SAGE project launch event
Roundtable on employability
Brussels, 29th of May 2012
Launch of “Student Advancement of Graduates Employability”
The European Students’ Union (ESU) is inviting stakeholders to participate in a roundtable on employability of higher education in Brussels on 29th of May. With this event, we aim to include a wide range of perspectives to the starting project Student Advancement of Graduates Employability (SAGE).
The aims of SAGE project are to explore the impact of European higher education reforms on how it contributes to enhancing both academic quality and relevance of education for the needs of society and labour market. On the other hand, SAGE is designed to strengthen the capacity of student representatives to take part in setting policy on European, national and regional levels on improving the employability of graduates.
The project combines policy research with active engagement of stakeholders from both national and European level and aims at capacity building of ESU membership, aiming to increase understanding of European integration in higher education and thus empowering stakeholder contributions to evidence based policy making.
Purpose of the event:
- Sharing different perspectives on employability as one of the purposes of higher education
- Exploring common ground among stakeholders about employability
- Providing a space to present different initiatives on how to enhance graduates’ employability
- Gathering input for the reconstruction of the employability policy of ESU
Participants:
Stakeholders of higher education, policy-makers, representatives of the EU member states, experts on the topic of employability and employment, representatives of the national and local unions of students, project partners of SAGE
Date: 29th of May, 2012
Venue: European Parliament (room A3E-2, Altiero Spinelli), Rue Wiertz 60, 1047 Brussels
Registration: At the venue
Draft Agenda:
13.00 – 14.00 Registration at the venue, coffee
14.00 – 14.30 Introduction:
- Welcoming words, Committee on Culture and Education, European Parliament
- Introduction to the roundtable and to the discussion points (Karina Ufert)
- Presentation of SAGE project (Nevena Vuksanovic)
14.30 – 16.45 Employability: How, Who and What?
Chairs: Magnus Malnes, Allan Päll
Invited speakers from stakeholders and experts will be asked to give short inputs ahead of each discussion topic.
Discussion topic I: Different missions of higher education: how to retain the social mission vis-à-vis the relevance of higher education?
Input: Dr. Anne Corbett, Visiting Fellow, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science
Discussion topic II: Employability: whose responsibility is it?
Input (tbc): Ms. Julie Fionda, Policy Officer – Modernisation of Higher Education, European Commission, DG Education and Culture Unit – Higher Education Policy and the Erasmus Programme
Discussion topic III: What are the key steps in relation to relevance of higher education that we must take towards building a sustainable society?
Input: Mr. Juuso Leivonen, Secretary General of the Association of Business Schools in Finland
16.45 – 17.10 Concluding remarks
- Conclusions of the event and recommendations for the steps forward by the rapporteur (Hanna-Stella Haaristo, Analyst, Education Policy, PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies)
- Practical announcements
17.10 – 18.30 Reception
