Universities & Society: Engaging Stakeholders

The Marseille conference will be the first in a series of three EUA conferences in 2004 which will focus on the social relevance of higher education and research for the development of a European knowledge society. Outcome of the discussions in Marseille will be used as the foundation for the next two EUA conferences which will examine respectively academic values (Torino, June 2004) and the role of research training in Europe (Maastricht, October 2004).

Social relevance of education and research requires that universities open up and improve their dialogue with society and stakeholders. This entails that universities widen and expand their partnerships in a number of different ways, through strengthening their strategic alliances with other universities, intensifying the engagement of their students and learners and developing diverse links with a variety of external stakeholders.

The main objective of this conference is to explore how, through closer engagement with stakeholders (employers, industry, governments), universities are changing in the light of increased pressures to respond better and faster to societal needs.

While the conference will focus primarily on the role of the university within its local, regional and/or national context, discussions will also take account of how these partnerships relate to alliances formed in the wider European and international environments to underline the complex and overlapping circles in which each institution is situated, the strategic choices required given limited resources, and the different ways to meet priorities.

This will also allow discussions to focus on the often paradoxical but parallel imperatives for higher education involving:

• On the one hand, greater competition within the sector, market pressures, declining or stagnating public funding support, globalisation, and the pressure to contribute to economic and social development and innovation.
• On the other hand, the need to promote social cohesion, access, cooperation and solidarity.

The opening plenary sessions will focus upon presenting general trends and comparative analyses in relation to three key issues relevant for university leaders in working together with different groups of stakeholders, namely:

• Ways of working with partners in a variety of regional contexts (Professor John Goddard, University of Newcastle)
• The impact of involving stakeholders in traditional university governance structures (Professor Jean-Pierre Contzen, Lisbon/UNU Tokyo)
• Different perspectives of the much used and often misinterpreted concept of 'employability' across Europe (Professor Ulrich Teichler, Universität Kassel).

Based on these keynote presentations, the first round of working group sessions will provide participants with the opportunity to learn from the examples of concrete institutional case studies. Six university leaders from a variety of different settings across Europe (Marseille and its Euro-Mediterranean partnership, the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, the cities of Aveiro, Darmstadt, Novi Sad and Wroclaw) will introduce their strategies for engaging stakeholders in governance, research and education activities in their very different local environments.

On the second day of the conference, the same six working groups will move on to looking more closely at stakeholder links and partnerships. The groups will examine three themes: Gaining external and internal support, Responding to specific local needs, Creating a vibrant regional community, questioning what this means in terms of possible changes and adaptations in university governance and management structures.

The overall goal will be to highlight, in a very pragmatic way, obstacles and success factors which will be useful to conference participants in considering their own future strategic options. The final plenary session will bring in the viewpoint of students, industry, and the European Investment Bank that is becoming increasingly engaged in supporting education, research and development projects across Europe.