries of the EU that they need to grant higher education more autonomy and more money. The goal we set for the latter is at least 2% of GDP.

Second, we are encouraging universities to develop stronger partnerships with business and to strengthen links with society in general . In particular, we believe they should reform their curricula to take account of the job market and make education more accessible.

Finally, we promote mobility and international curricula. The reason for this is simple: the future of academia is in co-operation, and the strength of a good network is greater than the sum of its nodes.

As a matter of fact, I have noticed that your university has started its own modernisation process which will result in improved governance, better teaching and learning, and excellence in research. You have all my encouragement; this confirms that we have a lot to learn from each other.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

University reform has been on the agenda in Europe for many years but it has become a top priority since the start of the decade. Now it is seen as a crucial element of our overall strategy to turn the Union into the leading knowledge-based economy and society.

I know that Australia is pursuing similar goals-and the reasons must be similar too. As the modes of production in developed countries change, we need a highly educated workforce that can update their skills and knowledge fast.

Back in the 1990s, European countries agreed to co-coordinate national reforms and develop a European Higher Education Area in what is called the Bologna process.

In this respect, I welcome Australia 's efforts to become "Bologna-compatible". It already has a three-cycle degree system and a national qualifications framework.

The adoption of a credit-transfer system and of a diploma supplement will benefit students from both the EU and Australia to get their studies recognised overseas.

I would also commend the compatibility of Australia 's quality assurance arrangements with those of the Bologna process.

It is true that recognising degrees and qualifications acquired overseas often involve complex changes in our institutional and administrative systems. However, the payoff is spectacular.

It is exactly the sort of integration needed to create an environment of transparency and mutual trust among institutions and employers.

Above all, it is the perfect response to the pressing needs of our citizens. Let us consider a skilled employee who wishes to move to a better job.

What he really trades in the labour market is what he knows and what he can do. In addition, it is becoming increasingly easy for him to look for his next job abroad.

In the time of globalised knowledge economies, his ability to have his qualifications and skills understood by his next employer is becoming increasingly crucial for him.

***

So far I have spoken about the changing needs of our societies and economies and the new expectations placed on higher education. I have also told you about some of our proposed solutions.

Now, I would like to turn briefly to some of the things we have achieved thanks to our education policies in the past few years.

The place of honour goes without a doubt to the Erasmus student -exchange programme. Erasmus is perhaps the flagship programme not only of our education policies, but of the whole Commission.

Three years ago we decided to build on its success and launched Erasmus Mundus, which brings top-level students and academics from around the world to study in Europe .

Australian students and scholars have participated in Erasmus since the beginning. The numbers are still small, but they almost double every year; so, the trend is good.

Erasmus Mundus is another illustration that education knows no boundaries. Co-operation between the EU and other countries is a win-win situation.

The first international agreements of the EU date back to the early 90s, with the United States and Canada . Since 2002 other cooperation projects followed with Japan , New Zealand and-of course- Australia .

In the wake of the positive results of these pilot projects, yesterday Minister Bishop and I signed the Joint Declaration that will strengthen our structured co-operation.

The declaration provides for joint consortia projects and policy-oriented dialogue covering issues such as the Bologna process, quality assurance, indicators and benchmarking, efficiency and equity, and qualification frameworks.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have no doubt that this dialogue will give new impetus to our already excellent relations. Apart from its technical aspects-important as they are-the joint declaration is a sign of a profound political agreement.

Both the EU and Australia are making manifest their intention to open up their education and training systems to the world . And I am convinced that this is the best way to meet the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world.

Globalisation has brought a new twist to the traditional openness of academia. Scientists and intellectuals have always recognised only one kind of boundary: the frontier that stands between what they already know and what they want to discover or understand.

Globalisation has extended this century-old tradition to cover every aspect of higher education. Today, a bright student from Delhi can decide to spend her scholarship here in Sydney , in L.A. or in Paris.

She would go to the internet and pick the country, the institution, and the programme that best suit her interests and inclinations. Today, universities operate in a truly international arena; an institution half-way across the world can be your direct competitor.

Because the internationalisation of higher education is a fact of life , success will go to the governments and academic authorities that rise to the challenge, not to those that try to resist it or-worse-ignore it.

However, there is an important point I would like to make before I close. Rising to the challenge does not mean that one should bend uncritically to the new demands. If globalisation is like a strong wind that is sweeping the world of academia, it would be a mistake to let go of traditional academic standards and values and simply drift on it.

The right thing to do is to turn our universities and programmes into seaworthy craft; with sails and rudders designed to follow the course we want-not the one imposed by the wind.

In plain language, this means adapting and updating our courses and offerings, establishing new academic networks, finding innovative forms of co-operation with social, institutional and business partners.

It means tightening our grip on the steering wheel as we sail towards success in the new global environment.

Thank you.

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