Greater collaboration necessary between universities and regions to boost economic growth
The 'Stairway to Excellence' conference at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) gathered academics, members of the CoR and the European Parliament (EP) to discuss the future of universities in Europe and their impact in regions and cities. Participants called for more partnerships between universities and local authorities and emphasised universities' influence in regional growth.
In view of higher education's growing importance, the president of the CoR, Markku Markkula, hosted the conferenced "Where are we with 'Stairway to Excellence'? The Role of European Universities", which assessed the role EU regions play in education, and seeked to find solutions on how to modernise EU higher education and improve research capabilities to benefit regions.
A crucial point was the need for greater collaboration between local authorities and universities to boost economic growth. "Regional universities are often the most valuable as they can have a big impact on regional growth in terms of job creation", said Yoomi Renström, chair of the CoR's Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC). "Therefore, it is our role to increase connections between both sectors", she added. Simon Roy, a policy officer for modernisation of higher education of the European Commission, explained that "cooperation between institutions at the regional level, such as expertise sharing, or more investment in research and innovation, can bring increased excellence and job creation".
Participants agreed that there is a direct relationship between the prosperity of a region and the excellence of its universities. Carlos Rodrigues, an associate professor at the University of Aveiro (Portugal), explained that centres should be able to research and transfer knowledge to the companies operating in their regions. "But there are no funds to engage with their regions and boost their development", he added. This is why many universities in Europe are looking for alternative funding sources, such as through the private sector.
Allocating more funds for education was a crucial point for participants. They highlighted the fact that it is necessary to make EU regions more attractive, so that graduates stay and contribute to the economic growth. However, again there is "a lack of investment to reach that objective", as Giorgos Grammatikakis i, a member of the European Parliament, put it.
To remedy this speakers called for partnerships to be built between universities and regions to share good practices; investments to be made in regional niches to create job opportunities for young people; and for more autonomy to be given to institutions. In addition, they agreed that university excellence can only be reached if institutions and regions share expertise and link education with research and innovative projects. These recommendations would have a direct impact on local employment and competitiveness, they said. "Let's make an effort. We all have interest to show that these measures bring a lot of added value", concluded Markkula.