9th FEDORA conference in Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius, 23. October 2006

Minister, Magnificiency, President, Secretary General, Distinguished guests, Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!

I.

Since the Middle Ages, European universities have been developing knowledge and defining values. They are still the building-blocks of Europe. They are also essential for growth in the knowledge economy. In 2000 the national leaders of the European Union launched the Lisbon process: Europe should become the world’s leading knowledge-based economy and society. Progress has been uneven, so last year the Lisbon strategy was re-focused on growth and jobs. However, the role of knowledge and education remains central. The nature of work is changing. Europe’s workforce needs to be highly educated and needs to update its skills and knowledge fast. Universities must provide the correct mix of high-quality education. As well as their educational role, universities have an economic role – students need to find jobs, researchers contribute to science and industry, entire regions benefit from the stimulus of an active university. However, in many cases universities are not in a position to deliver their full potential.

Europe’s universities were world leaders until the mid-20th century. They have since lost ground to the US and to emerging players such as China and India. Just to give you a few figures: 57% of the EU student-age population is enrolled in higher education. This is far below the US figure of 81%. Out of the top 50 universities in the ‘Shanghai rankings’, only 9 are from Europe, while 37 are from the US. The USA invests about 2.6% of its GDP in Higher Education, the EU 1.15%. Imagine the contribution Europe’s universities could make if their potential of knowledge, talent, and energy could be freed up.

II.

University reform has been on the agenda for many years. It is the rationale of the Bologna process, which started in the 1990s. European countries agreed to develop a European Higher Education Area co-coordinating national reforms. The process now includes 45 countries. Although not all progress can be observed at the same pace, the EU25 is on track to meet the targets. Lithuania has made good progress. The process is inter-governmental, but the European Commission is fully involved. It uses many tools we developed in the 1990s (such as the European credit transfer system, diploma supplement, thematic networks). Our experience with mobility programmes highlighted the non-comparability of national systems. While the Bologna reforms are important, we need to go further – radically reform the way universities are structured, funded and regulated.

The June Communication on modernising Europe’s universities identified gaps and highlighted nine areas for change, many of which are relevant for guidance. The gaps can be described as follows:

• Over-regulation and under-funding of education and research;
• Too much uniformity – over-reliance on a single university model;
• Problems with academic recognition and mobility across borders;
• Internal fragmentation into too many subparts – faculties, departments, etc. and not enough collective or cross-cutting effort;
• Too remote from industry and society;
• Poor career structures, whether for teachers or for researchers.

The Communication has identified nine areas for change:

• More mobility: Double the numbers of graduates who spend at least one term abroad or working in industry. All grants and loans should be portable within the EU.
• More autonomy from government and responsibility for managing their programmes, staff, resources. Universities should develop their own profiles.
• Partnerships with business. This is vital for innovation, relevant for education and secures additional funding.
• Curricular reform: Improving graduates’ employability and making education more accessible.
• Funding: At least 2% of GDP (public and private funding). Fees: free access does not equal social equity.
• Interdisciplinarity: Focus on research domains rather than traditional disciplines.
• Build links with society.
• Reward excellence at the highest level.
• Make the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area more visible and attractive: networks, internationalisation.

III.

Let me now turn briefly to an initiative which ranks high on the Commission’s political agenda: The European Institute for Technology (EIT). Traditional competitors – US and Japan – invest more and cluster knowledge and innovation on a scale Europe cannot reach. China, Korea, Singapore and soon India, Malaysia and Indonesia are moving from imitation to innovation. Integrating the three elements of the knowledge triangle, education, research and innovation is a must. We need to overcome the fragmentation of European research, achieve a critical mass, and bring business into the picture. Open and flexible concepts for partnerships with academia and business are necessary. The Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) are the heart of our proposal. Joint ventures of universities, research organisations and business will be established. Up to 2013, the EIT will launch some 6 KICs. It should be operational already as of 2009.

IV.

I would now like to touch briefly some other EU initiatives.

Efficiency and equity: Education is the backbone of the European social model. It has positive effects on health, quality of life etc. Education systems can and should be both efficient and equitable. Governments need to think of this in long-term planning and budget decisions.

Recommendation on key competences: The Recommendation identifies and defines the competences that everyone needs for living, learning and working in a knowledge society: languages, literacy, Information and Communication Technologies. Learning to learn; interpersonal competences – these are crucial for lifelong learning and for adapting to a changing world. This Recommendation should be translated into concrete measures, helping people to be prepared for real working life, and for the job market.

The European Qualifications Framework (EQF): People in Europe face too many obstacles when they try to move from one country to another to learn or work. It is also difficult to build upon previous education or training and move, for example, from vocational education and training to higher education. EQF will improve transparency and make national qualifications more understandable. It will thus promote access to education and training and increase mobility. It will be a voluntary instrument, given as a framework to which Member States can link their own qualification systems.

New integrated lifelong learning programme: Mobility and cooperation have been the core EU education and training initiatives, starting with the first exchange programmes in the 1980s. We are proud that these programmes are perhaps the best known of all European initiatives (notably the Erasmus Programme) and also proud of the well-documented high satisfaction levels of participants. We will continue to support cross-border cooperation in the new programme for lifelong learning that comes into operation start 2007. The programmes are ambitious. We want to reach more people and continue to support networks, curriculum development, and intensive programmes. New opportunities in modernising universities, virtual learning and university-business partnerships.

V.

When it comes to making the right choices in life, the role of information and guidance is vital. You will all be familiar with the European guidance tools that have been developed.

I am pleased that the Finnish Presidency is planning a conference on lifelong guidance for November 2006. The conference will examine where each Member State stands on fulfilling its 2004 commitment to developing guidance. It will also examine where guidance and counselling can be improved:

• the transition from secondary to higher education,
• from undergraduate to postgraduate study;
• promoting links between employers, universities and students across Europe.

Educational guidance and counselling staff have a vital role to play in international cooperation: Advisory services are a key component in making European universities an attractive environment for international students. This applies both to educational matters such as the recognition of study periods and qualifications, and to administrative matters such as arrangements for obtaining visas and opportunities for temporary work. It also applies to day-to-day needs, such as accommodation – and these should not be underestimated.

Over the years, we have supported projects in this area, especially through the Tempus Programme. But there is another role for advisors: establishing a worldwide network of European educational advisers. We have been supporting a project under Erasmus Mundus that demonstrates what such a network can do to boost European links with our partners around the globe.

Lithuanian institutions have played a leading role in this project. They are also involved in two other Erasmus Mundus projects which promote the Baltic States as an attractive European region for international students and faculty. And judging by what I have seen in Vilnius today, I think they have every reason to do it.

Thank you for your attention.