The European Students' Union (ESU) is concerned about future network of European universities. Subsequent to the European Commission's call for proposals, the union warned against a "two-speed elitist system" (see EUROPE 12124) in a statement issued on Monday 29 October.
This idea aims to create a ‘bottom-up' network of universities that would allow students to obtain a degree by combining several studies in several Member States. On 24 October, the European Commission took a further step towards the realisation of this initiative by launching a call for proposals to fund six European university alliances. Amount available: €30 million.
However, ESU has serious reservations about this initiative. In its April statement on the future of education in Europe, it stated that it supported the objective of strengthening cooperation between higher education institutions in Europe, but "this should be done among all institutions and not just a small number of selected institutions”.
In its latest press release, the federation states that it "cannot support this project if the networks do not reflect the diversity of experience and expertise in higher education in Europe and if they do not guarantee high standards of student participation". It added that: partnerships should give priority to wider access to higher education in Europe. Therefore, networks should be open to all countries of European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and not only to Member States. ESU also promotes a student-centred approach and innovative teaching and learning as a basis for discussion.
It should be recalled that, when the initiative was presented, the European Commission denied that it had contributed to the establishment of an elitist system favouring Western Europe. "European universities have a dual objective: excellence and geographical balance [...] even if we do not envisage a quota. The network is requested to be inclusive and to justify why it covers universities in some parts", it replied at the time. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)