Economic crisis opens EU borders for study
From the International Herald Tribune


BRUSSELS : A global crisis may be squeezing government spending, corporate budgets and student wallets; but Jan Figel, the man charged with promoting education across the European Union, is in upbeat mood.

Figel, the EU's commissioner for education, culture and youth, sees the downturn as an opportunity for European schools and universities rather than a threat.

In particular, he sees a bright future for cross-border education through the expansion of the union's Erasmus program of university exchanges and the development of similar projects to encourage high school students, vocational trainees and adult learners to seek experience abroad.

A discussion paper due to be released by the European Commission shortly is likely to broadly follow recommendations from a panel of education experts last year urging the bloc to set a 2020 target for ensuring that all students aged between 16 and 29 spend part of their education outside their homelands.

Figel says cross-border exchanges are essential for developing a workforce that can take advantage of the economic opportunities offered by the EU's border-free market of 27 nations.

"To work in Europe, or to make business in Europe, presupposes to know Europe," he said. "We are citizens, not tourists in this union, so when young people get real experience, whether through volunteering or youth exchanges or educational programs, they are better prepared."

"It is not only about skills and employability, but also about values, responsibility, citizenship," Figel said, interviewed in his office at the Commission's Brussels headquarters. "I think we need more access and better quality education even more when there is crisis to get out of."

European leaders last year committed to increasing funding for education as part of their economic recovery plan, and EU education ministers in November declared that cross-border mobility should become the norm for European students.

That aim remains unaffected by the crisis, Figel says. Although Erasmus, started in 1987, has been hailed as a major success, enabling more than two million students to spend a term abroad, it only represents about 4 percent of students in any given year.

Erasmus had its funding more than doubled in 2006 to around €450 million, or $580 million, a year and the budget is guaranteed until 2013, which protects it from the crisis.

Erasmus student numbers have steadily increased over the years, and EU officials say it is too early to predict whether the financial crunch will lead to a fall in inscriptions for the cross-border exchanges this year. Student representatives however complain that Erasmus grants, worth about €200 a month, are far below what is needed to cover living expenses abroad.

"Erasmus is a good opportunity for students, but the numbers are small and the amount the students get is not enough," says Anita Lice, vice-chair of the European Students' Union. "Only students with a good economic background can afford to go on Erasmus."

Lice fears that the crisis will force an increasing number of students to abandon foreign study projects.

Leaving aside the criticism that EU support for cross-border study lacks depth, Figel hopes to broaden its reach with the introduction, in 2010, of an exchange program for high school students similar to the university-based Erasmus.

The EU also aims to encourage more international students to come to Europe. Figel says the EU will soon develop its own university ranking system, widening ranking criteria used by U.S. and Chinese surveys to include considerations such as social conditions that would place European institutions in a more favorable light.

"More Chinese students now come to Europe than to the United States, for many reasons, including our programs, openness, attractiveness, maybe U.S. problems with visa and security," he said. "The image of Europe or position of Europe in the world of education is changing."

The EU in December approved a fourfold increase in the 2009-2013 budget for Erasmus Mundus, a program which promotes student exchanges between European universities and counterparts around the world. The increase raised the five-year budget to €950 million - additional evidence, Figel says, of the recognition by member governments that education needs to be a top priority.

Still, priority or not, policies at the national level appear to be following widely divergent paths. In France, thousands of planned job cuts in education brought students and teachers together in a nationwide strike on Jan. 29. In contrast, Germany says it will spend around €4.5 billion on upgrading infrastructure at schools and universities as part of an economic stimulus plan. Universities in Britain, meanwhile, are looking to the weakness of the pound to attract more international students.

Faced with wide differences at national level, experts say it is too early to assess the likely Europe-wide impact of the crisis. The European University Association, however, which represents higher education institutions from 46 nations, says there are real concerns that the recession will lead to falling student numbers and cuts in public and private spending. Still, it too sees potential opportunities amid the gloom.

"In times of economic downturn, we need to invest in higher education, research and innovation," said Thomas Estermann, senior program manager at the association. "That's of course an opportunity for universities."

The shrinking employment market, too, may reinforce government efforts to encourage young people to stay longer in education rather than end up on welfare.

"When you have the unemployment rate going up to 10 percent, we believe very many will take the opportunity to go to university and study," said Anders Flodstrom, the head of Sweden's National Agency for Higher Education.

If higher education may benefit from the downturn, so too may academic research and development budgets.

Flodstrom, in addition to his national responsibilities, is a member of the board at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, set up in September in Budapest. Inspired by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, EIT is part of an EU drive to strengthen ties between industry and the academic world, and inject a more businesslike spirit into higher education.

"This was missing in Europe," Figel said. "Traditionally academia was isolated." Changing that, "doesn't mean that all graduates will or should become business people," he said: but, added Flodstrom, "the EIT is a new way of creating stronger entrepreneurship and innovation."

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/09/business/riedeu.1-419036.php?page=2