EU eLearning conference
Espoo, Finland—4 July 2006

Dear Minister, Dear Rector, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to open the third EU eLearning Conference. I am particularly happy to see such a wide representation from the world of education and training, academia, industry, business, and government.

The setting is also perfect, because the Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli of Helsinki University of Technology combines many of the themes of this conference in its activities: lifelong learning, modern technology, and innovation.

If we add to this the stunning surroundings, I believe we have all the elements for a successful event.

Where do we come from?

We have called for this Conference at a moment when eLearning in Europe is at a crossroads.

As a matter of fact, even the term ‘eLearning’ is not beyond dispute. To some it means ‘technology–enhanced learning’; to others ‘ICT–supported education and training’; to others still ‘innovation in learning’. In fact, it all depends on the approach you take.

There is a clear need for a common European vision on how to take our work further in the years to come.

The European Commission simply defines ‘eLearning’ as ‘the use of ICT in education’ and our strategy is outlined in the eLearning Action Plan of 2001 and the eLearning Programme for 2004–2006.

As is the case for many of our current actions, the political drive for this work comes from the Lisbon European Council in 2000.

There is no need to remind you that this is when the leaders of the EU set Europe’s political and economic reform agenda for the present decade and concluded that every citizen should be equipped with the skills needed to live and work in the knowledge society.

The main rationale for this is that the socio–economic potential of information technologies is directly related to their accessibility. The message was reinforced in later European Councils, with particular stress on the value of ICT skills for the labour market and employability.

Consequently, one of the four strands of the eLearning Programme was devoted to digital literacy. Digital skills are now among the eight key competences for lifelong learning. I shall come back to this in a few moments.

Where do we stand?

To understand the scale of the challenge, let me start with a snapshot of how Europe is performing in lifelong learning.

Europe’s progress is measured against the objectives set under the Education and Training 2010 work programme, which is effectively the education and training component of the Lisbon Strategy.

These objectives include a call for more, and more efficient, investment in human capital. Public spending on education is indeed increasing in most EU countries and stands now at 5.2% of gross domestic product.

However, as far as total investment in the knowledge economy is concerned, the gap between Europe and our competitors worldwide has not narrowed.

Also, whilst Europe does well in producing graduates in Math, Science and Technology – having already met the target set for 2010 – the challenge here remains to attract more girls into these fields and making sure that the graduates find appropriate jobs, lest their skills go wasted.

The picture is less rosy in other areas, where there is hardly any progress at all:

• 16% of young people in Europe still leave school too early;
• 20% of 15–year–olds have difficulties in reading;
• only 77% of children between 18 and 24 complete upper secondary education; and
• less than 10% of the working–age citizens participate in adult education.

As concerns ICT and schools, the situation has improved a lot since the start of the decade.

• A recent study¹ shows that the ICT penetration in European schools is constantly increasing.
• In most EU countries in 2003 more than 70% of the computers available in schools were connected to the Internet.
• Finally EU–wide surveys from last year² show that 70% of students aged 16 or older used a computer at the place of education, while 60% used the Internet.
• There also seem to be indications that pupils have better learning outcomes when computers are available in school.

This means that progress has been made; however, many challenges remain. In many EU countries computers are shared between too many pupils and many schools have no broadband connection yet.

So, there is still some work to do in infrastructure.

In general, there is also work to do so that all our citizens have skills to live and work in the knowledge–based society.

In its recent proposal for a Recommendation for Key Competences in Lifelong Learning, the Commission identifies eight competences that every individual should acquire. We define competences in broad terms as “knowledge, skills, and attitudes”.

These include basic skills such as literacy and numeracy and less traditional ones, such as entrepreneurship, ‘learning to learn’, and interpersonal competences.

As regards digital competence, it involves the confident and critical use of information technologies for work, leisure and communication. Basic skills in ICT underpin this competence; people should be able to use computers to communicate and participate in collaborative networks via the Internet.

Our proposal has been received well by the European Parliament and the Council and we expect it will soon be adopted.

¹ Report on indicators and benchmarks on the progress towards the Lisbon objectives in education and training ² Eurostat ICT Household Survey

What next?

We need to make sure that the workforce knows how to respond to change, that it can move easily to new jobs and that it can rapidly adopt and use innovation. There is clear evidence that the higher our skill levels, the more responsive and receptive we are to new learning experiences.

Last year the Lisbon Strategy was refocused on jobs and growth and more stress was put on investment in knowledge and innovation.

Recent European Councils have called on both the EU and the Member States to promote excellence and reform universities so that they can realise their full potential in supporting Europe’s economic and social goals.

