E.U. Research and Educational Programmes
Impacts on European Universities

Highlights from a presentation given by Prof.J.Routti during the conference Information Technology Shaping European Universities, 7-9 June 1999, Helsinki, Finland

Professor Jorma ROUTTI and Dr Dimitri CORPAKIS
European Commission DG XII Directorate General for Science, Research and Development

ABSTRACT:

This presentation aims to highlight some dominant trends, influencing and shaping European Universities, on the eve of the 21st century. It will first look to the global context and the major challenges facing European societies, of which Universities are prominent parts. Next it will look at the impact of European Union programmes in Research and Education, in a global way. These programmes, together with the development of the information society (in which universities have been and are still considered as pioneers) are developing a series of new models and new roles for the university community in Europe. These new roles are heavily influenced by new concepts of information and knowledge management and by a new partnership between academia, industry and government.

1.            As European societies move towards the 21st century, they are increasingly confronted to global challenges. Among them, three are of particular importance: the first has to do with the major issue of globalisation; the second, with the overall science and technology developments and the third which is the most pervasive one with the development and spread of the information Society. It is significant however to note that all three have to do with one way or another with knowledge and knowledge management.

2.            Science and Technology developments are among the major drivers of progress in modern societies. At the same time, they may create confusion because some times they bring-in, controversial results. Growth in scientific knowledge and its application to production methods, together with the arrival in the market of increasingly sophisticated products, give often rise to paradox: despite the beneficial effects of S&T progress, growing feelings of unease and even irrational misgivings in society are encountered. Efforts to allay these misgivings may include: the promotion of scientific and technical culture from a very early stage at school and / or, the definition of ethical rules, particularly in areas such as biotechnology or information technology.

3.            The end of the century is witness to the dramatic rise of the Information Revolution. Born from impressive improvements in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) it has led in a silent way to a New Economy: the Information Economy (or the Network Economy). Information technology, changes profoundly the way people live, work and communicate on a scale never before seen in history. While the foundations of the Internet and the major preconditions had been already in place from the mid-seventies, the real breakthrough happened in Europe when Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web at CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics) in 1991. The Web has proved to be not only the "universe of human knowledge" but also a never ending source of innovation, leading to major applications in education, information diffusion, services and above all, commerce. Forrester Research predict a total of USD 206.8 billion revenue by electronic commerce activities in the United States by 2001, while the corresponding European figure is estimated at USD 64.4 billions .

4.            Resulting from falling hardware and software prices, greater ease of use and telecomms deregulation, Internet use is exploding. Internet users have grown with a spectacular speed, globally: from 3 million in 1994 they have gone up to 100 million in 1998. They are expected to climb to 1 billion by 2005. In Western Europe, this number was around 12 million in 1995 and is about to reach 68 million by 2001.

5.            Figures converge to certify that we are bound to live in a connected world. Looking at the overall evolution of the number of Internet hosts between 1993-98 it is amazing to observe the spectacular pace of its growth: from almost 1.5 million in 1993 it climbed to 36 million in 1998, world-wide . By contrast, the penetration rate of Internet hosts is unequal around the globe, with huge gaps observed even among the OECD zone (1997 figures give around 60 Internet hosts per 1000 people in Finland by contrast to a mere 2 in Greece for the same year ).

6.            Capitalising on the growing value and significance of intangibles, the knowledge based economy currently leads the world. For instance, it is now estimated that, more than 50 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the major OECD economies is now knowledge-based . In addition to other factors, this economy is increasingly shaped by the ubiquitous presence of computing and the pervasive nature of networking. It is in this way that service industries and the high technology sectors have been given new life. Advancements of the information society, have positively contributed either to the emergence of new activities, or the profound transformation of current ones.

7.            Confronting the learning society of the future is a huge task: there are new education and training prerequisites to consider. The Commission's White Paper (1995) on Teaching and Learning: Towards the Learning Society, has addressed the issue in depth. While there seem to be no miracle solutions, there are however some concrete directions to take: for example, the merits of a broad base of knowledge in an increasingly complex and constantly fluctuating societal context with unpredictable results, could be re-introduced. Equally, a redefinition of the main educational mission seems necessary: students have to learn to understand, create and communicate effectively. These seem to be the minimal conditions for successfully adapting to a new economic and employment situation. It comes as no surprise that continuous learning and retraining is today seen a necessity. These qualities are the corner stone of employability, currently the major building block of the common European employment strategy.

8.            The European Union has been very active in developing Programmes in Education, especially in the higher education sector. Since 1976, it has pursued an policy aimed at building gradually a European dimension in education. Among the most prominent examples of this policy, lies the SOCRATES programme, itself a further integration of a number of earlier programmes in education, covering virtually all levels. Its ERASMUS component is the one devoted to higher education, comprising interuniversity co-operation, common programmes and diplomas and providing support for student and staff mobility. This module alone (started back in 1987) is serving more than 200.000 students, 1600 universities and 24 countries Europe-wide). Other activities cover the areas of vocational training (Leonardo), European studies in universities (Jean Monnet action), support for modernisation of institutions of higher education in Central and Eastern European Countries (TEMPUS) but also EU-US co-operation, co-operation with Latin America (ALFA) and last but not least, higher education co-operation with Canada, China and Asia.

