The EU high-level group on modernisation of higher education publishes its first report today on improving the quality of teaching and learning in universities.
The group, chaired by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, makes 16 recommendations which include a call for mandatory certified training for professors and other higher education teaching staff, more focus on helping students to develop entrepreneurial and innovative skills, and the creation of a European Academy of Teaching and Learning.
Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "My goal in setting up the group was to encourage new thinking and ideas. Its recommendations are timely, practical and do not necessarily require large amounts of additional expenditure. Quality teaching in our higher education and training systems is crucial for ensuring that students are equipped with the right blend of skills for their future personal and professional development. The Commission will do all it can to support the implementation of these recommendations."
Mary McAleese, chair of the group, added: "Quality teaching and learning depends on dedicated individuals and dedicated institutions, supported by policies that put teaching and learning at the centre. Higher education teaching staff have to be given the training and support they need to do an excellent job. Our report shows how this can be done."
The group, which was set up by Commission Vassiliou last September, has consulted widely with stakeholders as part of its work. It found that many higher education institutes place insufficient emphasis on teaching in comparison with research, even though both are core missions of higher education. "This needs rebalancing. The role of teaching in defining academic merit needs a stronger emphasis and recognition, especially in career terms," said the Commissioner. "I very much welcome the proposal that all teachers in higher education should be taught how to teach."
Next steps
The high level group will now begin work on the second part of its mission, focused on how to maximise the impact of new methods of delivering quality higher education, such as massive open online courses ('MOOCs'), which enable people to access higher education from their homes. Partners in 11 countries recently launched the first pan-European MOOCs with the support of the European Commission. The high-level group's next report is due to be published in June 2014. Read more...

More students from Southern Mediterranean countries will benefit from the EU's new programme for education training and youth: this was the message from European Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou at a university 'summit' in Nicosia today.
The Commissioner said the new programme, due for launch in January 2014, would build on the success of the existing Tempus and Erasmus Mundus programmes. Since 2007, more than €140 million has been allocated for projects involving Southern Mediterranean universities to develop new curricula, retrain teachers, support new teaching methods and invest in equipment. In addition, €150 million has been provided in grants for more than 4 500 students from the region to spend part of their studies in the EU. More than 750 academic staff have also taken part in exchanges organised with European universities.
More than 200 universities in North Africa, the Middle East and the EU are involved in the exchanges. Universities in France, Italy, Spain Germany, Egypt and Jordan are the most active in the scheme. Nearly 800 students and staff from the Southern Mediterranean have also benefitted from funding for joint master and doctoral programmes since 2004.
“Erasmus Mundus has been a great success since its launch in 2004 and I am happy to say that we will be able to support even more exchanges under our new programme. Investing in youth is the best investment of all, in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean. We want to support young people who are the key to social and political change, as well as the future prosperity of the region,” the Commissioner said.
The 'information day' event at Nicosia University was an opportunity for the Commission to discuss its future plans with representatives of the academic community from the Southern Mediterranean region. "We wish to demonstrate our commitment to lasting cooperation with our neighbours in the higher education field," added Commissioner Vassiliou. The event brought together more than 150 government officials, higher education staff and stakeholders from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon and EU Member States.
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The European Commission today welcomed the launch of Education at a Glance 2013, an annual report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which analyses the education systems of the 34 OECD member countries, including 21 EU Member States, as well as Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
The report identifies challenges for European education systems that must be tackled by the EU and its Member States working together, and confirms the importance of policies aimed at modernising education systems and increasing opportunities for young people to study or train abroad.
"This report is a major source of knowledge and evidence for policy-makers, helping to deepen our understanding of the challenges we face. Investing in education always pays off in the long run and Member States cannot afford to forget this when it comes to allocating public budgets. As the report confirms, cutting back on education spending in general, and on teachers' salaries in particular, can hinder our objective of providing efficient and high quality education systems," said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. Read more...