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Bologna: an excuse not to be competitive?
Artículo de opinión
Unlike the US, whose higher education system has boomed thanks to a harmonized university system, Europe's growth in this area has been hindered by a lack of transparency, and member states with wildly different tertiary education structures. To counteract this the Bologna Process has a plethora of technical and educational components aimed at achieving convergence in the European university system: standard programme structures; participant-focused training; and the long awaited European Credit Transfer System on required workloads, to name a few.
We are right to be proud of the progress that has been achieved in convergence - because indeed, great leaps forward have been made - but we should bear in mind that it has come about very, very late. We must face the true issues and ask ourselves if we are really talking about convergence or divergence. Let's take a moment to consider that even with all the Bologna measures in place the length of time needed to get an undergraduate degree, for example, will still vary between member states. Under the cloak of discourse on Bologna it is still unknown how the market will react to these differences, even if on paper the degrees are of equal value. All too often it seems that universities and member states can do what they wish as long as they have the courtesy to call it convergence.
Still, perhaps the real implication of Bologna is that, for the first time, academic institutions across Europe will go head-to-head in field of higher education. French eighteen year olds will be able to choose to go to university in Stockholm or 2500 km away in Barcelona, without (in theory) having to worry about whether potential employers will value their studies correctly. And convergence thus far has at least shown the world that we have some standards. The fact we are setting new standards brings new competitors, which in theory, will help us to be more competitive. However, if we are complacent enough to set the standards and then rest on our laurels, letting others win, we are making huge strategic mistakes.
On this topic, are we not still talking about Bologna because we are scared to be associated with the L word, Lisbon? After all Bologna forms part of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, no matter how much bad press the latter has acquired. Similar to other parts of this strategy, it is a case of ‘too little, too late'. We Europeans should have invested twice as much in our higher-education system in order to retain our position on (or even near) the front line. It is almost as if we have decided not to compete with the US and Asia.
Lisbon tells us we should invest in research and this is indeed important, but as universities we should not allow ourselves to be bullied by companies and the media demeaning quality research because it can't be easily digested. While we like to say that ‘all research has an impact' we often fail to ask what kind of impact it has. We should question the relationship between universities and the corporate world is, and must be sure that as education providers we don't belittle ourselves and become solely products for consumption by corporations.
We university deans of this world have rehearsed our official line on Bologna well, yet paradoxically, it appears we still don't really know how to address it. Nevertheless, one thing is clear we can ill afford to use it as an excuse not to be competitive.
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