Universities' role under the microscope

Citation

(2003), "Universities' role under the microscope", Education + Training, Vol. 45 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2003.00445dab.009

Universities' role under the microscope

Universities' role under the microscope

Financing, autonomy, professional standards, quality, the contribution to local and regional growth and the creation of European higher-education and research areas are among the topics covered in a new European Commission report on the role of universities in the Europe of knowledge. The report reveals that there are some 3,300 higher-education establishments in the EU and around 4,000 in Europe as a whole. They cater for more than 12.5 million students – 3.5 million more than ten years ago.

Commenting on the report, Viviane Reding, European Commissioner responsible for education and training, said: "Public financing will not increase so we need private funding – but it is low at 0.2 per cent of gross domestic product, compared with 1.2 per cent in the USA. The idea of sponsorship must be encouraged. There must be equivalency between university degrees in Europe. Moreover, the brain drain out of’Europe must be stopped. Too many Europeans who go to study in the USA do not return."

Philippe Busquin, European Commissioner responsible for research, commented: "Europe must meet the needs of its universities, which are centres of research and teaching, and poles of economic and regional development. Investment in universities is one of the best investments we can make for the future." The report will be considered by higher-education ministers, rectors, university teachers and research workers at a meeting in Berlin, Germany, on 17-19 September.