
Opinion
European universities need to remain competitive
The EU must develop and implement new knowledge, and translate it into innovative solutions. Creating 20 European universities by 2024 is a good start.
Friday
22nd Jun 2018

The EU must develop and implement new knowledge, and translate it into innovative solutions. Creating 20 European universities by 2024 is a good start.

With a tighter EU budget post-Brexit, universities must break down their silos, and concentrate on the 'triangle of knowledge' - education, research and innovation.
Civil society groups representing young people were told at the last minute they would not be able to speak at an EU-Africa summit billed to focus on youth.
The dream of studying abroad is one of the most tangible benefits of EU membership to many young people - but the cross-border flows in south-east Europe show a very different picture.
Young people in the gig economy in big cities need 'one-stop shops', as pioneered in Rotterdam, to help them access all their rights - but that requires funding.

Education ministers met in Brussels to discuss the next steps of the European strategy for education.

The EU Commission is setting out ideas to help youngsters to be more fit for the future job market and to develop a European identity.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Erasmus student exchange programme, the Commission backs French president Emmanuel Macron's ideas on bi-lingualism and mutual diploma recognition.

The European Commission is trying to convince member states to pay more attention to youth and education policies.
British universities have taken the top two spots on the world university rankings, but could Brexit threaten to undermine the recent success?
Vera Jourova, the EU commissioner for justice, is seeking more "practical" solutions to address the issue of Roma integration as she begins to rework the policy and rethink its spending.
Finding a suitable successor is a problem for many ageing European farmers, but according to the European Court of Auditors it is unclear how EU funds help to address the problem.
British academics want to guarantee residency and work rights for their EU staff, as well as "enhanced mobility opportunities" for UK and EU students, mostly by keeping British participation in EU funding programs.
The European Commission proposes a €341-million budget to get unemployed people into volunteering activities or traineeships that “promote solidarity” in their own countries or abroad.
EU leaders said there would be almost a million ICT vacancies by 2015, and made digital skills a priority, but in reality the number of vacancies was much lower.
The head of the Central European University wants the European Commission to prevent the Hungarian government from shutting it down.
The European Commission will analyse the new higher education bill and consider infringement procedures by the end of April.
Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, wants to see the closure of Central European University with recent legislative changes. But his actions are truly difficult to justify when thinking as a patriot.

Protesters reportedly called on Hungarian president Janos Ader to veto a bill that would close down Central European University in Budapest.

EPP group leader Manfred Weber calls for the European Commission to investigate Hungary, but the centre-right party still stands by prime minster Orban in the wake of international uproar over legislation targeting the Central European University.
Thousands gathered around the Central European University on Tuesday to protest against a legislative bill that targets it, while the US embassy and the German president expressed their support for the institution.
In 2015, 58.8 percent of all EU pupils at lower secondary level were being taught two or more languages at school. A year earlier, that figure was 59.9 percent.

The EU ombudsman's slapdown of the EU diplomatic service's unpaid internship programs offers a glimmer of hope to a future of paid internships in Europe.

Internships in the EU foreign service can help young people to build their career, so they should be open to anyone, not only those who can afford them, the EU ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said.
Young people will gather in Brussels on Monday to protest against hundreds of unpaid traineeships offered by the EU institutions each year.
It falls to the Europeans who were born around 1989 and grew up in a peaceful Europe to build a fresh new vision for the EU that transcends the ideological, educational and national cleavages of the past.

Estonian and Finnish high school students do best at science out of the EU according to a study by the OECD, a Paris-based club of industrialised nations.

Young people have been sold down the river by this year's political events, but it's not too late for Europe to safeguard the future for the world's youth.
The French are the worst at speaking English in the EU, according to a survey of 950,000 people, which ranks the Netherlands and Denmark as the best.
Although some EU states cut spending on education in 2014, most poured in more money, says the EU commission.

Nordic troops ought to learn French to better contribute to UN peace missions in future, security experts and politicians have been told.

Students will soon be able to move into converted shipping containers in Gothenburg. Architects hope to spread their idea of cheap, waterside living across Europe.