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EU budget proposals ‘not good enough’ say universities
EU budget proposals ‘not good enough’ say universities
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a new seven-year budget and an emergency stimulus package to aid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, together totalling €1.85 trillion (US$2 trillion).
The €750 billion (US$833 billion) emergency stimulus dubbed ‘Next Generation EU’ – with two-thirds of it to be given as grants and the rest as loans – is earmarked to help revive ailing economies hit hard by the current health crisis.
Within the total package, the commission has proposed a €94.4 billion budget for research and innovation in the Horizon Europe programme, the successor to Horizon 2020, which it argues is a €13.5 billion increase. According to the commission, the programme will be “reinforced to fund vital research in health, resilience and the green and digital transitions”.
The European Green Deal, the plan proposed before the pandemic to achieve climate neutrality across the European Union by 2050, will form the backbone of the EU’s recovery strategy. It will include renewable energy projects, especially wind, solar and kick-starting a clean hydrogen economy in Europe.
There will also be a bid to create a stronger presence in strategic sectors, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, supercomputing and cloud computing.
Building a real data economy supported by the development of a digital education agenda promoting digital skills for all EU citizens will also play an important part in the recovery.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The recovery plan turns the immense challenge we face into an opportunity, not only by supporting the recovery but also by investing in our future: the European Green Deal and digitalisation will boost jobs and growth, the resilience of our societies and the health of our environment. This is Europe’s moment. Our willingness to act must live up to the challenges we are all facing. With Next Generation EU we are providing an ambitious answer.”
Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni described Next Generation EU as a “European turning point”.
Hopes not met
However, a statement by the European University Association (EUA) voices disappointment that hopes nourished by the academic community over the past few months that it had “become clear to policy-makers just how fundamental adequate investment in research, innovation and education is to societal and economic recovery”, had not been met.
The EUA said the need for excellent research, strong innovation ecosystems and inclusive and sustainable higher education has never been greater as unprecedented economic recession looms over Europe, and the European Commission and many governments across Europe had “certainly acknowledged this point and promoted a science-based recovery”.
But while the announcement on 27 May recognised the need to invest in these areas to support society and the economy and the commission did propose increasing both the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes, which are core instruments for universities to contribute to the effort, “the increases, nevertheless, fall short of expectations and more importantly, fall short of society’s needs,” the EUA said.
It backed the European Parliament in its bid to invest €120 billion into the Horizon Europe programme to start addressing the known shortcomings of the programme and the greater needs in a context of the green transition.
Its disappointment is echoed by the League of European Research Universities (LERU), which said: “The higher education budget is a very long way from the €160 billion LERU called for over the past years and is also still quite far from the €120 billion asked for by the European Parliament.”
The EUA says the proposal for Erasmus+ is €3.4 billion higher than proposed in February, “but stagnates below the European Commission’s original plans and far below the European Parliament’s proposal. With great ambitions added to the new programme, including the European Universities Initiative, the reinforcement of mobility, and enhanced social inclusion, this increase however is not enough.”
LERU said the Erasmus+ proposal, at €27.89 billion, is short of the €30 billion proposed by the European Commission in May 2018.
The EUA said the financial structure proposed on Wednesday is unlike any previous seven-year budget, given the addition of a large, temporary recovery fund combining grant and loan mechanisms.
“This includes significant support to various parts of the economy. Both research and education are crucial elements in this context. What has been essential in combatting the pandemic is knowledge and skills, the ability to analyse and act, connect and collaborate, relate and reorganise society.
“Universities have been a major contributor on all fronts and are looking to continue serving society by supporting long-term recovery. This includes strong engagement of the sector in the green and digital transitions.”
The EUA said the commission’s proposal recognises that stronger investment in these areas is of strategic importance and will boost the EU’s resilience.
“The EUA therefore calls on member states to be ambitious and support long-term recovery through a higher commitment to research, innovation and education.”
‘Not good enough’
LERU said as far as the higher education budget is concerned, “the same old story continues”. It is “good, but not good enough. The same goes for the Erasmus+ budget.”
“If the past 10 weeks have proven anything, it is that research and innovation are one of the essential keys for solving our global problems and that investment in education is vastly needed. It all starts with an appropriate budget.”
The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) urged the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament to increase their commitment to research, education and innovation in the Multiannual Financial Framework, and ensure a timely start for 2021.
It underlined that the aspiration of the Next Generation EU recovery instrument to support research, innovation and education must be evidenced in the descriptions of the programmes that it covers.
It said: “Our inability to overcome the pandemic quickly has shown that we have significantly underinvested in fundamental, frontier-led science. Continuing this trend would be a major mistake. Our inability to confront future challenges will have dramatic human, social and economic costs.
“For this reason, the Guild strongly welcomes the urgency expressed by President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel, that the upcoming investments in European recovery from the crisis have to prioritise research and innovation.”
The commission’s funding proposals have to be agreed by the European Parliament and the European Council.
