“The French are useless.” Not our opinion, but the response of Le Monde (paywall) to the release on Tuesday of results from the OECD’s adult skills survey, which placed adults in France in the bottom half of around 20 countries in assessments of literacy, numeracy and problem-solving using digital devices.
The Paris newspaper wasn’t the only one wringing its hands: Media outlets and commentators around the world took time to weigh the results of the OECD survey, finding reasons to lament – or celebrate – the results. More...

The low-skilled are more likely than others to be unemployed, have bad health and earn much less, according to the first OECD Survey of Adult Skills. Countries with greater inequality in skills proficiency also have higher income inequality.
The OECD Survey of Adult Skills is the new PISA for adults (otherwise known as PIAAC). The Survey measured the skills of 16 to 65-year olds across 24 countries* and looked at how literacy, numeracy and problem-solving is used at work.  It provides clear evidence of how developing and using skills improves employment prospects and quality of life as well as boosting economic growth. It helps countries set meaningful targets benchmarked against the achievements of the world’s leading skills systems and to develop relevant policy responses. More...

Demand for high-level skills has never been greater. In the workplace, routine tasks are being automated, destroying jobs that were once middle-class bulwarks. Increasingly, economies demand workers skilled in problem-solving, communications and collaboration and reward those with the ability to recognise and exploit new technologies.
In the words of OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, “Skills have become the global currency of 21st Century economies. They transform lives and drive economies.”
But it’s clear that some OECD countries are not doing as well as others in  developing these vital skills. Too many people are being left behind, dimming their own economic prospects and depriving their societies of their full contribution. These issues are highlighted in the first edition of the OECD Skills Outlook, which reports on the findings of a survey of adult skills in more than 20 OECD and partner countries. More...

The objective of the conference is to disseminate results and lessons learnt by Georgia, Moldova and Armenia in the implementation of the Mobility Partnership, with a particular focus on the link between skills development and migration. Part of the conference will be dedicated to working group discussions on the types of migrant support measures and their effect, in particular, on the preparatory actions for potential migrants, validation of skills and support to returning migrants.
The event will be a valuable opportunity to share policy approaches supporting migrants to return and validate their skills. Particular focus will be on measures implemented to improve the quality of skills support services, information, and local support programmes for job and skills’ matching process, as well to discuss policy options and perspectives for the future on skills assessment and validation for both potential and returning migrants.

What are the opportunities–and risks–in the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) business model?
ROSABETH MOSS KANTER: The MOOC opportunity is to expand access to learning broadly across the world, with great potential societal and economic benefits–e.g., larger numbers of educated people with shared knowledge, building the global community. MOOCs will also build the brands of the best educators. But that’s a risk, too. More...

By Dominic Basulto. Last school year, the term MOOC (massive open online course) skyrocketed into popularity as an important new experiment in higher education. This year may be the school year that the MOOC truly goes mainstream. This will mark the first year, for example, that it will be possible to receive a “super-cheap” master’s degree via MOOCs. Now that Silicon Valley companies like Google are showing signs of jumping aboard the MOOC bandwagon, it could forever change the way we think about the college experience. Instead of graduating with a degree from a traditional four-year university, you may one day graduate with a degree from the University of Google. More...

Article de Marie-Estelle Pech intitulé "Diplômés de grandes écoles : la tentation du départ", paru dans Le Figaro du 9 octobre 2013.
Les étudiants des écoles françaises les plus fameuses seraient 79% à "envisager" de partir à l’étranger pour chercher un emploi. C’est le chiffre notable d’un sondage réalisé par Harris pour le compte de l’Institut Montaigne auprès de 975 jeunes inscrits en dernière année dans neuf de ces "très grandes écoles" qui occupent les premières places des classements dont Centrale Paris, l’école des Ponts, Polytechnique, ESCP, l’Essec, Sciences Po. Suite...

IAU is pleased to announce that the next IAU Workshop on higher education and Education for All (EFA) will be organized with the Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, an IAU Member institution. This 2-day workshop, entitled A three-step activity to envision higher education for Education for All locally, brings together high level representatives from higher education, the Ministry of Education, and civil society to "think out of the box" and develop an action plan on how to reinforce higher education’s contribution in achieving EFA - at the local level. Planned for 20-21 February 2014 in Delhi, India, it will be the fifth workshop of its kind and the second organized in Asia. Other workshops have already been organized in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mexico, and Nepal.
Have questions ? Interested to host a Workshop? Contact Nadja Kymlicka.