European policy developments
January 2013
In the first half of 2013, Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Ensuring sustainable growth and jobs is the overall aim of the Irish Presidency. Education is to support this effort. The ‘social dimension’ of higher education and improved access to higher education, especially for students from less privileged backgrounds and non-traditional learners, will be a key concern. Ireland will work towards achieving the EU headline target of a 40% tertiary graduation rate among the 30-34 year-olds by 2020.
The European Commission has decided in favour of Austria’s request to further extend the moratorium on the quotas for foreign students who want to enrol in medical studies within the country. With the decision, legal action against Austria and the French Community of Belgium is de facto suspended until December 2016.
German higher education institutions can receive up to € 250,000 per year from a new DAAD programme aimed at strengthening their international profile. A first selection round has produced 21 projects which will be funded for a maximum of four years. The programme supports these projects in building up strategic partnerships and thematic networks with foreign universities. Higher education institutions from 29 countries are involved in the selected projects.
The UK government takes action to help realise the “untapped” potential of the offshore education exports industry. The British Council will work closely with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and UKTI under the same brand banner of Education UK to further new market opportunities offshore.
On 9 January, the Government of Scotland announced that Scottish students studying at a university elsewhere in Europe will be able to benefit from the same bursary and loan support system as students attending Scottish universities. This support is going to be established as a pilot programme, that will start in the 2014-2015 academic year. About 250 students will be able to benefit from it.