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More influence for Germany's higher education institutions at European level
"Since its foundation three years ago, the European University Association (EUA) has become the key body representing the interests of higher education institutions in the whole European Higher Education and Research Area," said EUA Board Member Professor Dr. Georg Winckler, Rector of the University of Vienna and President of the Austrian Rectors' Conference, in a paper given to the Plenary Assembly of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) held in Bonn on 8 June.Winckler described the action lines that the EUA is currently pursuing:
- Quality assurance
- Financing
- Development of the doctoral phase, and
- Creation of the European Research Area.
The EUA is using these action lines to prepare the "Glasgow Conference" to be held in March 2005. This is where the European universities will draw up their message for the European education ministers, who will be meeting in Bergen for the third Bologna Follow-up Conference in May 2005.
The EUA is currently made up of 665 universities from 45 countries plus 34 rectors' conferences. Regrettably, Germany is the only country whose number of members has been falling over recent years. In view of the strongly growing significance of EU education and research policies as well as the need for networking between Europe's universities, HRK President Gaehtgens reiterated the HRK message for universities to become more involved in the EUA. The EUA had succeeded, he said, in giving universities a strong voice in the Bologna Process that had originally been run by the governments only. Moreover, the EUA was, he said, the key higher education partner for the European Commission in shaping and developing the future mobility and research programmes. The HRK took its role as a collective EUA member very seriously. In addition, he said, it was important that the direct influence of Germany's higher education institutions on shaping the Europe of Knowledge was also strengthened.
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