European higher-education area "could boost research"

European higher-education area "could boost research"

Creating a European higher-education area could help to boost EU research and competitiveness, European commissioner Philippe Busquin said at the University of Bologna, Italy. He continued:

Research and education deal with similar problems and have similar objectives. Both aim to make Europe more competitive, boost mobility, ensure quality and promote excellence.

He said that the commission services responsible for research, education and culture had begun to look at ways of building bridges between the two processes,to enable greater coherence between them. Mr Busquin pointed out that many European universities were undergoing profound change, redefining their role and building new links with regional enterprises, and this must be encouraged on a European level.