Josep M. Garrell assumes the presidency of the Association of European Universities (EUA), an organization that brings together the majority of European campuses, from Iceland to Turkey and from Portugal to Russia. Two thirds belong to states of the European Union. "It is a great wealth because they are very different profiles, but also a challenge to find a balance point in the objectives." He enters willing to reassess the 2019 strategic plan that will maintain its essence but that "needs adjustments", after the outbreak of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the decline in the democratic quality of some governments that affects the autonomy of the campuses , or the specific weight loss of the European university system in the world. In this interview he also expresses, from his worldview, the singularities of Spain.
What singularities stands out?
“In Europe, higher education, university studies, Vocational Training (FP) or artistic studies are treated equally, almost always in institutions that are called universities. And there is a university model that does research and another that teaches. In Spain the model is that of the research university. We have just approved a new law, but we should continue along the European line.
What would improve?
We would help to improve the data on dropout if we were able to permeate more university degree studies with higher level training cycles and vice versa. If we put our university professors in contact with professors who are in advanced training cycles, from my point of view it makes no sense that a person who starts in one place but does not want to finish should start from scratch in another. In the Pacte Nacional per a la Societat del Coneixement en Catalunya, in which I participated when I was rector of Ramon Llull, this was the strategy. The problem is that here we distinguish higher education between university and non-university, there is different legislation and different ministries or departments.
FP and artistic teachings are carried out from Education.
Indeed. However, isn't it true that higher education training cycles are more like a university degree than primary school?
At the university, teaching is not as valued as research work.
There are so many people, so many voices that are talking about how this must be compensated for. Andreu Mas-Colell in this same newspaper, without going any further. From the association we are going to recover the political importance of teaching. And continue working for the reform of academic evaluation, both at the institutional level and at the individual level.
Speaking of evaluation, what value do rankings have?
I think the underlying question is who makes the rankings, what do they measure, what use are they made of? In the United States, prestigious faculties have decided not to participate. In the EUA we have created a group to reflect on whether they suit us. You can't run a university thinking about rankings and you can't live behind them either.
How has the war affected universities?
Professors and students, the majority of whom are women, have been welcomed by the European universities, mostly neighboring ones, which, in turn, are concerned about a possible extension of the conflict. We are preparing a return plan for when possible. No one knows how long it will take, if they will decide to come back or stay. Our first responsibility is not to forget them.
The other front is Brexit.
We have a very fluid relationship. We have been working with all 50 British universities to try to mitigate the negative effects of Brexit. The UK is a global knowledge superpower and it is in the best interest of all of us to reach a good partnership agreement. But it is delicate because it cannot be a better agreement than that of countries that belong to the EU. But this has to be solved by politics. On the other hand, the United Kingdom has prepared a plan B, with its own Erasmus. The mere fact that it is a different program, despite pursuing the same objectives, is an added barrier.
The beginning of his mandate coincides with the Spanish presidency of the European Commission. Do they share a schedule?
It is an excellent opportunity to promote certain reforms with its own DNA. Here we are going to see exactly what is the political agenda that the Government of Spain wants to promote.
The President of the Government has already highlighted the objective of building an Ibero-American space.
The fewer barriers we put to the exchange of students and teachers, the better. Now, from Europe we have the experience of building the European Higher Education Area and this is not easy, not easy at all, because the powers are held by the Member States. In this sense, something similar in Latin America would help. We're far away. I believe that, in any case, we should ground the agreements in some concrete and possible steps towards a final objective.
Are European alliances advancing?
The Commission has been visionary, ambitious, innovative in this field. But this is a pilot plan financed for a certain period to see how universities can evolve. The European Commission is supposed to take note of these experiences and learnings. We will be very friends of the Commission, but we will exercise our constructive critical role so that this goes well. On the other hand, the program ends, and then, will it continue? Who will finance them?
Will there be mergers in Europe?
Merging for merging I don't see it. And there are many bureaucratic barriers. If the project is good and is going to benefit the very mission of these entities, it's fine, but the merger processes are costly, even culturally.
Universities want to promote lifelong learning, which is a sector little known to them. Here they do not have a monopoly, as in the bachelor's and master's degrees. It is another student profile, another duration, another format and almost another purpose. With the same teachers.
Training throughout life is an absolute social necessity and the university must respond to this challenge. The model to which we must aspire is that of a person who enters and leaves the university in different formats throughout his life. But it is true that what you are saying is discussed in all European countries with more or less concern, or with more or less desire, or with more or less proactivity. But the university environment is very aware that we will have to do something proactively, and that obviously we will have to design something that is competitive with the offer, because obviously not all this type of training will be of the same quality. Teachers are required to be very aware that they are going to do something completely different. Continuous training is already done in universities, but it is true that what comes upon us is the scale factor.
Will they be official or own titles?
This is very local. In other countries, the official titles are those signed by the university and are accredited. Try to explain that it is a Spanish title in another country.
But it has different prices too.
In a public university, the prices of official degrees are essentially decided by the regional governments. And yet, if you do your own degree, an unofficial degree, then the universities must allocate the cost of the tuition to the student. What are governments going to do with lifelong learning?
How will universities adapt to artificial intelligence?
There is no good or bad technology, because it is the utility that we can give to this technology, as has happened in all humanity. And it is impossible to put doors to the field. There is a difference here, however, ethics. In Europe, many steps have been taken to define what the ethical environment is. This is the way. It is true that the speed of absorption, adaptation and implementation of AI is different from what we experienced before and the power too. European
