ESU is currently enjoying a sense of satisfaction with a ‘job well done’ at the end of a month which has seen an almost unprecedented level of activity in and around our Brussels headquarters. The publication of our Bologna with Student Eyes 2009 report is in itself a major triumph; the only independent, stakeholder perspective on the Bologna Process published this year, and a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of the progress with the Process to date.
It gets better – the inclusion of a 20% target for balanced mobility across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in the Leuven Communiqué at the end of the Bologna Process Ministerial Conference is a major success for ESU coming after two years of campaigning. ESU had launched the target in a speech celebrating two decades of Erasmus and had been pushing for it to be adopted by as a firm commitment by European countries ever since. Furthermore, the renewed and strengthened commitment of Ministers to the social dimension reflects the effectiveness with which the student voice made its voice heard in the context of the negotiations.
Progress has been made with the Process: the emphasis on quality assurance as a priority in ensuring transparency and the renewed commitment of Ministers in ensuring that higher education remains a public good and responsibility with a focus on public financing of higher education are important steps in the right direction.
Of course this is all just paper and the hard work now begins to translate that into a better reality for European students.
|
