Brussels, 26/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the Education, Culture and Youth Council adopted conclusions on the role of education in a fully functioning knowledge triangle, which is recognised to be a key element in boosting growth and creativity. The conclusions lay stress on the contribution brought by education and notes that a properly functioning knowledge triangle - education, research and innovation - would speed the development of an innovative economy through a broader knowledge base and creative human capital. The text sets out seven priorities for action to allow education to play its full role in the triangle: 1) developing greater coherence between policies in education, research and innovation; 2) partnership between universities and business and other relevant stakeholders; 3) developing an innovation culture in universities; 4) accelerating pedagogical reform to promote creativity and entrepreneurship; 5) creating incentives for universities to develop transferable knowledge; 6) new approaches to quality assessment; 7) developing the European Institute of Technology as a model for the future.
Bringing the education section to a close, the Council held a policy debate on assessment of the quality of higher education. Ministers highlighted the important role by quality assurance and transparency instruments play in driving forward excellence in European tertiary education. According to a European Commission report, various quality assurance agencies have appeared on the scene at national level over the last few years, but as yet they have no European dimension. Furthermore, considerable attention is paid to international ranking systems for universities when these systems are rudimentary and built on insufficient data. The Commission proposes a transparency mechanism which compares European higher education establishments while avoiding a simplified numerical ranking. If mobility is to become the rule in higher education, quality assurance is essential to guarantee the usefulness of a stay abroad, ministers unanimously agree. A sophisticated system for assessing European universities would encourage transparency and would reflect better the advantages of a diversified landscape of European higher education, allowing reliable comparisons and providing consistent information to students, something the current international ranking systems to do provide, they say. “We had a very productive meeting against a serious context with new international players who are investing a great deal. It is important that we in Europe invest, too, and don't miss the boat,” said Swedish Higher Education and Research Minister Tobias Krantz. “We have to create this higher education area in Europe. Ministers hold dear the diversity of our universities, but if we want to provide a better service to our students, we need more transparency. We want to bring in new methods of assessing universities, an approach that would give us better balance … in ranking these establishments,” added Education and training Commissioner Maroš Šefèoviè. (I.L./transl.rt)