European platform Higher Education Modernisation

The European Council Resolution (November 2007) clearly recognizes the need to accelerate reforms in HEIs to foster their competitiveness, and explicitly invites Member States to take the necessary measures to enable HEIs to improve their management practices. However, national progress reports on the Lisbon Agenda fail to address the issues of the modernization of Higher Education. In HEIs, not enough progress is made in terms of improved governance, curriculum reforms and contribution to innovation and economic growth; Overall not enough priority is given to the need to invest in people and train them adequately for increasingly complex management positions. A climate must be created to point to the importance of investing in the professionalization of HEIs both at the EU, national and institutional level.

The project aims to create an open European platform as a key instrument for innovation, state-of-the art knowledge, dissemination of good practice and joint action on university leadership, governance and management for the professionalization of the sector.

To reach this aim, the following objectives are foreseen:

• The creation of a European Higher Education Management Community through an innovative web-based community
• A structured review of the supply of management development programmes and their adequacy to the demand
• The creation of a European Portfolio of the Provision (short and long term training) in HEIs and European associations
• New joint actions in the form of peer learning/coaching activities and a regular dialogue with European authorities and all stakeholders
• Communication and Dissemination of information, examples of best/appropriate practice in the form of conferences and reports on five key issues for EU policies and HEI professionalization, i.e. governance, quality assurance, regional innovation, knowledge transfer and internationalisation

All the activities above respond to current priorities in the EHEA and will contribute to raising awareness in European Higher Education Institutions on the strong need to invest in their people, to support potential leaders, and to encourage management training at all levels (junior and senior, academic and administrative staff), with as background the key aim to ensure their competitiveness to respond to external challenges. The project will provide a structured answer to the current fragmentation in the supply of management development training for HEIs, and a much clearer insight of the needs and demands for training by university leaders and managers.