Symposium to examine globalization of higher education

The globalization of higher education and research has become a high-profile issue in the United States and Europe. Higher-education systems in the two regions are changing rapidly and, in the process, generating both enhanced linkages and heightened competition.

In light of the globalization of higher education and research, the University of Wisconsin–Madison is hosting an international symposium on April 8-9 titled “Constructing the European Higher Education Area.” The event will be held in Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.

“The objective of this symposium is to generate debate about the nature, scope, form and tensions associated with the construction of the European Higher Education Area, and its role in powering the creation of a competitive and cohesive Europe,” says Kris Olds, UW–Madison professor of geography.

Olds is co-organizer of the symposium with Susan Robertson, professor of sociology of education and coordinator of the Centre for Globalisation Education and Societies at the University of Bristol.

The EHEA is the outcome of recent attempts to “create a European space for higher education in order to enhance the employability and mobility of citizens and to increase the international competitiveness of European higher education,” as set forth in the 1999 Bologna Declaration.

Speakers at the symposium will address issues such as the implications of the EHEA development process for American higher education, the capacity of European institutions, and the role of leadership and other factors in providing the momentum to construct new knowledge spaces.

David Ward, president of the American Council on Education and chancellor emeritus of the UW–Madison, will be among the leading experts to address the symposium delegates.

Other speakers include Eric Froment, president of the European University Association, and Pavel Zgaga, director of the Centre for Educational Policy Studies at the University of Ljubljana and former minister of education and sport for the Republic of Slovenia. Discussion panels will include university presidents and scholars from England, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.

The symposium is free and open to the public. For advance registration or more information, visit the symposium Web site.