BFUG WORK ON THE VISION AND THEMATIC PRIORITIES FOR THE POST-2020 PERIOD
Summary of the current state of play (June 2019)

I. Previous activities

1. Objectives formulated by Working Group 3 for policy development for the new EHEA objectives (2015-2018)

During the preparations for the Paris Ministerial Conference, Working Group 3, taking into account the Yerevan Communiqué and the ‘Revised Bologna Process’, proposed to focus on six themes in the future:
1. promoting active and responsible citizens,
2. linking the EHEA and the ERA (European Research Area),
3. using digital technologies,
4. supporting students from non-traditional backgrounds,
5. increasing support for teachers,
6. improving the recognition of professional qualifications.

2. Paris Communiqué (2018)

In Paris, ministers agreed that the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) should play a much more significant role (especially in the future) and asked the BFUG to prepare proposals for 2020 that could support the EHEA's commitment to the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

 Beyond 2020 – a more ambitious EHEA

The EHEA has proven its role as a unique framework for higher education cooperation in Europe. To further develop the EHEA, we will intensify interdisciplinary and cross-border cooperation and develop inclusive and innovative approaches to learning and teaching.
We call on the BFUG to submit proposals for our meeting in 2020 to enable higher education to fully play its role in addressing the challenges facing our societies.
We will support and expand integrated transnational cooperation in higher education, research and innovation, with a view to increasing the mobility of staff, students and researchers and increasing the number of joint degree programmes across the EHEA. We note with interest the recent EU initiative on “European Universities” and will encourage all our higher education institutions to work within this new framework. We commit to developing the role of higher education in ensuring a sustainable future for our planet and our societies, and to finding ways in which we, as EHEA ministers, can contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals at global, European and national levels.

II. Work undertaken by the BFUG in 2018–2019   

In undertaking the tasks set out in the Paris Communiqué, the current BFUG 4 began its work by conducting an online survey among its members, followed by the development and approval of an ‘Action Plan’ that outlines the steps to be taken in the period leading up to the next ministerial conference, to be held in Rome in June 2020. The overall objective is to outline proposals for ‘post-2020 governance and thematic priorities’ through broad consultation and deliberation.

1. Online survey and its results
An online survey was conducted in October 2018 under the auspices of the co-chairs of the previous BFUG 3 from Austria and Switzerland.

The questionnaire proposed six priorities (key commitments) put forward by the previous BFUG 3 working group:

Promoting active and responsible citizenship
Connecting the EHEA and ERA (European Research Area)
Using digital technologies
Supporting students from non-traditional backgrounds
Increasing support for teachers
Improving the recognition of professional qualifications

According to the opinions expressed, the first five of the six topics were considered priorities, while the sixth topic, ‘Improving the recognition of professional qualifications’, received fewer responses (only around 10). Many other suggestions were also made, which can be grouped under the following headings:

innovation in learning and teaching (L&T),
fundamental/core values,
mobility.

It was emphasised that ‘implementing key commitments’ should always be a priority, and if new ‘key commitments’ are identified in the future, this will not mean that the current ones can be ignored.

2. Conclusions from the BFUG meeting in Bucharest (April 2019)
Based on the results of the survey, but also with a view to stimulating innovative reflection on the future needs of learners and society, the organisers of the BFUG meeting in Bucharest presented a ‘concept note’; to make the discussion more fruitful, the meeting participants were divided into four groups and each group was asked to discuss the following points and present their findings:

1. What major changes/improvements in higher education will be necessary for universities to fulfil their fundamental societal role in 2030?
   Which of these changes/improvements can be implemented or supported within the EHEA?
   How many of these changes have already been addressed in some way in existing EHEA commitments? What might be the key priorities for the future?