Written by Gabriella Gombár
Hundreds of university jobs lost already due to pandemic Geoff Maslen
Hundreds of university jobs lost already due to pandemic
The foreign students were mostly from China where the numbers enrolling in Australian universities fell from 46,480 in April 2019 to a mere 30 in April this year. The enrolment collapse is largely a response to Australia imposing tighter immigration controls to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
In Victoria, 300 staff at Deakin University were effectively sacked, while a further 182 at Central Queensland University accepted a voluntary redundancy package.
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus is having a serious impact on businesses around the world with patients in 185 countries now suffering from the infection. In the United States in the past six weeks more than 30 million people have filed for unemployment benefits.
Preventable sackings
But the announcement from Deakin University that more than 300 staff would lose their jobs could easily have been prevented, according to Dr Alison Barnes, president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
“The government found AU$60 billion [US$40 billion] ‘behind the couch’ on Friday, yet on Monday more than 300 people were going to be out of work,” Barnes said.
A miscalculation by federal Finance Department staff massively overstated government spending on higher education by a staggering AU$60 billion. “[The government] could have saved these jobs with the stroke of a pen using the AU$60 billion they thought they had already spent,” Barnes said.
“But now more than 300 families will be in line at Centrelink [a federal office for the unemployed] instead of at work.
“It’s not too late for federal Education Minister Dan Tehan and federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to use the spare AU$60 billion to save tens of thousands of jobs in higher education.”
Barnes said that if the two politicians did not act, they would wear the job loss crisis confronting higher education “like a stinking albatross around their necks”.
Referring to Deakin University, Barnes said it was a major employer in regional Australia so the impact of the sackings would be disproportionate for an industrial city outside Melbourne where Deakin has a campus.
“The impact these mass sackings will have on regional communities is disproportionate and devastating.”
NTEU Branch Vice-President Steve Davis said it was “incredibly disappointing” that the university had chosen to sack people in the way it had.
“They want to achieve a balanced budget but Deakin workers are collateral damage,” he said.
The union noted that the 300 figure of those made jobless did not include a large number of casual and fixed-term workers who had already been sacked or stood down at Deakin University.
The NTEU estimated that their numbers would be in the hundreds.
Satellite campuses to shut down
Central Queensland University announced that more than 180 staff would “voluntarily separate” from the university, while three “satellite campuses” would be shut down as part of efforts to slash costs by AU$28 million (US$18.6 million) annually.
The staff losses occurred as the state’s largest regional university tried to balance a AU$116 million revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A university source said Central Queensland University was “considering a deal” with the NTEU that could prevent forced redundancies. It also plans to close three of its satellite campuses in Queensland.
Central Queensland University Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Klomp ruled out any “forced staff cuts” until negotiations between Australian universities and the NTEU were finalised.
“COVID-19 has caused businesses of all kinds to rethink their operations to ensure their long-term sustainability, which is exactly what we are doing,” Klomp said.
The cost reduction would recover almost AU$28 million annually for the university, he said, adding that this would not cover the full projected revenue shortfall.
Sector unstable
The NTEU is negotiating with vice-chancellors across Australia to try to limit forced redundancies and job losses.
Last week, the union announced a package that involved a salary cut of 5%-15% for full-time staff across the nation’s universities.
This is part of a union plan to save 12,000 jobs, limit forced redundancies, and prevent universities from standing down staff without pay.
“Having close to 200 Central Queensland University staff lose their jobs proves how unstable the sector is and shows how unsafe university workers feel,” a union spokesman said. “It’s pretty clear that people in higher education are extremely anxious. Their jobs are on the line.
“There is a massive shortfall in international student revenue, somewhere around four to five billion dollars across the sector. That’s going to lead to job losses. There’s no way of avoiding that.”
Written by Gabriella Gombár
Nobilite Integration College-Website News
Dr.Szabolcs Fekete (COO) has announced that there will be changes and transitions regarding the web address: www.integrationcollege.com
During the transitional period announcement and news regarding NICDC will be accessible via www.hlmdi.org.
Written by Gabriella Gombár
Nobilite Integration College- Remote Employability and Integration
The Nobilite Integration College (NICDC) in collaboration with Helix Lab and the Wesley Janos College will be delivering a new Specilization level program in the field of " Digital Capacity Building for Managed Migration" at the beginning of June 2020 with a new approach to building spatial and a-spatial innovation eco-systems through remote learning and remote employment as a part of the Migration process of applicants seeking expat positions and overseas life and career development.
In a short message yesterday Mr.Laszlo Csonka a trainer and job mediator at Helix Lab (http://helixlab.hu/) expressed his gratitude for being able to place two candidtaes for remote jobs even prior to the beginning of the course.
Helix Lab , an IT training and job search firm in Hungary and the partner of NICDC (enjoying a 100% job placement success rate for its participants) ,takes pride in boosting a record of 97% employability of its graduates almost matching that of NICDC's 100% record in the past.
