Context

The Lisbon Strategy’s call for curricula, governance and funding reforms not only reflects the growing recognition of how important higher education is to economic and cultural prosperity but also that maintaining the status quo threatens Europe’s dominance as a global higher education competitor.

In that context, the role universities could play in the new knowledge-based economy is highly recognised: “Europe must strengthen the three poles of its knowledge triangle: education, research and innovation. Universities are essential in all three”.

Aims of the project

The aim of the project was to examine the governance and curriculum reforms that have taken place in 32 countries. More specifically, it aimed to assess both their success and ability to be applied to the greater European higher education community.

Its two main goals were:

1. to map the reforms that have taken place over the past decade in 32 countries
2. to assess the success of a limited number of cases that may be transposed onto the wider European landscape

Outputs:

The project produced:

• Surveys of major changes in the 32 countries of the report
• A major report on governance and curriculum reports

See the website of the European Commission, Directorate General for Education and Culture

Partner organisations

The consortium set up for the project gathered a combination of experience, expertise and networks,i.e:
Its partners were the following research centers:

-         Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) – The Netherlands

-         Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE) – Germany

-         European Center for the Strategic Management of Universities (ESMU) – Belgium

-         NIFU STEP, a leading research institute for studies in innovation, research and education – Norway