Citation
(2001), "Europe "losing out to USA" in international education", Education + Training, Vol. 43 No. 8/9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2001.00443hab.018
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited
Europe "losing out to USA" in international education
Europe "losing out to USA" in international education
Europe's international reputation in higher education does not match its high standards. The USA is proving a more attractive destination than Europe for international students, and Europe is consequently losing out on export earnings from the fees they pay. These are among the conclusions of a policy paper on the EU's response to the globalization of education, which has been adopted by the European Commission.
The report, drafted on the initiative of Viviane Reding and Chris Patten, commissioners responsible for, respectively, education and external affairs, seeks to promote the EU as a worldwide centre of excellence for studying, training and research. The report also seeks to develop high-quality human resources in partner countries and within the EU through reciprocal arrangements for human-resource development. Among the report's suggestions are:
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support for multilateral partnerships between EU and third-country universities;
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increased student mobility within these partnerships;
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a pilot postgraduate scholarship programme with Latin America, with initial financing of 40 million euros;
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support for the development of joint courses or joint diplomas which would allow foreign students to spend more than one academic year in Europe, in different EU member states;
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accreditation and the promotion of the European credit transfer scheme.
The report says that much could be achieved by building on the EU's experience in organizing student and teacher exchange schemes through, for example, the Erasmus programme. The European strategy would complement the existing arrangements in some member states, such as the work of the British Council in the UK, of Edufrance in France and of the DAAD in Germany. The complete EU strategy would be put in place over the next two years. Mrs Reding commented: "Half a million foreigners go to study in the USA, against only 400,000 in Europe – 300,000 of whom head for the UK, France and Germany … The excellence of Italian universities, for example, is totally underestimated. This leads to a problem in terms of political and cultural influence in Europe."