Challenges for Higher Education in Europe: Socio-economic and Political Transformations

Steinhardt Institute NYU15 June, 2017

Peter Maassen

US governance of higher education

EU governance of higher education:

“Marble cake federalism”

“No rigid delineation of which level of government held

authority over which set of activities”

(Donahue 1996)

EU and Higher Education

• Marble cake federalism examples:

– Education:• Erasmus+ (EU)

• European Qualifications Framework (EU)

• Bologna Process (intergovernmental)

– Research:• Horizon2020, including European Research Council (EU)

• National Research Councils

– Institutional:• European University Institute (National)

• European Institute of Innovation &Technology (EU)

Horizon2020 (8th Framework Program)

3 pillars:

1. Excellence: frontier research (incl. European Research Council (ERC) and FET Flagships); budget € 24.4 billion (31.7%)

2. Research on Grand Challenges; budget € 29.7 billion (38.5%)

3. Research for strengthening industry’s leadership in innovation (incl. EIT); budget € 17 billion (22.1%)

Transformations?

• Socio-economic:– New Economic World Order

– Financial crisis (2008)

– Euro crisis

– Intra-European migration

– Refugee crisis

• Political:– New Political World Order

– Relationship with Russia

– Rise of populism/nationalism

– EU crisis: more integration, less integration or collapse?

Dutch Newspaper (9 June, 2017):United Kingdom: a Banana Republic

BREXIT

Kristian Jensen, Danish Minister of Finance, at ‘a Road to Brexit’ seminar in Danish Parliament (13 June):

“There are two kinds of European nations. There are small nations and there are countries that have not yet realised they are small nations…. It is a paradox that the country that once had an empire on which the sun never sets, that ruled the waves, that in its heart is truly global, is now drawing back from the world’s most successful free trade area. It is a paradox that I cannot get...”

Sir Nigel Sheinwald (former British ambassador to the US and EU) at the same seminar in Denmark:

“The rest of the world’s view of the UK is actually changing quite fast. We used to be known for a pragmatic, steely state craft, keeping calm and carrying on. But it feels a bit different today.

We have seen two British prime minsters make rather impulsive and potentially disastrous decisions in their party political interest, which it turns out have huge repercussions for our political stability, our prosperity and our place in the world.”

Where are we in our understanding of Brexit and its consequences?

• Uncertainty: – Hard Brexit, soft Brexit, no Brexit?

• Brexit has strengthened support for EU on Continent:– Political commitment to EU strengthened, incl.:

• new alliance France-Germany,

• among ‘EU-critical’ Central/Eastern European governments

– Support among general public for EU increased

– Economic sector support for EU more explicit

• Brexit has weakened UK’s position as liaison to rest of the world, e.g.:– France will represent EU’s interests in Security Council

– China shifts ‘EU entrance focus’ in New Silk Road strategy from UK to Germany

Brexit and higher education?

Preliminary results pilot study:

• In UK :– Major worries about recruitment of EU staff

– Major worries about recruitment of EU students

– Major worries about future of EU funding of research at UK universities

• On Continent:– Major worries about research cooperation

– Moderate worries about educational cooperation (Erasmus+)

– Minor worries about recruitment of UK staff

– Expected increase in recruitment of UK students

European countries and higher education?

Five European Higher Education Regions:

1. United Kingdom and Ireland (70 Million inhabitants)

2. Germany (80 million inhabitants)

3. Eight countries bordering Germany (‚horse shoe‘): Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland (70 million inhabitants)

4. Southern Europe: Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain (190 million inhabitants)

5. Central/Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slowakia (105 million inhabitants)

Shanghai-Ranking (universities in top 100; per region/country)

Year

country/region

2003 2014 2015 2016

USA 58 52 51 50

Germany 5 4 4 3

UK/Ireland 9 8 9 8

„Horse shoe “ 14 18 17 16

Southern

Europe

3 4 4 3

Central/Eastern

Europe

0 0 0 0

Asia 5 3 4 7

Australia/Canada 6 8 8 10

Israel 1 2 2 2

Russia 0 1 1 1

Total 101 100 100 100

Shanghai-Ranking: Field Rankings 2016

European universities in the top 50 (per country)

SCNatural sciences and mathematics

ENGEngineering/

technology and computer sciences

LIFLife and

agriculture sciences

MEDClinical medicine

and pharmacy

SOCSocial sciences

Total

United Kingdom

5 3 6 7 4 25 (10%)

Switzerland 3 2 2 1 1 9 (3.6%)

Netherlands 0 0 1 3 3 7 (2.8%)

Denmark 1 2 1 0 2 6 (2.4%)

Sweden 0 0 1 2 0 3 (1.2%)

Belgium 0 0 1 1 1 3 (1.2%)

Norway 0 0 0 1 0 1 (0.4%)

(‘Horse shoe ‘) (4) (4) (6) (8) (7) (29 / 11.6%)

Germany 2 0 1 0 0 3 (1.2%)

France 2 1 0 0 1 4 (1.6%)

Spain 0 1 0 0 0 1 (0.4%)

Total Europe 13 (26%) 9 (18%) 13 (26%) 15 (30%) 12 (24%) 62 (24.8%)

Country

Grants(% of total = 6350)

% of Grants in universities

Number of universities with >30 ERC Projects

(N=42)

