Higher Education Conference hosted by the Council of Higher Education
Jerusalem, 16 July 2008

Minister Tamir,
Profesor Grossman, Mr Gal,
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

I am happy to speak at this conference of the Council for Higher Education and to share with you my thoughts on the role of higher education in modern society.

Modern societies need a steady flow of new knowledge for innovation and they need people trained to work in complex knowledge–intensive environments. It goes without saying that universities have a social and cultural function as well.

• First, universities are powerful social escalators for talented students that come from the less privileged sectors of society.

I had the change to speak to Bedouin girls studying at the Ben Gurion University and this is an example for good investment.

• Second, universities can also foster inter–cultural dialogue and help to build bridges in divided communities.

Both the EU and Israel have realised that we are all part of the global knowledge society and our education and training systems are adapting to this new reality. The more we know the better we are prepared to live together.

Education unites – and we need more of it around the globe. This agenda needs a lot of commitments. It is a process where it could be said that “one sow and others harvest”; but education is the best investment. It is a process and what we do today is part of this process.

In this respect we can learn a lot from each other.

In my presentation, I will explain European higher education reforms. I will also indicate how European initiatives may inspire the world and the implications this may have for Israel.

European higher education reforms—Lisbon and Bologna

European higher education is going through a sweeping process of reforms. Some say, that it is the most profound reform of education system in the world.

In the past decade, political and academic leadership have realised that our universities should be better equipped to respond to the needs of society.

Europe is still one of the best places in the world to study and do research, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

For instance, higher education is fragmented in national and regional sub–systems which frequently do not interact well or enough.

There is still too little intra–European mobility of students and international staff recruitment is a rare phenomenon.

Also, we have over 4,000 education institutions in the wider Europe; however, our populations are still relatively under–qualified.

Not enough of our talented young people enter universities; not enough adults have even seen a university from inside. Most importantly, we do not manage to give our migrant population good educational levels.

We invest a lot of public money into higher education, but we cannot attract enough private funding from households and/or companies.

Finally, governments should grant universities more autonomy to take their own decisions. Autonomy combined with accountability; these are two sides of one coin.

---

The waves of reforms needed to attain our goals are driven by two parallel processes:

• The Lisbon Strategy which involves the 27 countries of the EU, and
• the Bologna process for the European Higher Education Area in which 46 European countries participate.

Although it involves fewer countries, the Lisbon Strategy is the widest in terms of content. As regards Education and Training, it applies to the whole spectrum from kindergarten all the way up to doctoral studies and lifelong learning; lifelong learning as necessity.

Together with the national authorities, we work on such areas as participation in lifelong learning and drop–out rates.

We also deal with curricular reforms, which is the main focus of the Bologna Process.

It is too early to measure the impact of these reforms on higher education, but reports show that all countries have changed the conditions in which their universities operate.

Curricula are adjusted to the three–cycle system. Internal and external quality reviews are organised and universities are given more autonomy to decide on programmes, resources and student selection.

The trend is clear: we are heading for more open, more attractive, and more competitive higher–education systems in Europe. It is a mosaic of systems but within one space.

European reforms may inspire the world

It is very encouraging to see that neighbouring countries and partner countries in other parts of the world are engaged in similar reforms. It is an indirect proof, that what we are doing is relevant, good and attractive.

All the 27 countries that participate in our Tempus programme—including Israel—have made Bologna–type higher–education reform a national priority.

All systems that are not based on the bachelor, master, doctorate cycles want to introduce them, and education authorities also want to introduce independent quality reviews and something like our Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).

There is a keen interest for European reforms as far afield as Central Asia, Latin America, North America and Australia.

EQF

Let me just give you one example of a European initiative that is quite fresh, which may have an impact beyond the borders of the EU: the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning.

Last April, the EU adopted the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF). This followed the earlier adoption of the Bologna Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, in May 2005. Its first ever international qualifications framework; and it is voluntary.

What are these qualifications frameworks like and what are they for?

These frameworks provide references for the qualifications a person has earned in school and universities, at work, or at home.

The systems are based on learning outcomes: what people know and they can do with their knowledge. In a sense, a common understanding of learning outcomes is like a new language everybody speaks.

The common language makes the dialogue between learners, learning providers and employers a lot easier.

We understand that many countries outside Europe—inspired by the EQF and its Bologna sibling—are considering similar moves. We are happy that we have something to offer now.

For instance, over 200 universities in Latin America are working with European counterparts in an effort to define learning outcomes for their graduates.

The project is called “Tuning America Latina” and mirrors another initiative called “Tuning Educational Structures in Europe” that was part of the Erasmus programme.

Israel and European Higher Education

Let me now turn to the position of Israel.

The Israeli higher–education system is comparable to those of other industrialised nations; you are confronted with similar problems and you are looking for similar solutions. According to some indicators, in fact, you are ahead of the pack.

Israel had 7 universities among the top 500 in the 2007 Shanghai university ranking list. If compared to your population, this places you among the best countries in the world.

Public spending on education as a percentage of GDP is nearly two points above the EU average and one of the highest among developed countries. And the investment is paying off. Better and more investment show results.

