EU Council issues roadmap for simplification of EU research funding programmes EUA is pleased to note that the EU Council’s conclusions, published this week, largely reflect the stance that EUA has taken on behalf of Europe’s universities in this debate. The Council of the European Union has now formally invited the Commission to implement a number of measures under the 7th Framework Programme, including acceptance of usual accounting practices and of the use of average personnel cost methodologies of the beneficiaries; simplification of documentation regarding time sheets and time-recording mechanisms; uniform interpretation of rules; development of synergies with programmes such as the EU regional structural funds. For future programmes, the Council asks that the Commission maintains the different funding rates for different types of beneficiaries and supports universities in their efforts to implement full costing systems, which were two key requests of EUA. The Council also recommends undertaking an international benchmarking exercise and that governments and the Commission contribute to simplification through the exchange of best practices on rules and procedures. The Council also calls for further stakeholder involvement. Building on this success, EUA will continue to take an active part in the deliberations as the Commission moves to the implementation phase of the simplification process. The Council’s conclusions are available here. Institutional Evaluation Programme launches new 2010-2011 round The Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) is an independent service of EUA that has been designed to ensure that higher education institutions gain maximum benefit from a comprehensive evaluation conducted by a team of experienced European higher education leaders. The intention is for these evaluations to support the participating institutions in the continuing development of their strategic management and internal quality culture.
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Call for Expressions of Interest: Case Studies for DOC-CAREERS II Project EUA welcomes expressions of interest from universities willing to contribute with a case study to the EUA DOC-CAREERS II project (“Promoting collaborative doctoral education for enhanced career opportunities”). This project is a follow up of the DOC-CAREERS project, which systematically analysed collaborative doctoral programmes and the employability of doctoral holders in non-academic environments, particularly large R&D enterprises.
Read more Conference focuses on interaction between Bologna Process and EC Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications EUA this week (14 October) organised a meeting at the European Parliament entitled “the Bologna Process and Directive 2005/36/EC on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications: is there scope for creative interaction?”
Read more EUIMA Workshop Series on Collaborative Research launched in Germany On 5-6 October 2010 the first of the eight EUIMA workshops on Collaborative Research took place at Leuphana University, Lüneburg (Germany). The EUIMA-Collaborative Research workshop series aim at collecting good practice in university-based collaborative research with external partners and its assessment in relation to the various missions of universities within their regional economic context.
Read more Summary report of EUA’s income diversification conference (EUDIS) now available EUA is pleased to provide its readers with a summary report of the conference held at the University of Bologna on 13-14 September on the topic of income diversification. Speakers and participants offered great insights on what constitutes a challenge for many universities in Europe. The final report from the EUDIS project, due to be presented in Brussels at the beginning of next year, will capture the essence of these stimulating discussions. EUA and its partners wish to take this opportunity to thank warmly all participants in the conference.
The report is available here.
Preview of 2010 EUA Annual Conference: University leaders to debate changing landscape of European higher education How are Europe’s universities and national higher education systems responding to a number of common challenges which include multiple reforms in higher education, research, governance and funding systems, not to mention the current economic crisis? This will be a central theme of this month’s EUA Annual Conference, “Diversities and Commonalities – the changing face of Europe’s universities”, taking place at the University of Palermo in Italy (20-23 October).
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EUA contributes to the Asia-Europe dialogue on funding and autonomy in higher education
Following the first Asia-Europe Education Workshop in March 2010 on the impact of the financial crisis, EUA co-organised at the beginning of October one of the thematic workshops of the 4th Conference “Connecting Civil Societies of Asia and Europe” in collaboration with the Asia-Europe Foundation and the Asian Institute of Management. Read more
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European Commission publishes strategic plan for promoting innovation
The European Commission last week set out its strategic plan for promoting innovation, in a new communication entitled “Innovation Union”, one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy for a ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive economy’. Read more
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