26.5.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 135/12

1.

The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999 established an intergovernmental process aimed at creating a European Higher Education Area by 2010 which is actively supported by the European Union, and the Ministers responsible for higher education in the 46 participating countries, meeting in Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve on 28 and 29 April 2009, called for higher education institutions to further internationalise their activities.

2.

The Council Resolution of 23 November 2007 on modernising universities for Europe's competitiveness in a global knowledge economy (2) invited Member States to promote the internationalisation of higher education institutions by encouraging quality assurance through independent evaluation and peer review of universities, enhancing mobility, promoting the use of joint and double degrees and facilitating the recognition of qualifications and periods of study.

3.

The European Union has a long tradition of cooperation with third countries based on a set of policies and instruments in which higher education is playing an increasing role. Cooperation agreements with partners around the world often include support for infrastructure and cooperation programmes in higher education, as well as frameworks for policy dialogues in this field. Cooperation in higher education also features prominently in multilateral cooperation frameworks such as the Union for the Mediterranean, the Northern Dimension or the Eastern Partnership.

4.

Decision No 1298/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 established the Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 action programme for the enhancement of quality in higher education and the promotion of intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries (3).

5.

The Tempus IV programme (2007-2013) supports the modernisation of higher education in the partner countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region, mainly through university cooperation projects and partnerships. Other programmes, such as the cooperation programmes with industrialised countries, or Edulink, Nyerere and Alfa, cover academic cooperation activities with other regions of the world.

6.

The Marie Curie actions under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development promote excellence and mobility in European research and provide broad support for the development of dynamic world-class human resources in the European research system, taking into account the inherent international dimension of research,

1.

Higher education is acquiring an increasingly international dimension, as more and more higher education institutions enrol students from third countries, exchange students, staff, projects and knowledge, and engage in international academic and research cooperation.

2.

The quality of Europe's higher education institutions and the unparalleled range and depth of studies they offer make those institutions highly attractive to the international academic world, both as study destinations and as partners for joint education and research ventures.

3.

In addition, Europe's success in creating tools such as the common reference framework that relates national qualifications systems and frameworks together around a common European reference (4), and in developing a common understanding in areas such as quality assurance (5), is generating increasing interest among global partners.

4.

International cooperation programmes and policy dialogues with third countries in the field of higher education not only enable knowledge to flow more freely, but also contribute to enhancing the quality and international standing of European higher education, to boosting research and innovation, to fostering mobility and intercultural dialogue, as well as to promoting international development in accordance with EU external policy objectives,

1.

International cooperation in higher education is an important and rewarding area which deserves support at both national and EU level. Such cooperation contributes to improving the quality and innovation of teaching, learning and research, and is beneficial to the production of knowledge. Higher education plays a central role in the development of individuals and societies, as it enhances social, cultural and economic development and promotes active citizenship and ethical values. While having special regard for the principle of subsidiarity, cooperation in higher education should therefore form an integral part of the EU's external cooperation policies, and should be adapted to the particular needs, interests and state of development of the partner countries concerned.

2.

Support is needed for EU initiatives and programmes which promote higher education cooperation with a European dimension, and which support higher education institutions in working on joint academic projects, in reinforcing European networks and thus in reducing barriers between national systems. Supporting European higher education institutions in cooperating with their global peers plays an important role in promoting quality and excellence. Cooperation of this kind has, for instance, contributed to the creation of innovative courses and opened the way to the establishment of transnational joint, double and multiple degrees. EU academic cooperation programmes should be organised in such a way that they develop highly visible and efficient delivery mechanisms and convey clear, consistent and convincing messages throughout the world.

3.

The progress achieved in making the degree structure more compatible and more comparable through the pan-European Bologna process, as well as the EU's success in adopting common approaches and tools with regard to the recognition of qualifications and quality assurance, have enhanced the attractiveness of higher education within the Union. There is a shared interest in promoting these developments worldwide and in responding to the rising interest which third countries are demonstrating. The Bologna Policy Forum which facilitates policy dialogue between the European Higher Education Area and other parts of the world should be welcomed as a tool for exchange on concrete issues of mutual interest.

4.

Initiatives which make European higher education more understandable and transparent to international stakeholders can also help to make Europe more attractive as a study destination. The ongoing study aimed at mapping the diversity of higher education institutions’ missions and performances and at assessing the feasibility of a European transparency instrument should be continued with a view to improving readability and lending greater visibility to the particular strengths of European higher education.

5.

A growing number of third countries are interested in the common policies and instruments developed by the EU to support Member States in modernising their different education systems, the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) being amongst those that have attracted particular attention. This is why, in addition to international academic cooperation programmes, policy dialogue in higher education should be further developed with a number of interested world partners, with a view to sharing experience and good practice, building up local capacities and using positive feedback to improve EU policies.

6.

International academic cooperation should continue to be an important means for the EU to support the modernisation efforts of its partners, since by offering structured partnerships between higher education institutions from the EU and third countries, the EU can contribute to building local capacities — both within and beyond higher education institutions — retain qualified university staff, and enhance international academic exchanges and mobility,

1.

Fostering a truly international culture within those institutions, for instance by:

2.

Increasing the international attractiveness of higher education institutions, for instance by:

3.

Promoting the global dimension and awareness of the social responsibility of higher education institutions, for instance by:

1.

Develop, in collaboration with the Member States and while fully respecting the autonomy of higher education institutions, an EU international higher education strategy which is aimed at improving coherence and complementarity between existing international cooperation initiatives at both EU and national level, and which will continue to promote the attractiveness of European higher education, research and innovation in the EU's external activities, as well as EU cooperation programmes and policies in this field.

2.

Ensure that learning and research mobility between the EU and the wider world forms part of that strategy.

3.

Continue to support international higher education partnerships, international academic cooperation and capacity-building actions, and to facilitate policy dialogue in higher education with interested third countries.

4.

Promote the exchange of experience and good practice in this field.