Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe
Presentation and proposal for cooperation to
the 46th UCEU General Assembly
Ljubljana, September 2006
by
Prof. Pierre de MARET
University of Brussels – Past Rector
UNICA – Steering Commitee
European University Association – Board
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
General Presentation
Institutional Network of UNIversities from the CApitals of Europe
One of the major institutional academic networks in Europe and
in the world

Created in 1990

41 member universities

From the Capitals of 32 European countries

130,000 staff

1,500,000 students
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
41 universities
All around Europe!
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Member universities
ALBANIA
Polytechnic of Tirana
IRELAND
University College Dublin
University of Tirana
ITALY
Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”
AUSTRIA
University of Wien
Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
BELGIUM
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Università degli Studi di Roma III
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
LATVIA
University of Latvia (Riga)
BULGARIA
Sophia University of St.Kliment Oshridi
LITUANIA
University of Vilnius
CROATIA
University of Zagreb
MACEDONIA
S. Cyril & Methodius University of Skopje
CYPRUS
University of Cyprus (Nicosia)
THE
NETHERLANDS
Universiteit van Amsterdam
CZECH
REPUBLIC
Charles University (Prague)
NORWAY
University of Oslo
DANEMARK
University of Copenhagen
POLAND
Warsaw University
ESTONIA
Tallinn University of Technology
PORTUGAL
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
FINLAND
University of Helsinki
ROMANIA
Universitatea Bucuresti
FRANCE
Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris)
RUSSIA
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Université Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris)
SLOVEKIA
Comenius University of Bratislava
Université Pierre & Marie Curie (Paris)
SLOVENIA
University of Ljubljana
Université Paris-Dauphine (Paris)
SPAIN
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
GERMANY
Freie Universität Berlin
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
SWEDEN
Stockholm University
GREECE
National & Capodistrian University of Athen
SWITZERLAND
Université de Lausanne
HUNGARY
Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest
UNITED
KINGDOM
University College London
ICELAND
University of Iceland (Reykjavík)
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Mission

To promote academic excellence, integration & co-operation between
member universities

To be a driving force in the development of the Bologna process

To facilitate the integration of universities from Central and Eastern Europe
into the EHEA
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Activities
Internationalisation & Mobility

Student mobility

International Relations Officers

Staff mobility

UNICA Chair

Student Conference Berlin 2000, London 2002, Amsterdam 2004,
Paris 2006 « University – City – Citizenship »
Education

Bologna Laboratory

Joint Degrees (4 cities, Multilinguism, Cognitive Sciences,
European Civil Societies, Democracies & governance)

Diploma Supplement

Diploma Recognition / Admission & Credential Evaluation
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Activities
Research & Development

EU Research Liaison Officers

Ph D Officers

Science Park & Incubator
Policy & Strategy

Contacts with EU and others

Rectors Seminar

Scholarly Communication, Librairies

Contacts with other networks
Service to the Community

Urban Capital Issues

Equal Opportunities & Disability

Public Health
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Universities’ Third Mission

Traditionally, universities focused on teaching and research.
Now, they are being urged to become better neighbours and citizens
by engaging with the local community.

Engagement is becoming a core value for universities
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Universities’ Fourth Mission

Income generation

Job creation
 Universities have become a key player of the knowledge economy
 Creativity is a driving force of economic growth
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
The “Town & Gown” Relationship


A centuries-old relationship with its ups & downs

Is the University a nuisance or an asset ?
Universities are:

a major employer
a major contributor to the city economy, both directly and indirectly : research
and spending (rent, consumer goods, food and drinks, real estate, taxes, etc.)


a major provider of Health Care (Hospital)

a major contributor to cultural life & sports

Higher Education is becoming a major export business

In London, foreign students alone contribute € 1,2 billion to the economy every
year.

Higher Education generates a total amount of € 6 billion a year in London

Universities contribue significantly to the identity, the quality of life and the image of
the City
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Bologna & Lisbon
The Bologna Process:
1999
Governmental push for convergence
implementation in Universities across Europe
EHEA by 2010
45 countries
The Lisbon Strategy:
to make Europe the most competitive knowledge based society
But also « capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and better
jobs and greater social cohesion »
Also by 2010
EU 25 countries
Universities are central actors to reach the EHEA and Lisbon goals
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Europe in the Creative Age
Major conclusions of Richard Florida and Irene Tinagli study (2004)

Tolerance is a pillar of creative competitiveness

Dynamic knowledge-economies DO NOT beget social cohesion
rather

Social cohesion can beget dynamic knowlege-economies

Growing cultural and ethnic diversity
Need to move from a limited conception of tolerance as mutual
non-interference toward a more active creation of social trust in
fluid, pluralized societies
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Europe in the Creative Age

The locus of competitiveness is the city-region (not the nation or the firm)

If city-regions are going to drive ‘growth’ and ‘renewal’,
need to refashion governance to reflect their need on
everything from universities to connectivity

How do the capitals cities provide for the needs of their University ?

How do the University provide for the needs of their Capital cities ?
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Dynamic Cities and Creative Clusters
Major conclusions of Wu study (2005)

Key questions :
What type of cities are creative ?
What locational factors are essentiel ?
What are the common urban policy initiatives used by creative cities ?

Empirical investigations in Boston, San Francisco, San Diego,
Seattle, Austin, Washington DC, Dublin, Hong Kong, Bangalore
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Dynamic Cities and Creative Clusters
Conclusions of W. Wu study :
Factors contributing to the clustering of creative industries:
◊ Large cities and regions with many opportunities
◊ Universities play a major role in catalyzing the local economy by:
1.
generating cutting-edge research findings
2.
pro-actively collaborating with industries
3.
Supplying the needed human capital
◊ Critical role played by public policy in fostering a technology sector
in the city
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Type of support given by European
capitals to their universities


Student support
Financial support of HE
 Vienna, Stockholm

grant for SOCRATES students (Paris)

student placements at universities in « sister cities »
(Nicosia)

Scholarship (Tallin)

 Bratislava, Tallin


Chair

for Professor (Brussels, Helsinki, Lausanne, Stockholm)
Renting land
Knowledge dissemination
 Brussels


Research of interest for the City

urban studies, public management, etc. (Zagreb, Reykjavík,
Roma, Riga, Stockholm, Tallin, Prague)
Continuing Education
 Tallin

Joint Company
 Helsinki
A scoreboard will be produced by UNICA
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Type of support given by European
capitals to their universities
Capitals
Student Support
Chair
Research
Financial
Amsterdam
Athens
Berlin
Bratislava
Brussels
Budapest
Bucarest
Copenhagen
Dublin
Helsinki
Lausanne
Lisbon
Ljubljana
London
Madrid
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Real Estate
Others
Type of support given by European
capitals to their universities
Capitals
Student Support
Chair
Research
Financial
Moscow
Nicosia
Oslo
Paris
Prague
Reykjavik
Riga
Rome
Skopje
Sofia
Stockholm
Tallin
Tirana
Vienna
Vilnius
Warsaw
Zagreb
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
Real Estate
Others
UCEU – UNICA Proposal for cooperation
Create a joint working group
 to foster cooperation between Capitals and universities
 to learn from each other
 to identify creative ways to support creativity and innovation
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com
for more information :
www.ulb.ac.be/unica/
© 2006 – UNICA & exquisse.com