A renewed EU agenda for higher education

SUMMARY OF:

Communication (COM(2017) 247 final) — a renewed EU agenda for higher education

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION?

• The communication recognises the vital role of higher education in prosperous, inclusive, democratic societies and aims to give a new direction for the EU’s support to EU countries in reforming their education systems.
• The Commission's proposals are in line with the spirit of the Rome Declaration, in which EU leaders committed to ‘a Union where young people receive the best education and training and can study and find jobs across the continent’.

KEY POINTS

The communication outlines a new EU agenda for higher education that builds on work already done, but refocuses efforts on current and evolving opportunities and challenges, identified as the following.

• Tackling the skills mismatch in the EU between what is needed and the current reality: Too many students have poor literacy, numeracy and digital skills, or do not have skills such as problem-solving and communication, which are needed for resilience in a changing world.
• Building inclusive and connected higher education systems: People from disadvantaged socioeconomic or migrant backgrounds are far less likely to enter and complete higher education; academics can be seen as detached from society; and gender segregation is still common in certain disciplines.
• Ensuring higher education institutions contribute to innovation: Higher education institutions (HEIs) often do not contribute enough to innovation in the wider economy. Innovation in higher education varies greatly between EU regions.
• Supporting effective and efficient higher education systems: National systems do not always work well together, or with other institutions; good teaching, research, innovation, social inclusion and engagement are not always rewarded.

To address these issues, the Commission commits to 20 detailed actions:

• 1.

  Start an initiative to track graduates to improve knowledge on how they progress in their careers or further education.

• 2.

  Launch an up-scaled EU STE(A)M Coalition bringing together the education, business and public sectors to promote and modernise STE(A)M and other curricula.

• 3.

  Encourage the integration of work placements in higher education programmes, and increase availability and quality by strengthening Erasmus+ business consortia.

• 4.

  Introduce a digital readiness model to help HEIs implement digital learning strategies and exploit the potential of state-of-the-art technology.

• 5.

  Step up support for higher education teachers through Erasmus+ to develop curriculum design skills, supporting staff mobility and better cooperation between teacher training centres across the EU.

• 6.

  Support Erasmus+ to help HEIs with strategies for inclusion, gender equality and study success, including cooperating with schools and other institutions.

• 7.

  Promote flexible and modular course design to support access to higher learning through specific priorities for Erasmus+ strategic partnerships.

• 8.

  Support HEIs wishing to award ECTS points to students for voluntary and community activities, based on existing positive examples.

• 9.

  Support recognition of refugee qualifications to help them access higher education, building on an ongoing Erasmus+ project providing practical guidelines and peer-counselling.

• 10.

  Expand the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) regional innovation scheme (EIT-RIS) model, to better prepare students for working in innovative businesses.

• 11.

  Support further work on teaching methods for creativity and innovation in higher education, building on work with the OECD in the school sector.

• 12.

  Further roll out Higher Education for Smart Specialisation, advising public authorities to involve HEIs and EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) in Smart Specialisation Strategies.

• 13.

  Develop opportunities in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions that help close the research and innovation divide between EU countries and regions and address brain drain from less developed regions.

• 14.

  Step up EU support for university-business cooperation, making the University Business Forum a focal point, and promoting such forums across the EU.

• 15.

  Launch a review of funding, incentive and reward structures for higher education systems, in cooperation with the OECD.

• 16.

  Ensure researchers are encouraged to teach, and be trained to do so, as an integral part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.

• 17.

  Create a Knowledge Hub on higher education, incorporating the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER), U-Multirank and the graduate tracking study, to improve data quality, collection and comparability.

• 18.

  Strengthen the Eurydice network and the Commission’s cooperation with the OECD in higher education, research and innovation to avoid duplication of efforts and benefit from joint work.

• 19.

  Simplify student mobility by building on existing Erasmus+ projects for the electronic student data, and explore the feasibility of intra-EU access to student services and data.

• 20.

  Start a discussion with EU countries and other interested parties, as part of an Erasmus+ review, on support to students, staff, institutions and higher education systems.

The Commission is starting a dialogue on the implementation of these actions with all stakeholders, and to ensure that they are in line with EU funding priorities.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

• Renewed EU agenda for higher education (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a renewed EU agenda for higher education (COM(2017) 247 final, 30.5.2017)

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White Paper on the future of Europe — Reflections and scenarios for the EU-27 by 2025 (COM(2017) 2025 final, 1.3.2017)

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Investing in Europe’s youth (COM(2016) 940 final, 7.12.2016)

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Improving and modernising education (COM(2016) 941 final, 7.12.2016)

last update 24.10.2017