Commissioner Vassiliou presents forthcoming strategy on internationalisation of higher education

Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, will today present the Commission's forthcoming strategy for the internationalisation of higher education at the European University Association annual conference in Ghent, Belgium.
Internationalisation enhances the quality of European higher education and contributes to innovation and job creation by attracting international students and skilled migrants to Europe.
By 2020, the number of students studying abroad in the world is expected to hit 7 million, compared with 4 million in 2010, with most coming from Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. According to the OECD's 'Education at a Glance 2012' survey, Europeans represented 22.7% of foreign students worldwide in 2010. Three quarters of these mobile Europeans chose to study in another European country.
Commissioner Vassiliou will also outline how the EU will contribute to the internationalisation of higher education through Erasmus for All , its new programme for education, training and youth, through funding for research fellowships under the Marie Curie Actions , as well as through its policy initiatives (international policy dialogue, worldwide promotion of EU higher education…).
The two-day conference brings together university leaders, researchers, students and policy makers. Internationalisation of higher education refers to a broad range of international partnerships and exchanges, including student and staff mobility, strategic alliances, open education resources, franchised overseas campuses and capacity building in less developed parts of the world. The Commission intends to publish its strategy on European higher education in the world in June.
More information
Speech of the Commissioner Vassiliou "Opening up higher education to the world and the new university ranking, U-Multirank".