Taking Bologna Forward: Beyond 2010

Lesley WilsonSecretary General

European University Association (EUA)

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IAU Annual Conference – Utrecht, 15-18 JulySeries A: Wednesday 16 July, 16:30 – 18:00

I. About the EUA Established in 2001 in Brussels (merger of 2 previous bodies) – rapid growth in members & activities since then

Mission: strengthen European universities by

Shaping European policy at European level – building a coherent European HE and research area Supporting institutional development

Non-governmental membership organisation

Individual members: doctorate-granting institutionsCollective members: National rectors’ conferences

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34 national Rectors’Conferences

770 individual universitiesAffiliated university

networks + organisationsin 46 European countries

EUA - « the Voice of European Universities«

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Lisbon Strategy/European Research Area: Bologna Process 27 Member States of European Union 46 Bologna Countries

II. 2010 – Completion of two/three complementary

European reform processes

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The Lisbon Strategy:

1998/99 46 European countries have signed upGovernmental push for system convergence, stakeholder supported

implementation in universities across Europe

2000 European Union – currently 27+ countriesto make Europe the most competitive knowledge based society

But also « capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion »

The Bologna Process: Building the European Higher Education Area

The European Research Area2000 multi-national co-operation among all the actors & in all

scientific fields - EU Member States and international partners

Universities are central actors in all cases

III. Bologna : a pan-European HE Reform Process

Bologna – a voluntary process; 46 countries signed upwith no legal obligations & a tiny ‘Bologna’ SecretariatJoint Ministerial Meeting & Communiqué – every 2 years

A shared responsibility: governments, universities, staff & students = members of the Bologna Follow-Up Group

Increasingly stakeholder driven now that implementation is the priorityAgreement on 10 Bologna Action lines

Enormous progress since 1999: 83% of HEIs have the 3 cycle structure in place (Trends V, 2007) > 53% in 2003

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IV. Toward a European Higher Education Area:Bologna Reform achievements

Reform in 46 countries – changes in legislation, in institutional reality & in mentalities

Introduction of 3 cycle degree system using common tools: European Qualifications Framework, incl. Level descriptors, credits (ECTS) etc. & a Diploma Supplement

Common principles for doctoral programmes

European Quality Assurance arrangements

Agreement on the elements of a global Dimension of European HE

IV. Bologna Achievement: an exampleA European Dimension in Quality Assurance

Quality - a core issue of Bologna

Bergen 2005 - Joint European Standards and Guidelines for internal, external QA, at institutional and agency level2006: European Quality ForumLondon 2007: European Register of Quality Assurance Agencies – launched in 2008

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IV. Bologna Achievements: a second exampleThe Global Dimension of Bologna

London Ministerial Meeting 2007 - Adoption of a “strategy for the EHEA in a global context”Universities are a driving force but new approaches required > globalisation, growing competition, new providers etc.The challenge - rethink their role, mission & goals & develop specific profiles & portfolios:growing Bologna interest across the globedemand for policy dialogue & enhanced cooperation

How does the 3 cycle degree structure articulate with other regions?What about ECTS and the Diploma Supplement?Bologna as a model for HE reform and HE regional integration

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V. Approaching 2010

Debate underway among all partners: milestonesMinisterial Meeting - Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve, April 2009EUA Trends VI – 2010: European Universities’ perceptions Vienna: 2010 Bologna Ministerial Anniversary ConferenceHave the reforms achieved their goals?

Implementation at institutional and national levelDiscussing goals and priorities for post 2010?Refocus: on unfinished business & less tangible, less easily ‘benchmarked’ issues, e.g. learning outcomes, mobility, social dimension, accessRethinking: beyond the boundaries of HE (articulation EHEA & ERA, obstacles to mobility (visa, pension rights, recognition)

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V. Key challenges for the European Higher Education Area post 2010

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2010 - less a deadline and more the start of a new phase?some reforms are accomplished, others not yetindividual Bologna countries implement reform at a different pacegrowing links between the EHEA, & the EU Lisbon Agenda goals/the European Research Area The economic and social environment is changing e. g. demographic situation of Europe Increasing awareness of the role of universities in building a knowledge society in Europe

Globalisation & the emergence of international educationEUA

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V. EHEA- increasingly intertwined in a global setting

EHEA cannot function in a vacuum : communicating the ‘process’ to the world and engaging partners is crucial

Different institutions and countries across the EHEA are at different phases of their ‘internationalisation’ process & have different priorities

Mobility is an international, & not simply an intra-European question

Attracting global talent: the changing role of the university as a service provider and an ‘exporter’

Demographic developments will play an increasingly important role

EUA Slide 12…12…

V. EHEA- increasingly intertwined in a global setting

EHEA cannot function in a vacuum : communicating the ‘process’ to the world and engaging partners is crucial

Different institutions and countries across the EHEA are at different phases of their ‘internationalisation’ process & have different priorities

Mobility is an international, & not simply an intra-European question

Attracting global talent: the changing role of the university as a service provider and an ‘exporter’

Demographic developments will play an increasingly important role

EUA Slide 13…13…

V. Impact on universities and EUA

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Internationalisation is an increasing priority for universities across EuropeBuilds on longstanding research collaboration but now takes account of the challenges of globalisation – competition and cooperationParticular importance of cooperation at master & doctoral levelEUA increasingly developing its own international agenda, e.g.

Longstanding & regular ‘Transatlantic Dialogue’ with the US and Canada (ACE & AUCC)International cooperation with associations of graduate schoolsDevelopment of new form of policy dialogue, especially with Asia& Latin AmericaPublication of a Bologna & an,Internationalisation Handbook

VI Conclusion

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The 2010 deadline for creating the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is approaching – time to reflect & move onSuccessful movement for reform across 46 countries in a relatively short period – raising the profile of European HE & overcoming fragmentationconsiderable progress but also still work to do: mobility, LLL, realising a student centred approachHas proved to be a catalyst for new reform thinking & ways of working (e.g. government – stakeholder cooperation)Is developing a European HE discourse (identity & approach) while providing a basis for cooperation with other regionsMust now respond to increasing global pressure – rankings, international competition, brain drain etc.

“Europe, thanks to Bologna, may have been given the

opportunity to respond to the 21st century agendas”

Peter Scott, ACA President,Vice-Chancellor, Kingston University/UK

EUA Bologna Handbook, 2006

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