9.            Research and Technological development, lies at the heart of European Union's efforts for social and industrial innovation and competitiveness. It is also the surest way for achieving growth, wealth and access to employment for Europeans. The EU RTD 5th Framework Programme (1998-2002) sets out the priorities for the European Union's research, technological development and demonstration (RTD) activities for the period 1998-2002. These priorities are identified on the basis of a set of common criteria reflecting the major concerns for increasing industrial competitiveness and the quality of life for European citizens. Adopting a new problem-solving approach for responding to major socio-economic challenges facing Europe, the 5th FP focuses on a limited number of research areas combining technological, industrial, economic, social and cultural aspects. In an effort of modernisation and rationalisation of procedures, its management structures and ways of implementation have been streamlined, putting emphasis on simplification and systematic involving of key players, in academia, industry and society.

The 5th edition of the RTD Framework Programme, has seen a major innovation in its structure: the introduction of the concept of "Key actions". Implemented within each of the four thematic programmes , they are set to mobilise a wide range of scientific and technological disciplines, both fundamental and applied - required to address a specific problem so as to overcome barriers that may exist not only between disciplines but also between the programmes and the organisations concerned. In addition, 3 horizontal programmes (international co-operation, innovation and SME, human potential and the development of the socio-economic knowledge base) cut across programme activities, while advancing objectives of their own. In the particular area of Information Society Technologies, 4 key actions will concentrate on the services and the technologies that will bring the information society closer to the citizen .

10.            All evaluation reports conducted up to now by independent experts and external organisations to the Commission, confirm the significant impact of E.U. Programmes in Research and Education, on the institutions themselves but also on their members and in a broader term to industry and society. Although education and research activities operate under different articles of the Treaty, paying significant attention to subsidiarity principles, they manage to create a considerable dynamic movement around their activity. Started broadly in the mid-seventies, they found their cruising speed around the mid-nineties. Decided by the Council of Ministers, and most of the time under a co-decision procedure by the European Parliament, they involve each year thousands of educators, researchers, learners and administrators. In addition, their projects are run increasingly in partnership with industry, which in itself is one of the most prominent participant and contributor in these activities.

11.            At the turn of the century, universities as institutions are at the crossroads: it is more and more apparent that they have an evolving role to play within European societies, that find themselves in constant flux. Under the pressure and the influence of so many factors they can play host to several functions: thus universities will continue to be innovative learning environments, adopting faster innovations for intelligent learning; they will also evolve as knowledge producers and as ideal partners of industry and government for socio-economic progress and prosperity. In their innovative capacity, they will continue to be the ideal "early-adopters" (first users) of the most advanced technologies (advanced testbeds). And this is particularly true when it comes to information technology.

12.            Universities have particular ties with the Information Revolution of our times. Historically, they have been among the major players right from the start (first ever massive Internet connections in the .edu domain on NSFnet, 1986 ), preceded by BITNET (1981) that started as a co-operative network at the City University of New York, with the first connection to Yale)). It is work in Universities that developed the essential spirit of genuine collaboration among researchers (and induced the "global research village" effect). People in Universities also introduced most of the Internet "ideology" of open source software and information sharing.

13.            Stemming from the IT world, new challenges and opportunities arise for universities. Internet enabled courses will eventually increase competition among institutions of higher education by offering remotely high quality learning modules in an interactive way. This will eventually favour well established, high-quality universities to compete for students outside their geographical borders, putting at risk smaller universities residing at weaker environments. Alliances formed by stronger universities to offer learning packages on the Internet, may only be faced via equivalent alliances by smaller universities. At the same time, there are new opportunities for devising intelligent packages for advanced learners, bringing more options for the individual person in the learning process. And students may be soon able to choose Internet courses in whatever continent they wish, via special "vouchers".

14.            IT spread and modern management theory, have introduced new organisation concepts that favour flat hierarchies and increased collaborative work. While changing traditional structures is not an easy task, it is certain that modern ICT will have a strong impact in the operational structure of universities, as much as it did with the corporate world. Adopting new work paradigms, using GroupWare techniques and establishing new communication channels, a new organisational scheme might be well in place in most universities. Using Internet technologies internally and externally ( intranets, extranets, virtual private networks), the university community can see clear benefits in terms of organisation, efficiency but also in terms of improved communication and a greater cohesion between its members.

15.            Another major trend which impacts steadily on the university global profile is the growing collaboration between the university and the corporate world. As recognition of the mutual benefits for partnerships is rising, rapid changes in technology facilitate cost-effective collaboration. Other significant factors that tend to accelerate this trend is the growing acceptance by private firms of their role as contributors to public good, the rise of the knowledge-based economy and to some extent the difficulties encountered by higher education institutions in obtaining the necessary money by their governments.

16.            European Universities have been historically among the major progress agents As living parts of society, they are now being transformed by sweeping forces of change. They have a new mission to accomplish as facilitators of the knowledge society, innovation and the knowledge economy. This is one of the top EU priorities for the 21st century.