LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Spring 2008

by Ruth Thompson

Sir,
Lykke Friis clearly recognises just how important it is to modernise higher education in Europe. Indeed, reform is becoming more and more urgent if our graduates want to compete in the global market and if the EU is serious about creating a knowledge-based economy as promised by the Lisbon strategy. Two years ago, the EU in Hampton Court agreed that reform of higher education was a top priority. Yet progress since then has been slow. It is now apparent that we all need to take positive steps to make sure that essential changes actually happen.

In the UK, we think that autonomy is the key to modernisation. Once universities and other higher education institutions are allowed to govern themselves, we believe that they will reform themselves. As the Danish example in article by Friis showed, autonomous institutions are able to develop their own “missions”, widen their international outlook, strengthen partnerships with local communities and so compete more effectively worldwide. We therefore consider it to be important that each member state allows their higher education institutions greater independence.

More autonomous universities can also seek out additional sources of funding and reduce their reliance on public money. For instance, UK institutions have considerable freedom to set their own tuition fees for undergraduates and are encouraged to raise extra income from alumni. In the US, state universities as well as the Ivy League raise hundreds of millions of dollars in this way. It is a lesson for all of us in Europe.

In the UK, we are committed to expanding higher education to deliver both the knowledge and other skills that students will need to find a good job once they graduate. Reform of higher education therefore needs to be linked directly to the qualities that are demanded in today’s international labour markets. We should encourage our education institutions to talk to employers and design courses and qualifications that will help modern businesses to grow.

Last but not least, as Friis says, the whole EU budget needs radical reform if Europe is to respond effectively to globalisation. Even though EU education spending is due to grow by over 50% between 2006 and 2013, this won’t be enough. Agriculture and rural policy still take up 45% of total EU expenditure, while the majority of Structural and Cohesion Funds is spent in richer member states. Britain hopes that the 2008-09 review of the budget will lay the foundation for more effective and efficient EU spending and promote research and innovation so that we can all rise to the challenge of globalisation.