Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe
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Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe Policy Report Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services LLP (CSES) September – 2020 Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Directorate G – Research & Innovation Outreach Unit RTD.G2 Contact Stijn DELAURE Email [email protected] [email protected] European Commission B-1049 Brussels Manuscript completed in September 2020. Revised/Corrected/nth edition. This document has been prepared for the European Commission, however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this publication. More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). PDF ISBN 978-92-76-21568-4 doi: 10.2777/510530 KI-03-20-599-EN-N Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020 © European Union, 2020 The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented based on Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated. EUROPEAN COMMISSION Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe Policy Report Lead Authors: Mark Whittle, James Rampton (CSES). Senior Study Experts: Prof. Dr. Marijk van der Wende Conor O'Carroll Peter van der Hijden Dr Marco Masia Thematic Experts: Dr Karen Vandevelde Prof. Dr Sacha Garben Gareth O'Neil Prof. Dr Magnus Klofsten Supporting authors: Anna-Maria Krarup, Elias Nacer, Michaela Brady (CSES) Julia Halej (Coffey) Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 2020 Academic R&I and Research Organisations Table of Contents Foreword 4 List of acronyms and glossary 5 1. Introduction 7 1.1 Study towards a 2030 Vision - introduction ........................................................... 7 1.2 Study objectives and tasks ................................................................................. 8 1.3 Securing the engagement of universities in Europe ................................................ 9 2. EU policy context, role and future challenges of universities 11 2.1 The European Research Area (ERA) and interactions with the European Education Area (EEA) ..................................................................................................... 11 2.2 The university landscape in Europe and role of universities in research and innovation ...................................................................................................... 14 2.3 Future challenges for universities in Europe ........................................................ 18 2.4 Role of the EU in enabling Europe’s universities to flourish by 2030 ....................... 23 3. Moving towards a 2030 Vision 26 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Legal basis for the 2030 Vision .......................................................................... 27 3.3 Vision and objectives ....................................................................................... 28 3.4 Values underpinning the 2030 Vision ................................................................. 30 3.5 Overview of problems hindering the pursuit of the objectives ................................ 31 3.6 From objectives to actions (transformation modules in the field of research and innovation) ..................................................................................................... 33 4. Transformation modules in the field of research and innovation 35 4.1 Introduction – transformation modules as empowering agents of change ............... 35 4.2 TM1: Governance issues for the 2030 Vision and legal framework for university cooperation in research and innovation .............................................................. 35 4.3 TM2: Maintaining trust and research integrity. .................................................... 47 4.4 TM3: A strategic European Research and Innovation agenda: the central role of universities as research actors. ......................................................................... 65 4.5 TM4: Strengthening human capital in universities and working conditions in universities ..................................................................................................... 85 4.6 TM5: Fostering increased knowledge transfer and collaboration between academia and non-academic sectors ................................................................................ 98 4.7 TM6: Knowledge-driven universities in the context of digital changes – the transition to open science (through FAIR and open data) and Open Access ........... 133 4.8 TM7: Optimising universities’ role in research infrastructures. ............................. 147 4.9 Case studies and success stories ..................................................................... 155 5. Towards the implementation of the 2030 Vision for research and innovation 160 5.1 Overview ...................................................................................................... 160 5.2 EU level support for the vision’s implementation ................................................ 161 5.3 National support for the vision’s implementation ............................................... 163 5.4 Implementation tools for universities ............................................................... 163 2 6. Summary of key issues and Strategic Recommendations 167 6.1 Strengthening the contribution of universities to the ERA in the next decade ........ 167 6.2 Strategic recommendations ............................................................................ 168 Annex 1 - Bibliography 177 Annex 2 - Summary of organisations taking part in stakeholder events and / or providing feedback” 188 Annex 3 – Cross-check of ERAC priorities for the revitalised ERA with the TMs 194 Annex 4 - Additional case studies and success stories 196 Tables Table 2-1 - Examples of different types of universities (non-exhaustive) .................................. 16 Table 3-1 - Overview of problems ....................................................................................... 31 Table 4-1 - Transformation modules .................................................................................... 35 Table 5-1 - Examples of support actions and implementation methods at different levels .......... 165 Table 6-1 - Transformation modules and cross-check of links with the ERAC priorities identified by the Member States. ........................................................................................ 194 Figures Figure 2-1 - MORE 3 study – key figures on researchers in Europe .......................................... 18 Figure 2-2 - Share of tertiary education students from abroad by continent of origin, 2017 ........ 21 Figure 3-1 - Legal basis for the 2030 Vision on universities’ role in research and innovation ....... 26 Figure 4-1 - MORE 3 study – interdisciplinary collaboration and intersectoral collaboration by researchers..................................................................................................... 99 Figure 4-2 - Role of quintuple helix model in addressing societal challenges (example – climate change): leveraging the knowledge of different stakeholders ............................... 100 Figure 4-3 - Open Science “Wheel”, describing key Open Science characteristics and indicators (from the Open Science Monitor). ..................................................................... 134 Figure 5-1 - EU legal provisions relevant to the transformation of universities ........................ 162 Boxes Box 4-1 - Examples of challenges in fostering UBC in different EU countries ............................ 105 Box 5-1 - Example of implementation tools – the role of charters and codes ........................... 164 3 Foreword The study assignment, “Towards a 2030 Vision on the Future of Universities in Europe” was commissioned by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD). It was undertaken by the Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services LLP (CSES), supported a team of high-level experts composed of academics and ex-academics. This study is an independent consultancy study report. The report required close consultation with key stakeholders as part of a participatory process. The Vision and transformation modules were developed in liaison with key stakeholders. Two stakeholder workshops took place in Brussels, followed by a validation webinar. There was then further consultation with key university networks. In addition, a Steering Group consisting of different Commission policy units from DG RTD and DG Education and Culture (DG EAC) actively guided and participated in the consultation process through four Steering Group meetings. Its members provided inputs to ensure that existing EU policy and programming initiatives were reflected, given the need to ensure that future EU support builds on current and previous support. Europe’s university landscape comprises more than 5000 universities, and is characterised by its heterogeneity. The Vision provides an enabling,