A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

61

July 2012

Education and training are an essential part of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Adopted by the European Union to address the current economic and financial crisis, the plan aims to transform Europe into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy by 2020.

One of the five main objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy focuses on education and sets two ambitious goals: the share of early leavers1 from education and training should be less than 10% and the share of 30-34 year olds with tertiary educational attainment should be at least 40%. According to data from Eurostat, the figure in Spain for early leavers from education among those between 18 and 24 is 28%, almost three times the set objective. The problem is significantly serious, given that this figure has stayed practically at the same level for more than a decade and solutions that are innovative and different to those applied up until now are needed to reduce this ratio.

The figures from Eurostat also show that the number of people in Spain aged between 30 and 34 with higher studies is 40%, which at the present time complies with the minimum established for 2020. In this case the challenge for the coming years is to maintain this figure by promoting higher education and prevent the current crisis from reducing the number of university graduates.

A key element in achieving the objectives of Europe 2020 is the Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020), the instrument endorsed by the EU for the modernisation of education and training in Europe. The framework has four main long-term strategic objectives: making lifelong learning and mobility a reality; improving the quality and efficiency of education and training; promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship; and enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training.

The European Union, through the Directorate General for Education and Culture (DGEAC), promotes different programmes to help citizens, enterprises and institutions collaborate together in achieving the four objectives of ET 2020.

Among these programmes stands out, because of its scope, the Lifelong Learning Programme, which enables European citizens to benefit from learning opportunities in different countries and at different times in their lives. It is divided into four sub-programmes: Comenius (for schools), Erasmus (higher education), Leonardo da Vinci (vocational education and training) and Grundtvit (adult education), which are all complemented by a "transversal" part of the programme that funds relevant related projects. Catalan universities have extensive experience in this programme that, amongst other aspects, enables Catalan students to study in European universities and foreign students to study in Catalan universities.

In order to promote cooperation in education and training with countries outside of the EU, the DGEAC has international cooperation programmes. The purpose of these programmes is to support partner countries outside the EU in their modernisation efforts, advance the EU as a centre of excellence in education and training, and improve the quality of services and human resources in the EU through mutual learning, comparison and exchange of good practice.

The Erasmus Mundus programme enhances quality in higher education through scholarships and academic co-operation worldwide and promotes Master's and Doctoral programmes jointly offered by different institutions. The Tempus programme supports the modernisation of higher education in countries surrounding the EU (Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East) and promotes quality enhancement and increased convergence with the EHEA.

The activities of the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency/AQU Catalunya are carried out according to international benchmarks. This has enabled the Agency to promote joint actions with both national and international higher education institutions, other agencies and bodies in the programmes of the DGEAC. The main actions currently being developed in this area are as follows:

• ESABiH project from the Tempus programme: AQU Catalunya participates as a partner in the consortium's project, the aim of which is to introduce European standards in evaluation and accreditation procedures for study programmes in universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• JOQAR project from the Erasmus Mundus programme: AQU Catalunya collaborates in promoting unique review and evaluation procedures for programmes jointly given by different institutions through the development of multilateral recognition agreements between QA agencies.
• Eranet-Mundus project from the Erasmus Mundus programme: This project, with the participation of AQU, aims to establish strong ties and mobility flows between Russian and European universities.
• Jiser-Med project from the Erasmus Mundus programme: The main objective of the project is to consolidate the relations between the EU and the Mediterranean Area in the area of higher education.
• CeQuInt project from the Lifelong Learning programme: In this project, which is to be launched in the second half of 2012, AQU Catalunya collaborates together with other European QA agencies in developing the groundwork for procedures involving certification for the level and quality of internationalisation in European universities.

The participation of the Catalan universities and AQU Catalunya in projects in the DGEAC programmes like the ones mentioned above allows us to establish links with other European institutions and organisations with similar interests, promote the exchange of knowledge and good practices and identify aspects for improvement and enhancement in higher education.

Our work will undoubtedly continue to be affected for some time by the crisis, although before us we also have the opportunity of applying the experience and expertise of our professors, researchers and technical experts in developing the strategic priorities in education in order to build a new Europe. Let’s move!

¹ For these data, early leavers from education and training are defined as persons aged 18 to 24 who have completed no more than lower secondary education and who are not engaged in further education and training.