Collaboration between Vocational and University Education: Building Partnerships for Regional Development

17-18 October 2011, Carlos Santamaria Center, Campus Guipuzcoa, University of Basque Country, San Sebastian. Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators.
Bernard Hugonnier, Deputy-Director for Education (OECD), Iñaki Goirizelaia, Rector of the University of the Basque Country and Márius Rubiralta, General Secretary for Universities (Ministry of Education) are pleased to present the OECD / IMHE Seminar "Collaboration between Vocational and University Education" which will be held at Campus de Gipuzkoa (Carlos Santamaría Centre), 17-18 October.
Tertiary education has become more diverse in its providers, its learners and the range of skills and training it provides as a response to the growing demand of education in knowledge-based economies. New and more flexible modes of study and delivery have been put in place to attend to the needs of a more heterogeneous student body, in terms of socio-economic background, ethnicity, previous education, age, aspirations, and academic ability. This institutional differentiation has blurred the boundaries between vocational and university education, increasing the competition between tertiary education institutions (TEIs) for students and resources.
In a context of constant changes and great uncertainty, tertiary education institutions (TEIs) have to collaborate in order to improve their  responsiveness to the needs of the labour market and the wider society. TEIs can play a key role in human capital development and innovation systems and can help their cities and regions become more innovative and globally competitive. The OECD Reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development assist TEIs  and regional governments to achieve this objective.
This seminar will examine the main challenges and opportunities of collaboration between vocational tertiary and university education for regional development. International good practices of collaboration and division of labour between tertiary education institutions will be presented and discussed from the perspective of their contributions to human capital development and innovation in cities and regions. The seminar is co-organised with the OECD/IMHE, the Spanish Ministry of Education and the University of the Basque Country.
Keynote Speech: Collaboration for what?
The institutional divisions between vocational and university education are unlikely to disappear, but there is international evidence of increased blurring of the boundaries. Tertiary education does not require more barriers; it needs the collaboration between the vocational and the university sectors for social and economic development. What type of collaboration between the two sectors will be more productive for regional development? What are the main challengesto this collaboration? Chair: Miguel SOLER, General Director of Vocational Education, ES, Keynote speaker: Michael YOUNG, Institute of Education of London, UK.
Plenary session I: Widening access to tertiary education.
Mass tertiary education systems must be more differentiated than elite ones because they enroll a more heterogeneous student body, respond to new demands from the labor market, and attempt to cover a wider range of knowledge. Diversification occurs between tertiary education institutions (i.e. universities of applied sciences) and within them (i.e. dual sector universities). Can diversification widen access to those who were traditionally excluded from tertiary education? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the new tertiary education programmes? Are new divides emerging among tertiary education institutions?
Plenary session II: Pathways across the educational system.
Governments have established distinct educational sectors with different aims and purposes, while at the same time they have built bridges across these sectors, in particular to enhance possibilities for student transfer from one to the other. Despite the existence of some formal connections between and within the educational sectors, the level of students’ mobility and recognition of prior learning is still low. What are the best strategies to enhance learning pathways across tertiary education systems? Are the good practices of collaboration in this field scalable to the regional or national level?
Keynote speech: Tertiary education for lifelong learning.
Trends in the global economy mean there is pressure for more flexibility in the provision of education and training and for a more prominent role of lifelong learning in tertiary education institutions. However, the principle of lifelong learning does not fit well with a system based on barriers and divisions even when they are pragmatic and blurred. How well prepared are our tertiary education institutions for providing continuing education? What are the necessary institutional changes they need to face in order to adapt to the new scenario?
Plenary session III: Industry driven skills development.
Tertiary education institutions, if they collaborate with each other and with the industrial sector, can make a significant contribution to human capital development in their cities and regions. The vocational and the university sectors can collaborate through updating and upgrading workers’ skills in firms, sharing business links for apprenticeships and internships, establishing dual programmes with the business sector, etc. Is the business sector asking for more collaboration between vocational and university education? What are the most productive areas of collaboration of these two sectors for human capital development?
Plenary session IV: Vocational and university partnerships to boost innovation.
The regional dimension of innovation is crucial to promote economic growth and competitiveness. All tertiary education institutions can  help improve the capacity of their cities and regions to adapt knowledge and to foster innovation. Collaboration among tertiary education institutions can result in a better contribution of the educational sector to regional innovation system. What kind of economic sectors would benefit the most from the collaboration between vocational and university institutions? What are the gains in terms of economic efficiency of this collaboration?
Roundtable: Making the reform happen: the case of the Campus of International Excellence in Spain.