Higher Education Secretary Fioraso resigns

By Jane Marshall. France’s dynamic state secretary for higher education and research, Geneviève Fioraso, has resigned for health reasons. Fioraso’s achievements during her tenure included a major national debate into the future of higher education and research which led to a new framework law.
She was also able to maintain levels of funding and jobs during a time of austerity and cuts in other budgets; simplify processes for first and masters degrees; and launch an ambitious building programme for student housing.
Among her many achievements, she extended student grants, introduced a national ‘student-entrepreneur’ statute, and adopted reforms – opposed by research unions – to increase research competitiveness while working towards bringing universities and the selective grandes écoles closer together – all this while managing a budget of €23 billion [US$25 billion] for more than 200 institutions. Read more...