Israel is a leading force in knowledge–based information–technology. In 2006, your high–tech industries contributed 75% of all industrial exports. Domestic innovation—especially software, telecommunications, and bioscience—has been driving your economy for years.

However, one challenge of your education system lies—I would say—at the opposite end of the spectrum.

In 2006, the share of 15–year olds who struggled with reading was 38.9% as compared with 24.1% in the EU—and we are not happy with that figure either, which we are working to bring down to 15.5% by the end of the present decade.

I understand this reflects the diversity of your school population, above all Israeli citizens of Arab descent and the large numbers of immigrants, who often speak other languages at home. But this does not diminish the scale of the challenge.

As I said at the beginning of my speech, cutting–edge research and innovation is only part of the mission of our education systems, which are also crucial in terms of social inclusion and the mutual recognition of all the social groups in a population.

Israel enjoys a good situation also in the terms of the reforms that are linked to the Bologna process I have mentioned earlier.

You already have a three–cycle system and this Council carries out regular, external quality reviews.

Israel has ratified the Lisbon Recognition Convention and takes part in the ENIC–NARIC network. The National Union of Israeli Students is a full member of the European Students’ Union.

And I guess that other parts of the Bologna process, such as ECTS, could be introduced without too much trouble.

Where does Israel stand in the broader picture? In present company, I hardly need to recall the document adopted by the 46 Bologna Ministers who met in London last year.

They—and I quote—“acknowledged that efforts have been made in some countries in other parts of the world to bring their higher education systems more closely into line with the Bologna framework”.

However, there was no agreement on granting special status to the countries that had made special efforts. Personally and continuously, I am in favour of this special status; I have been calling for it and will continue to do so.

We will have to see whether a consensus emerges on this issue among the ministers when they next meet in Belgium in April 2009.

There is already agreement, however, on the need for tighter cooperation between the Bologna countries and the rest of the world.

A global strategy was defined in London, covering areas such as information, promotion, partnerships, mobility and recognition.

And because we like to think of the Bologna process and the EU education policies as reinforcing each other; I am pleased to tell you that the most concrete examples of this sort of cooperation can be found in the our Tempus and Erasmus Mundus programmes.

Tempus

I am happy that I could open National Tempus Office in Israel right now.

The Tempus programme is designed to create an area of cooperation in higher education between the EU and our partner countries in the region.

The programme promotes the voluntary convergence of higher–education systems with developments in the EU.

Israel began to participate in the programme last year and your Council has recently opened a new National Tempus Office.

There is no doubt that the office will boost relations between EU and Israeli higher–education institutions in the future.

I hope that many Israeli universities and non–academic institutions—such as enterprises and research organisations—will want to take advantage of the cooperation opportunities offered by Tempus.

The first indications have been encouraging. 11 Israeli institutions benefited from the first Tempus IV call for projects and two as coordinators.

I also have high expectations for the policy dialogue with national authorities, which will be reinforced during the project selection process and in view of the definition of national priorities.

We have signed today the joint declaration and this is the way how to converge policies.

Erasmus Mundus

Erasmus Mundus is the other main means of co–operation which provides—among other things—scholarships for talented students and academics that want to participate in joint masters courses in the EU.

It should not come as a surprise that Israeli students and scholars are doing pretty well: 28 out of total 4,489 Erasmus Mundus students and 26 out of 1,121 scholars are from your country.

Participation to this programme is reinforced by what we call the External Cooperation Windows, and one of them is devoted specifically to Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.

Ben–Gurion University and the Hebrew University used this opportunity to team up with Brussels’ Vrije Universiteit.

About 140 Israeli students and academic staff will travel as a result of this partnership alone over the present academic year and the next.

Equality of treatment

Before I close, I wish to make a plea for the equality of treatment of all individuals and organisations that the EU selects to participate in its programmes and actions.

It seems that there are some concerns about a number of Palestinian students and academic staff who had won Erasmus Mundus scholarships to reach their host institutions in Europe.

But after the reassurance given by the minister, I am confident that the issue will be solved soon.

Admittedly, these decisions are taken in a difficult context, but I would like to invite everyone to adopt a broader outlook.

There is nothing like cooperation in education to build an environment of mutual knowledge, trust and détente.

Close

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The engagement of a country to modernise its higher education is independent of whether it is formally associated to the EU or the Bologna process.

Countries and institutions engage in reforms because they believe that reforms are good for their economies and societies.

Open channels of cooperation with comparable higher–education systems can, however, accelerate the process of modernisation.

My conclusion is that both Israel and the EU have a strong mutual interest to co–operate, to intensify our exchanges, and to learn from each other.

The Joint Declaration on Education that I have formally signed earlier this morning is tangible proof of the openness, goodwill and positive attitude of both parties.

I wish that this declaration becomes a stepping stone towards a dialogue that goes beyond education to include economic, security and broader political issues.

This is the traditional role of education and culture policies in the development of EU foreign relations—and they have served us well many times in the past.

I can see no reason why history should not repeat itself one more time here in Jerusalem.

Thank you.