   The responses have been grouped into seven areas covering the following topics:

The social role of higher education

• One of the fundamental social roles of universities is to defend freedom of speech and thought and to promote/defend valuable ideas and fundamental values. In a world saturated with false and misleading information, universities must continue to show how to critically evaluate information and seek the truth.
• Universities should act as drivers of community or regional development by strengthening ties with their communities and support bases and promoting values such as civic engagement and democracy. By promoting debate and training future generations of leaders and researchers, they should become more flexible and responsive to the ecosystem.
• Universities should become regional centres of excellence, as they can provide expertise in many fields. Universities also have a duty to contribute to anticipating future skills needs, and more, by combining education and research.
• Knowledge should be viewed in a context that includes ethical dimensions. The broader role of education in shaping character and transmitting values, rather than just content, should always be taken into account.
• A public good model should be implemented, meaning that universities should adopt a broader agenda that ensures public engagement in teaching, innovation and all sectors of higher education activity. Universities should work to increase public understanding of their role and importance and demonstrate that they do indeed deliver benefits to society.
• Sustainable education can help us prepare for the future and contribute to greater environmental awareness and responsibility.
• In order to meet the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, universities will need to take specific measures in terms of foresight and planning: on the technical side, this will require the knowledge and skills needed in a world that is increasingly dependent on robotics and artificial intelligence, but also measures to address the risk of dehumanisation. Higher education should ensure that new technological advances fulfil their potential to meet the basic needs of all people on the planet.
• University graduates are important: as they represent higher education institutions in society, they should be valued and included in the academic community.
• The priority of research activities should be to have a positive impact on society.

Accessibility of higher education

• The social dimension of higher education has been included in the Bologna Communiqués since 2001, but concrete progress has proved illusory. Full access to higher education has not yet been achieved, and Bologna has an important role to play in this regard. The definition of guidelines for the social dimension of higher education should facilitate positive change.
• If universities are to fulfil their fundamental social role, they must be able to provide the necessary opportunities to all learners (taking into account age, level of education and specific needs), while guaranteeing quality and enjoying public trust.
• Accessibility should not be seen solely in relation to socio-economic ethnic groups, people with different abilities and representatives of national minorities, but also in relation to different age groups and multinational and cross-border groups. Universities must promote social and gender equality. This means not only equal access for men and women, but also a different gender balance in the choice of subjects, for example by promoting greater access for women to scientific and technological fields. A more accessible education system should also be created for non-traditional learners and under-represented groups.
• Universities should focus on the needs of all learners by providing, for example, more flexible and diverse programmes and methodologies.
• We need a new way of thinking about the social dimension – a holistic approach. In order to take a holistic view of future needs in terms of accessibility and equality, we cannot limit ourselves to higher education: selection already takes place at primary and secondary school level, if not earlier, and those who want to and are admitted to higher education do not represent the social, economic or ethnic composition of our societies. We cannot exclude young people from higher education for socio-economic reasons: all talents should be harnessed to help solve the range of problems facing our societies today! At the same time, we must take into account not only academic aspects, but also other aspects of student life, such as medical care and social assistance.
• Not only immigrants and refugees deserve special attention, but also all foreign students.

Innovative, flexible and appropriate ways of learning and teaching

• The educational role of universities – their role as organisers and implementers of learning processes – should be strengthened, and the value and importance of teaching and teachers in preparing them for their tasks in student-centred higher education should be recognised and appreciated. Research-based learning should be a priority.
• In order for universities to improve their capabilities, it is necessary to enhance the skills of professors as facilitators of learning processes – there could be a common framework for training teachers in a learner-centred system or an online platform for their training. Teaching should be properly recognised as part of an academic career and taken into account in promotion pathways.
• Academic programmes that train school teachers are hugely important because they can potentially influence the entire education system. In order to improve higher education systems in terms of quality and accessibility, we should pay more attention to what is happening at the pre-university level.
• Flexibility will be the key word and must be viewed in different ways: programmes should be more flexible in order to adapt to social changes and greater student diversity. As the skills needed in the future are difficult to define (uncertain), higher education will need to be able to adapt quickly and develop a broad spectrum of competences (such as critical and analytical thinking, creativity and the ability to organise one's own learning) that will be essential in the future.
• It is likely that in the future people will be employed by different employers, which may result in the need to supplement their qualifications by participating in training courses where knowledge is provided in ‘small portions’ in the form of specific modules or short programmes that enrich their current knowledge and competences. Therefore, flexible, individualised, targeted and tailor-made learning pathways will need to be implemented in the future. Short-cycle programmes will be an important (new) link in this chain of education, and not only at the initial stage of higher education.
• In order to prepare students for future employment, study programmes will need to be updated frequently, with the involvement of all stakeholders, including students, but also employers and local communities. Study programmes should be developed in line with labour market requirements, with greater emphasis on short-term studies.
• Greater emphasis should be placed on developing soft skills: graduates will need competencies such as creativity, critical thinking and the ability to learn autonomously based on proven and verified facts, flexibility, teamwork and leadership skills, communication skills and digital technology skills. Students should be better prepared for a rapidly changing world.
• There are many alternative providers of educational services, which are becoming increasingly visible and accessible; this means that universities must adapt to the new reality by changing their own programmes. Meanwhile, greater emphasis should be placed on detecting, prohibiting and preventing any dishonesty and fraud in this area, both by learners and by the authorities.
  The quality of teaching and learning is the main objective.
• Quality assurance mechanisms may limit flexibility in programme design/may constitute a barrier to innovation in programme design. This contradiction should be addressed by reviewing current regulations, standards and guidelines to ensure that quality assurance mechanisms are consistent with requirements/helpful in responding to new and diverse types of requirements.

