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Presentation Title Here 30pt Arial

Presentation Title Here 30pt Arial. CEPIS Education and Research Task Force. CEPIS Council Meeting Ljubljana , April 12 th 200 8. Vasile Baltac Vice President. WHY POSITION PAPER?. The distinct and unique role of ICT Europe - under pressure from both the American and Asian continents

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Presentation Title Here 30pt Arial

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  1. Presentation Title Here 30pt Arial CEPIS Education and Research Task Force CEPIS Council Meeting Ljubljana, April 12th 2008 Vasile Baltac Vice President

  2. WHY POSITION PAPER? • The distinct and unique role of ICT • Europe - under pressure from both the American and Asian continents • European universities in charge to produce the needed skills • Demand for professionals exceeds the offerings • A divorce between the educational institutions and the needs of ICT professionals by the industry ? • In several countries some university graduates do not have all the necessary basic skills to use ICT • Universities: to meet level of expectancy -2010 strategy

  3. UNIVERSITY – INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP • Opinions: universities and industry do not cooperate at a sufficient level • Even in USA taken as a model • Universities and industry have different objectives • they might be naturally on different sides • It is worthwhile finding a compromise for the mutual benefit of all • European universities are in competition with the US and other world universities • A better cooperation with the industry in partnership with the relevant authorities

  4. UNIVERSITIES IN A CHANGING WORLD • Students are now less ready to accept what university delivers • Their demands influenced by industry job offers • Skills need to be changed often • A growing trend toward part-time studies • Courses tend to became world assets through ICT • Changes in the demographics of students - students at any age • Industry creates competitors to universities • attractive for students needing more skills and less formal diplomas.

  5. ICT HIGH INNOVATION RATE • Lack of university adaptation widens the gap with the level of skills industry expects • The ICT industry innovates fast • does not imply that universities should follow every industry hype blindly • A simplified perspective • universities would focus on science and reflective research and ICT industry handles the applicative angle • The present state of the differences between what European Universities offer and European ICT industry needs in the work force

  6. UNIVERSITIES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP • ICT industry growth is fed by innovation carried out in small and medium enterprises • Most large ICT companies in the world, including Europe, started as SMEs • Universities are the main source of entrepreneurs • European universities will better contribute to the increase of the SME sector in ICT • first by giving the students a solid scientific and technical background • second by preparing them with the managerial skills needed in a small enterprise • Universities are also the catalysts of entrepreneurship through technological parks

  7. RESEARCH IN UNIVERSITIES • The research activity is the most important pillar • sustaining teaching • bringing educators close to technology levels • The European R&D framework programs have largely succeeded in bringing Universities and industry together • Universities accelerate innovation in learning and research • understand the marketplace • develop new types of learning systems

  8. UNIVERSITIES AND ICT SKILLS • Universities are the main supplier of ICT skills • ICT practitioner skills • ICT User skills • E-business skills • Universities produce professionals, having ICT practitioner skills • It is not the task of universities to prepare the people to use ICT applications • Europe is not uniform as regards the level of digital literacy • Universities should ascertain and bring all students to the necessary levels of basic user skills • ECDL as an appropriate tool to asses this level

  9. UNIVERSITIES AND THE INCREASING SCARCITY OF ICT PROFESSIONALS • Europe would face shortages up to 70.000 ICT practitioners • E-Skills in Europe: Matching Supply to Demand - CEPIS Report 2007 • Universities and policy makers are far from agreeing on what actions are urgent, both as diversification of ICT profiles and annual output • In some countries the supply/demand disequilibrium of ICT students is expected to deepen even more dramatically

  10. UNIVERSITIES AND THE INCREASING SCARCITY OF ICT PROFESSIONALS • Industry has pragmatic goals and expectations • look for young employees that are immediately employable and functional • influence curricula • Identify promising students and employ in advance • In universities, there are still calls for a high level of student training for everybody • professors criticize the fact that very good students are hired by companies during their studies • Conciliation among these divergent tendencies is vital

  11. PROFILE OF ICT GRADUATES • The universities aim to produce well-qualified scientists and engineers • Normally this is what industry would need • Industry has no homogenous requests • Large companies ask for a solid background as they have resources to further train their staff • ICT SMEs prefer specialized ICT graduates ready-to-work • Every university has to decide what kind of professional they want to offer to the industry • adapt the curricula to best fit to that requirement within the type of professional chosen.

  12. Graduate level vs. certifications • The ICT industry has developed vendor certifications • related to a particular company and product • not suited for new graduates • It would be ideal if a graduate would have a certification • this would mean a serious perturbation of university role and duties towards students • Universities keep away from vendor oriented industry certifications • A more general certification based more on general professional competence would build a university-industry bridge; such a certification is proposed through EUCIP

  13. CURRICULA - IS THE BOLOGNA PROCESS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? • Curricula differentiate universities • Industry ask universitiesto update frequently their ICT curricula • The present curricula are judged in industry as not being adaptive enough to the new trends in ICT industry • A major consideration is that the university curricula give less attention to industry internships • Universities should produce both practitioners and research oriented people • Universities claim to have adapted their curricula to the requirements of the Bologna recommendations • Three-year bachelor’s degree programs is not acceptable for computing as a general opinion • Computer science or engineering will continue with 4 or 5 years in many universities

