European university leaders fear the Bologna process is being seen as a mechanism to make Europe "too Europe-centred". At the European University Association's autumn conference in Giessen last week, the leaders were anxious that Europe be viewed by the rest of the global academic community as outward looking and ready to engage with those beyond its shores.

Next year will see the completion of two complementary European reforms: the European Union's Lisbon Strategy and creation of the European Research Area, and second, the Bologna process involving a total of 46 countries across the continent.

EUA President Professor Jean-Marc Rapp told the 300-plus delegates at the conference: "We are convinced that the present wave of internationalisation of higher education in Europe is quite specific due to the impact of the Bologna process and the development of a European Research Area - which are both processes intended to stimulate internationalisation within Europe and beyond."

Rapp emphasised the global context of European higher education and the importance of fostering global dialogue and exchange. "There has been concern in certain parts of the world that the Bologna process could make Europe 'too Europe centred' or that it might seek to 'impose the Bologna model' on other parts of the world," he said.

Professor Stefan Hormuth, President of the German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD, described the internationalisation of European higher education as "one of the great challenges of higher education policy".

Hormuth, who is also President of Justus Liebig University in Giessen, said: "It has never been more important to create cooperation and exchange beyond continents. Mobility is the motor of exchange."

German Rectors' Association President Dr Margret Wintermantel argued that universities had a key role to play in the process of globalisation.

"Higher education and outstanding research results are the key for each individual and for society as a whole when it comes to creating a balance between the opportunities and risks of the globalisation process," Wintermantel said.

Internationalisation had to become a top priority for senior university executives, she added. "It requires professional management at all levels successfully to contribute to the development of a higher education institution."

The HRK has developed an audit tool to assist its member universities develop their institution-specific international role, currently being piloted at six universities.

The conference attracted more than 300 attendants - many of them university presidents and rectors - from 41 countries. Concerned at the continuing trend towards commercialisation of higher education, participants stressed that internationalisation should not only be about "business opportunities and entrepreneurial risks".

Rounding up the two days, Rapp identified a variety of views that had emerged, including the need for universities to be more aware of international issues without, at the same time, neglecting national, regional and European missions

He suggested that while Bologna should be used to stimulate international cooperation outside Europe, this did not mean the Bologna process itself should simply be exported to other regions.

*More on the EUA conference at www.eua.be/events/autumn-conference-2009/home

david.jobbins@uw-news.com



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