European Competitiveness and the role of research, innovation and education

European Competitiveness

Honourable faculty,

Esteemed students,

Distinguished guests,

Dear friends,

It is a real pleasure for me to be with you today at Technische Universität Berlin to speak to students, staff and researchers from four renowned universities, here in the capital of Germany.

I am particularly pleased about this opportunity for a dialogue with you, as Technische Universität, Freie Universität, Humboldt Universität and Hertie School are all deeply engaged in supporting the European Education and the European Research Areas and in providing ever better opportunities to students and researchers — with a strong European perspective.

My main message to you today is that I support you, that the European Commission supports you. And I will give you concrete examples for what we already do and what we are planning.

We see you – students, researchers, professors, our higher education institutions – as critical for a good future of our society and economy, for Europe. You therefore have a high responsibility. But you also have the fascinating opportunity to help shape our future – for the better.

The European university has a long history and tradition. It embodies core values of our civilisation, of our democracy, of science, and of dialogue.

I really like the word “dialogue”. When you look at its Greek etymology, it could be translated as “an exchange of views based on reason”.

This exchange based on reason is probably at the core of all academic engagement. It is also what we need more at a time of increased and sometimes extreme polarisation in our societies. We need the tolerance for diversity. We need tolerance for different views. And we need a discourse based on reason and moderation.

Supporting this dialogue in our societies is certainly one of the contributions that I would expect from you, from our universities in Europe.

But our societies face many other challenges that we will only be able to address with the help of our higher education institutions and the research community.

I already mentioned the polarisation in our society, the challenges to our democracy from fake news, disinformation, and negative foreign interference. We are also grappling with the climate and digital transitions, with Russia's war against Ukraine, with the risks of new pandemics, ageing societies, with the reform of our energy systems, with high energy prices, and with fundamental challenges to our competitiveness.

Research and innovation will play a key role in addressing these challenges by providing concrete solutions, such as the COVID vaccine that could be produced so quickly because of many, many years of European support to research in the area of MRNA technology.

But there is a more fundamental point: our investment in research and development as well as the quality of education are vital for our innovation capacity itself and for our future prosperity.

And also here, we need you. We need students who are eager to progress. We need researchers who can do the work. But we also need the right conditions you as students and researchers to prosper and to see a personal and professional perspective in a career in higher education and research.

We are putting these conditions in place through the European Strategy for Universities. It is based on a simple principle: as our current challenges defy boundaries not only between countries but also between subjects and disciplines, higher education institutions need to work closer together. And we are giving them the means to do so.

How? A prime example is the European Universities initiative. And I am proud to see that all four universities which are represented here are part of an alliance.

These alliances foster joint programmes and mobility. They enrich the educational experience with diverse skills, and they promote understanding across cultures.

This bottom-up approach has already led to the creation of 50 European Universities alliances, with a goal to expand to 60 alliances involving 500 institutions.

These alliances are not just about academic collaboration - they are deeply integrated with our broader goal of enhancing Europe's innovative capacity and competitive edge.

And we make sure that this crucial initiative can work with strong funding, with alliances receiving up to EUR 14.4 million over four years.

And the strategy is working. Let me give you a couple of examples of how the alliances are putting the strategy into action:

1. The European Education Pathways, developed by the Enhance alliance with the Technische Universität as a member, are helping students in gaining recognition for their diverse educational experiences.
2. UNA Europa, the alliance of Freie Universität Berlin, is working on a micro-credential programme that addresses the urgent need for sustainability skills in the labour market.
3. Circle-U, the alliance of the Humboldt Universität, exemplifies the strategy's aim to connect higher education with industry and innovation ecosystems, preparing students to bridge the gap between academia and practical application.

These examples fill me with hope. It is this cooperation – between higher education institutions, across disciplinary boundaries and across education and innovation communities – that will make Europe the innovation powerhouse that we need to become.

But we are not stopping there. In the coming weeks, we will present another building block of the European Education Area, a blueprint for a European Degree.

This initiative is designed to facilitate voluntary cooperation among institutions, simplifying processes and laying the groundwork for a more interconnected and robust European higher education system.

We will support the degree with proposals for a European quality assurance and recognition system – vital to building trust in joint education programmes – and on attractive academic careers in higher education – designed to support our highly skilled and motivated academic professionals.

On the research side, we already have a European framework for research careers, adopted by the Member States in December. Its main objective is to make sure that Europe can attract scientific talent and retain it here.

We have also made strides in further supporting learning mobility. In November, we proposed new measures with the “Europe on the move” initiative. They will make mobility experiences the norm - an integral, accessible, and inclusive part of European education.

You are a part of this effort. Your activities already serve as a shining example to others.

As we navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead, your engagement but also your feedback is invaluable to my work at the level of the European Union.

Together, let's shape a future that reflects our shared aspirations for Europe.

I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these issues.

Thank you.