Important actions and projects will be supported by the 7th Framework Programme for Community Research and the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme. But we also need flagship initiatives which can inspire and promote long–term change.

And this is what our proposal for the creation of a European Institute for Technology—or EIT—is about.

The challenge is simply stated: building up poles of intellectual capital. At present, our competitors are beating us at this game: they operate on a bigger scale, attract more money, and have more competitive funding systems. As a consequence, they are more attractive and achieve better results.

European scientific and educational networks and loose associations alone cannot cope with the current challenges. More needs to be done.

Establishing the EIT as an autonomous knowledge operator at European level is in itself a significant advance on the approaches we have tried until now. We believe also that the EIT will act as a catalyst and role model for organisational change for a wide array of institutions, sectors and fields.

The EIT is designed to create synergies around strategic inter–disciplinary areas. It will be based on a series of Knowledge Communities, which will pool the effort of universities, research centres and companies across Europe – but will be selected and given strategic direction by an independent governing board.

In particular, the active participation of the business sector is the ace up the EIT sleeve. The EIT will seek to involve business in every aspect: from strategic planning to carrying out specific activities. We also expect the EIT to demonstrate novel ways of managing science and to pioneer new research and educational practices.

The latest European Council, in June, asked the Commission to present a formal proposal for the establishment of the EIT in the autumn.

Although the EIT will be an important step forward, it is very important to nurture the whole innovation chain and to ensure that all branches of the education and training system function properly.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

At this point I would like to mention an important area of European cooperation: digital content. ICT’s can help promote Europe’s cultural and linguistic richness and they can act as a catalyst for creativity and innovativeness.

A good example of this is the priority given to digital libraries and to eContent by our recent proposals for information–society policies.

In our quest for excellence we should not forget that the Lisbon objectives actually include not only competitiveness but also social cohesion. Digital literacy and inclusion are among the themes debated here today and tomorrow, along with partnerships, innovation, research and foresight.

The latest Joint Report on the implementation of the Education and Training 2010 work programme called for urgent reforms to ensure the development of education systems which are of the highest quality, equitable and accessible to all—a call endorsed by the Spring European Council.

I have already pointed to some of the challenges, such as high drop–outs rates and low literacy skills.

In this context, the digital divide remains an important challenge: as the Information Society advances, it becomes more urgent that disadvantaged groups are not left behind and that everyone enjoys the same lifelong learning opportunities. In sum, education reforms should also aim to bring about a fair distribution of opportunities.

… and after?

Ladies and Gentlemen:

So far I’ve spoken about the main current developments; now I would like to cast a glance into the future.

First, schools and universities need to move on from their main traditional role of “transmitters of knowledge” and see themselves as preparing young people for lifelong learning. Information and communication technologies are going to be crucial on both counts.

Second, there’s a need to create new kinds of partnerships. Strategic, long–standing partnerships and innovative ways to learn and work together are needed between higher education, research institutes and business. But this does not apply merely at the “top end” of education and training systems: schools and training providers also need to develop cooperative and supportive relationships with the world of enterprise and business. Again, the ability of ITC’s to establish connections between people and groups is going to be a crucial asset.

Learning partnerships need to be created between schools, households, the workplace, companies, non–governmental organisation, cultural institutions, etc.

Thirdly, when we embrace innovation, we should never forget that technology is not a goal but a means. The goals are and will always be people centred.

Conclusion

Niels Bohr, once said: “prediction is very difficult, especially about the future”. I cannot agree more with the great European scientist, especially when factual data are scarce.

Fortunately, we are getting more and more evidence–based on which to base our education and training polices. Statistical trends and foresight activities give us some ideas about the future and what we need to do to prepare for it.

For the next two days, you will look at past and present developments in eLearning. I am confident that this will provide good insights into the future. I also hope for concrete ideas on how to promote innovation in learning in the framework of the Education and Training 2010 work programme and the new Lifelong Learning programme.

However, policymaking is not only about getting the facts right. It is clear that our policies will achieve their economic and social goals only if cooperation between public authorities, business, and the education community is good. As I said earlier, we need to work out a common vision for innovation in learning among all stakeholders.

New technologies hold out the promise of new and exciting cross–border learning communities but we also need European cooperation in the fields of content, common standards, and transparency of systems.

From the definition of qualifications and learning outcomes to quality assurance, all our policies should converge to make lifelong learning a reality for all in Europe.

Events like this third EU eLearning Conference are an opportunity to involve you all in this vision.

I look forward to the results of your discussions and wish you a successful conference.

Thank you.