United Kingdom 1339 (21.1%) 94.4% (FP7)93.6% (H2020) 11

Germany 949 (14.9%) 68.4% (FP7)62.2% (H2020) 3

France 754 (11.8%) 20.8% (FP7)22.4% (H2020) 0

Netherlands 595 (9.4%) 88.6% (FP7)91.2% (H2020) 8

Nordic countries 452 (7.2%) 96.9% (FP7)94.7% (H2020) 8

Switzerland 448 (7.1%) 90.2% (FP7)82.5% (H2020) 4

Israel 354 (5.6%) 98.3% (FP7)100% (H2020) 4

European Research Council (2007-2017)

1. The University of Cambridge (UK) 114 + 60 = 174 (+ 11 SAG)

2. The University of Oxford (UK) 104 + 52 = 156 (+ 15 SAG)

3. University College London (UK) 73 + 43 = 116 (+ 06 SAG)

4. Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (Switzerland) 81 + 33 = 114 (+ 15 SAG)

5. ETH Zürich (Switzerland) 82 + 30 = 112 (+ 09 SAG)

6. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) 70 + 29 = 99 (+ 05 SAG)

7. Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) 71 + 24 = 95 (+ 23 SAG)

8. Universiteit van Amsterdam/Acad. Med. Centr. (Neth.) 43 + 40 = 83 (+ 02 SAG)

9. Imperial College of Science, Technology and Med. (UK) 59 + 20 = 79 (+ 08 SAG)

10. The University of Edinburgh (UK) 42 + 34 = 76 (+ 02 SAG)

11. Københavns Universitet (Denmark) 33 + 31 = 64 (+ 03 SAG)

12. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) 44 + 20 = 64 (+ 03 SAG)

13. Universiteit Leiden/Leids Univ. Medisch Centrum (Neth.) 42 + 20 = 62 (+ 06 SAG)

14. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany) 36 + 26 = 62 (+ 01 SAG)

15. Universiteit Utrecht/Universitair Medisch Centr. (Neth.) 37 + 24 = 61 (+ 06 SAG)

16. Tel Aviv University (Israel) 26 + 33 = 59 (+ 02 SAG)

17. Technische Universiteit Delft (The Netherlands) 28 + 27 = 55 (+ 07 SAG)

18. Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (Netherlands) 38 + 15 = 53 (+ 05 SAG)

19. University of Bristol (UK) 36 + 17 = 53 (+ 03 SAG)

20. Technische Universität München (Germany) 25 + 27 = 52 (+ 05 SAG)

21. University of Helsinki (Finland) 29 + 22 = 51 (+ 01 SAG)

22. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen/AZ Groningen (Neth.) 31 + 19 = 50 (+ 06 SAG)

23. Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (Israel) 33 + 14 = 47 (+ 09 SAG)

24. Universität Zürich (Switzerland) 32 + 14 = 46 (+ 02 SAG)

25. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands) 31 + 14 = 45 (+ 11 SAG)

Most successful universities in competition for ERC funding

HE policy issues per region: United Kingdom

Higher Education and Research Act (passed 27 April 2017)

• Key components of this Act:o Introduction of a new regulatory body for English higher education, the

Office for Students (responsible for quality standards, new entry to providers, university status/degree-awarding power).

o Teaching Excellence Framework (to be reviewed 2019, to be tied to fee increases after 2020)

o Accelerated (2-year) degrees

o Formation of UK Research and Innovation (an umbrella body that will oversee the distribution of £6bn of research funding annually)

HE policy issues per region: Germany

Excellence Initiative in University sector

Aim: enhance system diversity and institutional profiling

Means:

• Stimulating development of (federal) German elite universities

• Stimulating development of excellent disciplinary clusters (at least 2 universities involved)

Challenge: • Limited funds

• Tensions between federal and state level

HE policy issues per region

Eight countries bordering Germany (‘horseshoe’)

Common policy issues:• Strengthening quality of higher education

• HE system structure (enhancing diversity)

• Linking public funding to institutional performance

• Internationalization

Special case: Finland

• Economic crisis/Innovation crisis: cutbacks on HE and university research

HE policy issues per region

Southern Europe

France: • High drop-out and low throughput levels at Bachelor level

• Low status and quality of universities

Spain:• University reforms and budget cuts

Italy: • ‘Brains on the run’

Portugal: • Strong economic recovery and new investments in higher education

HE policy issues per region

Central/Eastern Europe

Post communist period:• Higher education low priority in public governance reforms

• Massive migration of students and staff to Western Europe (and elsewhere)

• Universities in general poorly equipped, politicized, and ineffectively governed and organized

Special cases:Hungary: closing down of Central European University (CEU)

Poland: government has more or less ‘given up’ on reforming universities

Where is Europe heading?

• Germany emerged as political and economic leader; but

struggling to reform its HE system

• France in need of intense public sector reforms, incl. higher

education; will Macron deliver?

• Will United Kingdom maintain its place as Europe’s leading HE

country?

• Will Europe be able to save Italy from collapsing?

• Will Central/Eastern European countries (finally) be able to

modernize their HE systems?

Some positive reflections….

• A number of ‘horseshoe’ countries (esp. Denmark, the Netherlands, and

Switzerland) score extremely well on various university productivity

indicators, such as research output, attractiveness for top academic and

highly talented students, relationship to industry and public sector agencies

• The EU funding programs for research (Horizon2020) have a very positive

effect on the room to maneuver and competitiveness of European

universities

• Brexit has already had a positive impact on the willingness of Europe’s

political leaders to look for a new niche (incl. wrt HE) in the new global world

order, e.g. talks under leadership of Germany to strengthen HE & research

cooperation with China.

Thank you very much for your attention!

peter.maassen@iped.uio.no

Research Group:Expert cultures and institutional dynamics: Studies in higher education and work (ExCID)(https://www.uv.uio.no/english/research/groups/excid/)