European Higher Education and Research Area

At the European Council Meeting in Lisbon in March 2000, the EU set itself the target of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of achieving sustainable economic growth, with more and better employment opportunities and greater social cohesion.Universities can contribute to attaining this ambitious goal through the Bologna Process, which aims to consolidate and improve the competitiveness of the European Higher Education and Research Area by:

• improving the quality and effectiveness of EU education and training systems;
• ensuring that they are accessible to all;
• opening up education and training to the wider world;
• the exploitation of research results, also through to industrial cooperation and spin-off companies, which promote synergy with regional and local development.

The creation of a European Higher Education and Research Areas represents a source of both opportunities and challenges for Universities.