4th EUA Convention of European Higher Education Institutions
Europe's universities beyond 2010 - diversity with a common purpose
29-31 March 2007, Lisbon, Portugal
Hosted by the Portuguese Rectors' Conference, the University of Lisbon, the Technical University of Lisbon, the Catholic University, the New University of Lisbon and the Open University.
Building on the Glasgow Convention and Declaration
(2005) in which EUA highlighted the importance of strong, autonomous and accountable universities if the ambitious policy goals set for Europe are to be met, the Convention in Lisbon represented an opportunity for European university leaders and partners to take stock of progress made since then and articulate their own vision for the future beyond 2010.
The Convention resulted in a Declaration targeted at EUA members, governments and other stakeholders, to be presented to the next Bologna Ministerial meeting in London and widely disseminated to policy makers at national and European level. It will form the basis of EUA’s agenda for the coming years but more importantly as the title suggests, set out how European universities view their development post 2010.
Objectives
The focus of the convention was not only on major issues facing universities from a European perspective but also on balancing cooperation and competition internationally, thus reflecting both latest developments in the Bologna Process and at EU level, as demonstrated, for example, by the launch of the European Research Council and the proposal to establish a European Institute of Technology.
Some of the main questions to be addressed were:
- How to respond to global competition while maintaining a commitment to access and social cohesion?
- How to balance increased mission diversification, an emphasis on excellence and greater competition with enhanced inter-institutional cooperation based on a shared commitment to quality?
- How to work towards more sustainable institutional funding by exploring more diversified funding streams, in particular through combined public/private funding and the development full economic cost models?
- How to adapt governing structures, improve leadership and management competence so as to increase efficiency, but also creativity and innovative capacity?
Discussions were based on the results of the latest TRENDS V report as well as on the outcomes of EUA’s most recent conferences focusing on: building research strategies (Uppsala, October 2005), prmoting regional innovation (Brno, October 2006) and diversifying institutional funding streams (Hamburg, March 2006)