Still too many barriers to the mobility of researchers, says Reding
Commissioner for Education, Viviane Reding, has called for greater cooperation between Europe's higher education institutes, businesses and governments in order to open education up to the private sector and the wider world, and break down the institutional barriers currently preventing mobility among students and researchers. Speaking to Slovenian policymakers and representatives of the academic community on 9 September, Ms Reding exposed one of the pitfalls of the current educational system in the EU: 'Many higher education institutions tend to live in an ivory tower with insufficient links to the labour market, especially the [private] sector, although most of their students will enter this world after graduation.' Ms Reding described the employability of graduates as an 'important issue to tackle', and work experience gained prior to graduation as an 'essential component' for the transfer of theory into practical knowledge. To turn the situation around, the Commissioner suggested that special emphasis be put on cooperation between universities and companies - above all small and mid sized companies - to improve competitiveness and to increase entrepreneurial spirit, with a focus on new employment opportunities. 'Sending students on placements with enterprises within Europe increases links with industry and the additional benefits of this can be: assistance in research and development, joint projects, up-to-date knowledge of a particular industry (for example with engineering), sharing of practices, ability to update [...] the curriculum' argued the Commissioner. With regard to greater mobility of students and researchers, Ms Reding referred to her commitment to work alongside the Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin, to examine ways of promoting European cooperation at doctoral level and provide better support for young researchers at the crossroads of education and research. Ms Reding called on European education ministers to give their backing to these objectives when they meet in Berlin on 18 September