Citation
(2005), "Bologna: an essential response to challenges of globalization in education", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447gab.010
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bologna: an essential response to challenges of globalization in education
The Bologna process is an essential response in Europe to the challenges and opportunities of globalization in education, says Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Education and Training. “Above all, our countries need to invest more and better in their people,” he said in a speech at the University of Krems, Austria. “There is a direct correlation between the level of education of the workforce and the ability of a country or region to be successful in today’s world.”
Until the early 1990s, Europe was the No. 1 destination for students who wanted to study abroad. Europe then increasingly lost its position to the USA, with just a slight improvement in the last two or three years. “We need to regard the external and internal dimensions of the European higher-education area as a whole,” said Mr Figel. “If we want students and researchers from outside Europe to understand our universities and choose them for their own careers, we need to make our national systems more consistent. If we want our degrees to be more easily recognized throughout the world at their real value, we need to grant easy and mutual recognition between European countries. This is why the Commission has supported and promoted the Bologna reforms. We introduced a basic qualifications structure organized around the three core levels of bachelor, master and doctorate. We set up quality-assurance and accreditation systems based on common principles and compatible standards. And we adopted common tools like the European Credit Transfer System and the diploma supplement.”
Mr Figel conceded, however, that more needed to be done. “Europe’s higher-education institutions need to change – not only to respond to the challenges of globalization, but also to serve better their own constituencies in their region, their country and Europe,” he said.