University/business can beat brain drain
The EU needs a strategic alliance between academia and business in order to address its damaging brain drain to other regions of the world. This is the message delivered by Arnaldo Abruzzini, general secretary of Eurochambres, at the European...
The EU needs a strategic alliance between academia and business in order to address its damaging brain drain to other regions of the world.
This is the message delivered by Arnaldo Abruzzini, general secretary of Eurochambres, at the European University/Business Forum held recently in Brussels.
Mr Abruzzini stressed the need for managers and entrepreneurs to be involved in the decision-making bodies of higher-education centres.
"Opening the governance structure of universities to the world of business is a key element in order to allow them to compete worldwide," he said.
"The idea is not to manage educational institutions like enterprises but to improve the mutual understanding and create synergies between two worlds that remain too far apart."
Incorporating more business people in academic decision-making bodies could also enhance the focus on employability in educational curricula.
"Employers don't think in terms of qualifications, but in terms of competences: it is therefore crucial that education centres provide students with skills that are in line with real business needs," Eurochambres said.
"Labour market success, i.e. the timeframe and percentage of students finding a job after graduation, should be used as an indicator, among others, to rank the performance of university programmes."
This is the message delivered by Arnaldo Abruzzini, general secretary of Eurochambres, at the European University/Business Forum held recently in Brussels.
Mr Abruzzini stressed the need for managers and entrepreneurs to be involved in the decision-making bodies of higher-education centres.
"Opening the governance structure of universities to the world of business is a key element in order to allow them to compete worldwide," he said.
"The idea is not to manage educational institutions like enterprises but to improve the mutual understanding and create synergies between two worlds that remain too far apart."
Incorporating more business people in academic decision-making bodies could also enhance the focus on employability in educational curricula.
"Employers don't think in terms of qualifications, but in terms of competences: it is therefore crucial that education centres provide students with skills that are in line with real business needs," Eurochambres said.
"Labour market success, i.e. the timeframe and percentage of students finding a job after graduation, should be used as an indicator, among others, to rank the performance of university programmes."