Universities express fears over planned European Institute of Technology

Citation

(2006), "Universities express fears over planned European Institute of Technology", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2006.00448fab.007

Universities express fears over planned European Institute of Technology

Universities express fears over planned European Institute of Technology

The planned European Institute of Technology may “cream off” the best researchers currently working in top European universities, says the European University Association. It fears that the new institute will cause greater fragmentation rather than the hoped-for synergy to boost European research.

But Mr Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Education and Training, told the European Parliament committee on culture and education that the institute would not be financed to the detriment of existing institutions. “The goal is excellence from which everyone will gain,” he said, stressing the importance of collaboration not only with the worlds of education and research, but also with European businesses. “The centres of excellence are there but they are not sufficiently interlinked to have a positive impact on the European economy,” he commented. The institute should “work in a transparent manner, with maximum flexibility, and provide impetus for existing institutions”.

Mr Figel said that funding for the institute should come not only from the EU but also directly from the member states, as well as from European regions and public institutions. But he admitted that many questions remained unanswered regarding the financing of the institute and intellectual-property rights.

Meanwhile, Conservative Euro-MP Giles Chichester said that proposals for a European Institute of Technology may be “just another example of hopelessly ambitious, unrealistic European ambitions”. He acknowledged in a press release that “no doubt it is a fine aspiration to replicate Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Europe” but ruminated: “Why not build upon what we have rather than try to reinvent the wheel?” However, he also declared that, “ one mitigating factor would be if the suggestion to locate this proposed technology institute in the European Parliament buildings in Strasbourg were taken up”, and continued: “Then we MEPs could stop meeting there and the money saved could help to pay for the institute.”