Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe
30 April 2020
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) has launched, earlier this year, a study entitled “Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe”, supported by a consultancy agency, senior experts and stakeholders, including university networks, among which is the Coimbra Group.
The development of this “2030 Vision” is taking place in the context of the renewal of the European Research Area (ERA) and in the context of the European Education Area (EEA) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In particular, the Commission is considering the introduction of several policy initiatives:
– Communication of the European Commission to renew the ERA;
– Possible new pilot initiative in the post-2020 programming period to support the transformation of universities in Europe;
– A transversal part of Horizon Europe on “Reforming and Enhancing the European Research and Innovation System”, which would work towards the ERA objectives.
The Coimbra Group was represented by the Executive Board Chair, Prof. Ludovic Thilly, at several meetings of the consultation phase, in March and April 2020. During these meetings, a draft policy report (laying out the 2030 Vision and covering cost-benefit analysis of possible instruments, best practices, and recommended policy actions) was circulated: it was an opportunity for the Coimbra Group to provide input to this prospective work. The final version of this policy report will soon be made available to Coimbra Group members: some of its highlights can already be found in the presentation made at the Validation Seminar, held online on 21 April 2020, and available here (CG members only).
This initiative from DG RTD cannot be isolated from the European Universities initiative, launched by DG EAC. The Coimbra Group will pay a particular attention to these developments in view to ensure that synergy remains the golden rule in the development of any new instruments, as it is currently the case with the specific call for European Universities under Horizon 2020 (see article).