Brussels, 03/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 2 April, the European Commission suggested making the EU Forum for University-Business Dialogue - already convened in 2008 and 2009 - a space where cooperation can be developed. With this in mind, the Commission puts forward several measures aimed at helping member states to modernise their higher education systems. This platform for dialogue involves higher education institutions, companies, business associations, intermediaries and public authorities. It encourages the exchange of good practice, debate on common problems and the working together on possible solutions. “Closer cooperation between universities and business is a cornerstone of higher education reforms. Progress in this field is absolutely necessary”, the commissioner for education, training, culture and youth, Jan Figel', stressed.
Cooperation between higher education and business is now widely recognised to have benefits for both sides. Although examples of fruitful cooperation exist throughout Europe, the level of cooperation remains very unequal from one country to another, and from one university or discipline to another. Also, the impact that cooperation has on the governance of business as well as higher education establishments remains limited. The Commission plans to strengthen the Forum's structure, foreseeing plenary meetings and thematic seminars, completed by a website for facilitating the exchange of best practice and fuelling constant debate. It will also seek to strengthen the participation of national and regional authorities and to open the Forum up to third countries. Over time and based on the findings of the Forum, the Commission plans to explore new possible forms of structured partnerships between universities and businesses and to analyse to what extent these partnerships could be supported through existing EU programmes. It will also reflect on possible enlargement of dialogue with businesses, a dialogue that could encompass programmes in sectors other than education and training. At present, the fields of work of the Forum include curricular development for better employability of graduates, the identification of skills that graduates need when entering the labour market and ways of fostering an entrepreneurial mindset among graduates, professors and researchers. It also deals with the role of universities in the development of lifelong learning, means of increasing the mobility of professors, researchers, students and company staff. Possible future topics may include the role of university-business cooperation for regional development and the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). (I.L./transl.jl)