Lifelong learning

• In this period of rapid change, it is very likely that learning will indeed become lifelong. This means that people who have completed a single course of study, as has been the case until now, will not be able to expect to be employed for life on a single career path.
• In this period of rapid change, it is very likely that learning will indeed become lifelong. This means that people who have completed a single course of study, as has been the case until now, will not be able to expect to be employed for life on a single career path.
• There is a need to raise awareness among learners that completing their studies does not mean the end of their learning: they must be prepared to become autonomous, self-guided learners. They need to understand the importance of continuous learning and training rather than one-off learning/training followed by employment.
• Bologna has created a common framework for comparing systems, and since continuing education and lifelong learning are now highly valued everywhere, it is urgent to examine whether and how existing comparative tools can be used or adapted in this new context. If they are not suitable, new tools must be developed.
• Higher education concerns not only universities, but also other institutions providing continuing education. Teaching and learning are changing: blended courses, online courses, etc. are becoming increasingly common. Digitalisation is starting to play an increasingly important role. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) should carefully consider how to maintain high quality in all forms of education and training.
• As the landscape of higher education changes, so too will qualifications and their recognition. Which qualifications will be recognised? In this regard, it will most likely be necessary to adapt or amend the current Bologna tools.

Digitalisation

• Digitalisation has become a reality and should be used not only to improve learning and teaching (L&T) processes, but also for administration and student mobility.
• We must pay attention to new approaches to learning and teaching and to exploiting the benefits of digitisation without the risk of standardisation.
• Digitalisation should not change the deepest premise of higher education, which is its human dimension. We are in the midst of a digital revolution. In this area, Bologna has not been very bold so far. Connected campuses could be our opportunity to make a difference in the global market, but in order to take advantage of the potential offered by digitisation, quality assurance principles and practices would need to be updated.

Internalisation and mobility

• In this area, the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) should continue to set quantitative targets and even increase the mobility target above 20%. Rules should be developed to encourage and facilitate incoming mobility.
• Funding for student mobility should also be increased. A large number of students do not participate in mobility programmes because their economic situation does not allow it. In the future, we should develop a solution to this problem, as it is important both at the level of the European Union (EU) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
• Internationalisation of education programmes (especially at the EHEA level) – promoting joint degrees and joint education programmes could be a priority. In many countries, it is still difficult to accredit joint degrees in the European Union, and the proposed solution was to create an agency to evaluate these programmes. Initiatives taken by European universities should help to further address these issues. In this context, innovation in learning and teaching should remain a goal.
• Joint supervision of doctoral theses should be encouraged. This already exists to a certain extent, but it should continue to be promoted, as presenting different ways of approaching problems and seeking solutions is a key advantage of such activities.

Management and autonomy

• Academic freedom and integrity, institutional autonomy, participation of students and academic staff in the governance of higher education, and public accountability for higher education form the backbone of the EHEA (Paris Declaration).
• There is a need to incorporate the issue of funding into the Bologna Process. This issue has been raised before, but without success. Although funding is an internal matter for each country, it is also an important element of higher education and, as such, cannot be ignored. If we want to improve accessibility, we must talk about funding. Ensuring the long-term adequacy and diversity of university funding sources is a priority.

Following the successful implementation of the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG), directives on academic freedom and institutional autonomy should be developed at the EHEA level, thereby supporting universities in fulfilling their key tasks.