AlmaLaurea News
The European Higher Education Area existsInterview with Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot, Head of Sector for Higher Education Policy in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture, on the benefits of the Bologna process, and future challenges
"To create a knowledge economy, education, research and innovation are key factors, especially at this time of economic crisis: otherwise we could not achieve the economic and social targets we have set as part of the Europe 2020 Strategy". For Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot, Head of Sector for Higher Education Policy at the European Commission there are no alternatives: "education and training are key for building the future of the new generations" specified Eriksson in her address to the meeting on "On-going transformations and proposals of the European Higher Education Area" during the presentation of the XII AlmaLaurea Survey on Graduates.
How important is the Bologna Process in building a European knowledge system?
"The European Commission has been supporting the Bologna Process for many years because its principles are in line with the Union's modernisation agenda for higher education. Since 1999, when the Bologna declaration was signed, the process has helped to improve the whole European education system making it more open, comparable and competitive. In this sense the Bologna Process is a milestone that has laid the foundations for building a European knowledge system. It is enough to look at where we were ten years before the Process was launched. The duration of university studies differed from one country to another and this certainly did not favour mobility. The introduction of the three-cycle structure was a major step to increase the compatibility between different university systems in Europe. Although much remains to be done, the Bologna reform process has been decisive because it has allowed 47 European countries to tackle the challenges facing the European higher education system. AlmaLaurea through its yearly surveys has shown that we seem to be on the right track also to create employable graduates in the European Higher Education Area".
What is the European Commission doing in this setting?
"The Commission's role in education policy is to support action by Member States. This is done through peer learning, exchange of good practices, studies and monitoring of progress towards commonly agreed objectives and targets. The Commission can through its Lifelong Learning programme and the Erasmus part of it finance innovative projects that should help institutions to modernise".
What are the challenges we must tackle to build a European Higher Education Area?
"We must make sure students have the right qualifications. We have estimated that by 2020 35% of all jobs will require high level qualifications (compared to 29% today). This represents more than 15 million jobs which will demand higher qualifications. This is a big challenge considering that in Europe only about 30% of young people have completed a higher education degree or equivalent against 40% in the US. The message is clear: more people have to enter and complete higher education. This is the best strategy against unemployment - the economic crisis has demonstrated this by hitting mostly the people with the lowest professional and training qualifications. It is therefore important to highlight that Europe recently has agreed on a "Europe 2020 Strategy" where priority is put on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The strategy emphasises the need to strengthen knowledge and innovation as drivers of Europe's future growth, while improving the quality of our education. For higher education we need to enhance the performance and international attractiveness, combining both excellence and equity, and promote learning mobility of students and teachers".
But couldn’t the current crisis make governments renege on their commitment to train human capital and hence build a European knowledge system?
"We are going through a period of crisis and we know that some countries have reduced their funding for higher education, but the European Commission believes that investment in education and training is very important for the recovery".
In this setting, can AlmaLaurea represent a turning point for the development of a knowledge society?
"AlmaLaurea offers a valuable service because it shows through figures how the professional performance of graduates evolves over time. In practice, the AlmaLaurea survey tells us if and how a student has found a job with the degree obtained. This is important information both at European level and within the university system itself. We think that it is important that the academic world works closely with that of business. From this point of view, AlmaLaurea gives us valuable facts which can be used by policy-makers at different levels".