  14. THE ROLE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION • The ICT industry is appropriate for lifelong learning • Updating professional training via a continuous educational process is not always undertaken by universities in Europe • Continuous education with short cycles is a necessity in ICT • Training in the new technologies is left to industry training schools • Distance learning makes the industry a serious competitor of universities • adult and continuous education • Universities have to play a more important role in the post-graduate training of ICT professionals

  15. THE ROLE OF MOBILITY • Mobility in the sense of movement of people between universities and industry is to be encouraged • Universities enjoy a large autonomy • this should encourage people from industry to bring their fresh innovative ideas and experience to students • people from universities to apply their ideas in industry • A change of opinion that the educators are civil servants with immovability • barriers to people from industry • CEPIS believes that mobility of people between universities and ICT industry is beneficial

  16. UNIVERSITIES AND ICT BASIC SKILLS • eEurope can not be achieved without overall dissemination of ICT basic skills • SMEs can not invest in basic ICT education of their personnel • Training for basic skills for ICT and E-Business is not the task of universities • There are still cases where not only secondary school graduates have not theses skills, but also some non-ICT university graduates • Universities will bring a notable contribution to ICT basic skills dissemination, if all non-ICT graduates in Europe will have these basic skills • Universities may help with developing curricula and teaching materials

  17. ROLE OF EU AND GOVERNMENTS IN UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIP • The governments are the catalysts of universities – ICT industry relations • a high number of universities are public universities, the role of the EU and Governments going far beyond being only catalysts • National governments and the EC • can dramatically change universities – industry relations with focused incentives, mainly derived from their funding schemes • A focus on ICT skills is therefore an action of paramount importance for national Governments and the European Commission.

  18. CEPIS ROLE • Offers its services in a multi-stakeholder partnership as mediator between universities and industry • to define requirements for ICT skills at graduate, post-graduate and distance learning levels • the right group to bring together academia and industry in order that the output from the educational institutions satisfies the needs of the industry. • Offers its assistance in standardizing and homogenizing European mutual recognition of the professionalism in the ICT sector. • ICT curricula have to be adapted to reflect the actual needs of future graduates as industry employees • Offers its mediation through its EUCIP certification model that can be used as a tool for leveling up curricula of ICT studies in European universities.

  19. CEPIS ROLE • Believes that governments and the EU Commission should encourage, in any form, the development of entrepreneurial centers around universities nuclei of birth for many ICT companies in the industry • Supports the use of e-learning as a continuing professional development methodology • Considers that universities should be encouraged to offer master or other post-graduate conversion courses to non-ICT graduates. • Universities have to check that their non-ICT students have the minimal ICT skills to act in the Information Society • Considers that its ECDL certification tool is very appropriate for checking the level attained by a non-ICT student.

  20. CEPIS ROLE • While recognizing the positive role of the Bologna process, asks for a review of the present content of curricula for ICT studies that could affect the future of the ICT industry by producing graduates without the proper theoretical background and practical training. • Considers that the ICT vendor oriented professional certifications should be organized outside universities, offering graduates, after a certain experience gained in the field, a professional status • Offers its vendor neutral EUCIP certification program enabling a unified assessment, across Europe, of professional level of ICT skills. • Such vendor neutral certifications could be undertaken by universities at their evaluation.

  21. CEPIS ROLE • Believes that mobility of people between universities and the ICT industry is beneficial. • This should be encouraged by a proper framework. • Highly appreciates the e-Inclusion initiative of the European Commission • Thinks that all non-ICT students should be tested for their basic abilities to use ICT technologies at workplaces and at home • Considers its ECDL tool as an excellent solution for this assessment to be generalized in universities. • Recognizes the role of the new EU members • They represent an important reservoir of ICT skills with proven competences and competitiveness • The e-Inclusion is not at the level of older members of the EU and ICT skills emigration affects these countries • Asks the European Commission to pay special attention to the ICT development needs of these countries • CEPIS has member associations in all these countries and can define the actions and their implementation.

  22. The Position Paper on Education • Special acknowledgment • Members of Execom • Geoff McMullen • NikoSchlamberger • IT STAR 2nd Workshop Universities and the ICT Industry • Rome May 2007 • Andrew McGettrick- BCS • via GeoffMcMullen • Participation to EU University-Business Forum • Brussels 28-29 February 2008 • Thanks to Nikos Ioannou • Support of CEPIS Secretariat • Julian Seymour • NikosIoannou • Task Force on Education • Set by CEPIS 94th Execom • Chair Vasile Baltac VP • 18 members from 15 associations • Contributions • 1stand 2nd stage • Vasile Baltac - ATIC • Fernando Piera - ATI • Anders Linde - Dansk IT • 2ndstage • Mary Sharp – ICS • Ernst Mayr - GI • Jos Baeten - NGI • Michael Schanz - VDE • Dirk Deschoolmeester – FBVI

  23. Q & A ? • Opinions were not convergent • University environment • ICT industry environment • The paper tried to conciliate them in the interest of ICT as a whole • CEPIS position? • Thank you!

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