The connection between the Greek educational system, as a key pillar of development and broader perspective and Innovation and Entrepreneurship were explored at this international conference, organised on the 28th of February by theEconomist Events, Microsoft Hellas and the British Council under the auspices of the Ministry of Education at “Nikos Skalkotas” Hall at the Athens Concert Hall.
Speakers with specialist knowledge and experience examined the role and position of education in relation to the labour market in light of a number of factors, including the current financial crisis, institutional and technological developments,available infrastructure and societal needs that currently define both the Greek and international reality.
In the context of the conference, guest-speakers presented a number of successful practices from the educational sector that could help Greece in facing the challenges of the 21st century as well as strategic planning guidelines in order to develop new skills, in the midst of the uncertainty caused by the political and economic climate of our era.
The conference was formally opened by the Minister of Education, Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos, with expert international contributors from Microsoft USA andPortugal, the British Council, JA-YE Europe,Strathclyde Business School, theInternational Centre for Mobility and Cooperation Finland, OECD, Manchester Science Parks Limited, Imagine Education and Edutech Associates from the United Kingdom, and theEpson Europe BV.
High level speakers from Greece added their ideas to the discussion while distinguished academics expressed their views on Innovation in Education and Entrepreneurship. Presentations were also given by representatives of theInEdu, the Eurobank group, the Corallia Hellenic Technology Cluster Initiative and the Openfund.
Conference attendance was by invitation only.
“We want to connect the tertiary education map with the developmental map of our country” the Minister of Education said in his opening speech. “The majority of university departments as well as departments of technological institutes were established arbitrarily in small and medium-size towns. They did not follow any plans for local or regional development. It was more a PR exercise between some ‘ambitious’ university teachers, who wanted to become heads of a department, and local authorities, who wanted to boost local economies by hosting a second or even third class tertiary education school which would never offer quality education to its students due to limited resources and lack of infrastructure. The Ministry’s priorities are to evaluate courses, infrastructure and human resources and act accordingly.”
The minister was aware of the fact that local communities would resist and press but looked determined to proceed with the government’s plans to redesign the educational map of the country and make sure that skills and competences acquired in higher education are appropriate to the needs of the economy.
“Our budget can only support 15 from the 25 universities we have.” Mr Stylianides said.
This not only means a new approach to funding, but also a need for innovation and cultural change: providers will need a growing appreciation of the requirements in the workplace;
· to provide and adapt courses swiftly in response to demand;
· to offer provision tailored to individual business;
· and make it accessible in ways that suit employers and students.
In such a case regulatory barriers that are preventing a level playing field for Higher Education providers of all types, including further education colleges and other alternative providers will be removed. In line with this, it will be made easier for new providers to enter the sector. The title ‘university’ will be reviewed.
Under this new scheme existing universities will be asked:
· to look again at how they work with business across their teaching and research activities, to promote better teaching, employer sponsorship, innovation and enterprise;
· to improve and expand the information available to prospective students, making available much more information about individual courses at individual institutions and graduate employment prospects.
The rest of the conference’s sessions mainly focused on skills development and strategy in education, the role of new technologies, entrepreneurship as well on best practices from Greece and abroad. Key-note speakers from home and abroad shared their knowledge and experience with the audience, which primarily consisted of high-level representatives from Ministries from Greece and abroad, academics, experts from the lifelong learning field, business, NGOs, public and private institutions, local and foreign media.
Anastasia Spyropoulou
(anastasia@eltnews.gr)
