The future of European universities: Collaboration and mobility are key

Change is coming for Europe’s universities. A raft of ambitious European Union (EU) initiatives will usher in a period of transformation for institutions across the EU, and with it a more interconnected, open, inclusive and digital research ecosystem.

Through the European Universities Initiative(opens in new tab/window), European University Alliances are pioneering changes that will transform higher education of the future. On the research front, networks and alliances give space to experiment with academic cooperation to collectively tackle grand challenges.

Elsevier’s recent webinar(opens in new tab/window) with Eurodoc(opens in new tab/window) shows how networks and European alliances are forging these transformations, why collaboration and mobility are beneficial for universities and researchers, how sustainability comes into play, and what this means for researchers. The webinar was moderated by Maryline Fiaschi(opens in new tab/window), CEO of Science|Business(opens in new tab/window).

European Commission’s university initiatives focus on a stronger, greener Europe

Dominik Sobczak(opens in new tab/window), Deputy Head of Unit for DG Research & Innovation at the European Commission, focused on how EU universities fit in with the Commission’s work toward a stronger, greener Europe. Dominik stressed that the European University Alliances are a productive form of cooperation for universities and will promote synergies between education and research. Through this pilot, he said, universities will grow together and develop higher levels of research and education quality. The pilot will also help determine how to go forward with Horizon Europe(opens in new tab/window).

Dominik also talked about the work the European Commission has been carrying out to release a Pan-European Strategy for Universities(opens in new tab/window) to enable Europe’s higher education system to be even more interconnected, inclusive, digital and sustainable. Global health and climate change initiatives, as laid out by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)(opens in new tab/window), will drive students and researchers to gain new skills and foster exchanges between academia and business. This strategy aims to add a new dimension to the concept of what a university can be and to remove existing obstacles to cross-border cooperation. Dominik said that addressing the mismatch between the skills and competencies researchers require and what’s necessary for their career development in the broader scope of the economy will lead to better mobility across the academic and business sectors.

Data on mobility, collaboration and sustainability across networks

To demonstrate the value of academic cooperation, Elsevier’s data on mobility, collaboration and sustainability were introduced ahead of the discussion.

Insights gleaned from Elsevier’s Science-Metrix, Scopus and SciVal show that ‘transitory’ researchers have a higher research impact, on average, than ‘non-transitory’ researchers. This kind of information is not only invaluable for policy and decision making, it is also important for researchers to know as they plan their career paths.

By using affiliations to identify researchers across institutions and countries, it’s possible to monitor their mobility and impact over time. Findings from Elsevier’s 2021 report Data and Insights on International Science, Technology, and Innovation — Comparative Research Report of 20 Global Cities (2016-2020) show that:

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  The vast majority (~80%) of students or young researchers who have authored at least one publication end up leaving academia after a few years. Individuals who are mobile during their early training years are much more likely to stay in research: 1/3 of all researchers who are still active 15 years after their first publication moved between countries at least once.

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  In 12 out of 20 cities, transitory researchers had a higher impact and were more highly cited (20% to 60% more depending on the indicator).

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  Mobility generated citations and showed an increase in input metrics after the first mobility event.

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  Northern and Western EU members ranked highest in mobility, and Eastern EU ranked lowest, showing little migration. However, Eastern Europeans benefited the most from international mobility in terms of impact.

This data indicates that it’s important to create interventions and policies that level the playing field for research and mobility. Networks and alliances can improve access to mobility opportunities across Europe. Also, given that data shows that students who are mobile during their early training years are more likely to stay in research, policies and strategies should be implemented to improve the retention of graduate and post-graduate researchers through mobility. In this respect, European University Alliances can help create a beneficial collaborative environment for researchers working across disciplines.

Mobility is also vital to fostering international collaboration — an area where the EU performs quite highly. Circle U(opens in new tab/window), for example, has a significant level of collaboration across universities, based on co-publication.

Data in Scopus shows the Relative Activity Index to be high for Circle U in relation to the SDGs, meaning that a high share of their institutions’ scientific production relates to this area. (Relative Activity Index is a measure of the proportion of the country’s research output in a subject relative to the proportion seen globally.) For 15 out of 16 SDGs, Circle U has a higher impact than the EU and the world as a whole. This kind of data analysis presents an opportunity to monitor networks and alliances together to see how they can capitalize on specific topics’ strengths to advance sustainability and allow them to reflect on their role an enablers.

Academic perspectives

Universities play a central role in spreading excellence and engaging in collaboration. On universities working to deliver the SDGs and Europe’s Green Deal, Svein spoke of the value of interdisciplinary knowledge and collaboration at the university level in response to the pandemic. To work together to tackle the this challenge globally, he said, it has been imperative to tap into alliances in Europe and more broadly.

Alliance perspectives and visions for the future

Ensuring equal access to opportunities for early career researchers

For most, the integration into multinational, multicultural environments typically leads to early scientific maturity and independence. Based on this, they contribute more research, more papers and more outputs.

However, for each incoming student in Eastern Europe, Danila said, there are at least two that go to Western Europe.

To improve mobility to Eastern Europe, Danila posed questions for consideration: What are countries and universities doing to attract researchers and students? What kind of support are they offering? She said that even though alliances were designed to be balanced, these flows are unbalanced.

Danila suggested that alliances may also need to address the issue that arises when mobility is not possible. What can be done better now that there are more alliances and funding? Are short-term mobility and hybrid mobility solutions good alternatives as the pandemic continues? Although many think mobility is a common concept, there is still a lack of awareness of mobility opportunities for researchers and students. To raise awareness and incentivize mobility, Danila recommended strengthening support offices in universities that can communicate what’s available directly with students and researchers.

Addressing sustainability challenges

Silvia Gomez Recio(opens in new tab/window), Secretary General of YERUN(opens in new tab/window) – Young European Research Universities Network, said that with 74% of YERUN’s member network in an alliance, the organization has seen much progress in terms of sustainability. Still, she added, support and cooperation are needed to tackle sustainability challenges on a greater scale.

Creating alliances as independent legal entities  

Two speakers discussed the value of exploring the legal status of alliances. Representing ENLIGHT(opens in new tab/window).

Moving from mobility to integration of resources

Taking mobility a step further, Stefano discussed overcoming mobility and moving toward integration. He said integration would mean combining knowledge, assets, courses and infrastructures in the alliances, to be shared by all communities, students and scientists regardless of where they come from. According to Stefano, it would overcome the bureaucracy of mobility and improve access to resources in a broader network.