Two graduates of the NICDC programs R.Ghadiri and G.Golab employed by Nobilite HRD 's partner Breakthrough Innovation Co. are examples of successful graduates of the NICDC programs now activley involved in the recruitment of candidates in the field of Managed Migration (as conceptualized by the IOM) during the Corona times with a focus on remote training and remote work during the pre-migration period. The mentioned have founded the "Beyond Universal Co". a start-up company and an International Student Community NGO Board - "Student Association" and have succeeded in achieving social and economic embededness with hopes of using this base for further flourishment during the Corona and Post-Corona period.
Thanks to circumstances imposed by Corona, the mentioned have joined forces with Breakthrough Innovation Co. representatives, Ms.Elaheh Shayan and Mr.Ramtin Chegini Nezamivand in order to implement the old plan in the area of Pre-Migration Orientation and Training laid down by Professor Istvan Szilard, co-leader of the WHO Collaboration Center for Migration Health Training and Education, Director of the NICDC.
The afore mentioned concept laid down by Professor Szilard had been presented to the leadership of the immigration office in the city of Pecs ,capital city of the Baranya county (South Western region of Danube) and has also been communicated in written Hungarian embassies. Now and with the circumstances imposed by Corona the concept laid down by Professor Dr.Istvan Szilard has gained a top priority ,providing the recruiting team with a strategic opportunity in line with their goals
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NICDC
The career-wide Nobilité Inter-cultural and Inter-Professional Integration programs are designed for those seeking success in choosing appropriate development programs, cultural and work-life orientation, language competencies, digital and IT skills , international life skills, improved edge across the educational career, optimized professional and on-job development skills for better work, study, life in Hungary and the EU. The programs are offered at under grad pre-entry, post-grad pre-entry, doctoral and post-doctoral pre-entry levels. The programs include job placement and employability courses, on-job integration training for the newly hired as well as the professionals seeking self-efficacy in their work and life contexts
Capacity Building programs helping the Managed Migration model as conceptualized by the IOM sit at the center of the design of the research, consulting and educational programs offered by our Multi-Disciplinary expert team
Research has shown a high “Catch Up Time” (CUT) in the case of non-European and especially Eastern and Southern Continental migrants coming to Europe for work and study. High CUT is induced not only by the perceived lack of appropriate IT and language skills but very importantly due to short-comings in the areas of International Self-Efficacy , Inter-Cultural and Inter-Professional Integration Competencies knowledge and skills international self-efficacy
The consequences have had negative economic, mental , physiological outcomes for all stakeholders and in the long run even legal problems due to failed integration and the marginalization of the migrants.
Research has also proven that “managed migration” will help , improve the speed and quality of integration quality of the new entrants aiding a co-creative participation in multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural contexts
The programs emphasize facilitation of interactions with successful Diaspora Communities, Alumni, Business and Professional Associations during the Training and On-Site Project periods complimented by Facilitation, Counselling and Mediation, Consultation services by the team of experts. The mentioned services extend tailor-made packages not only for those seeking international career but also for families. By principle NICDC career-wide programs and services are designed for Expat and Diaspora reintegration facilitating RETURN MIGRATION as well.
A wide network of partner universities and their Educators as well as leading Non-Academic Experts, partner expert companies have been involved in the design and delivery of the Career – Wide Inter-cultural and Inter-Professional programs covering an array of subjects in the fields of Medicine, IT, Engineering, Natural and Social Sciences ,Professional Language with a high emphasis on Interdisciplinary and Multi-Disciplinary Learning, SMART and Sustainable Economic Development, Circular Economics and Circular Migration.
The Sustainability Goals2030, the 17 goals and 169 indicators are implied in the design of the capacity building programs of the NICDC embracing these goals in empowering the guest and host stakeholders . The programs are offered under two major levels : “General Orientation” and “Specialization”.
Common subjects at both levels include: Language and Academic Writing, Business and Intercultural Communication, IT Proficiency, Inter-Professional ways of working and Intercultural ways of thinking, International Trades and Commerce, E-Commerce, Digital Transformation, Sustainable Innovation.
The Health and Public Heath Aspects of Migration enjoy the highest priority in the domain of Mobility, Migration and Integration, therefore the participants of the various programs of the NICDC are sensitized to these aspects .
Written by Gabriella Gombár
NICDC News-Digitalization for Managed Migration Course
„Nobilite INTEGRATION Training AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE” (NICDC-IACD)
Application deadlines have been extended to the 20th of May 2020
Please consult us if you need assistance for filling up your application. You may first express your interest prior to submitting your application.
Extended Deadline for applications for the Course is the 20th of May 2020.
Applications together with C.V.s are to be sent to: (Gabriella Gombár, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) For questions write to /call: Ms. Gabriella Gombár, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 0036709462399
The full course fees are:
- Introduction to International Education and Work Placement (1800 euro) one semester long , 230 contact hours
- Foundation Courses In Self -Efficacy (2500 euro) one semester long , 360 contact hours
- Principles of Financial Planning in Migration and Integration Management 1. (1800 euro) one semester long, 230 contact hour
- Advanced Certificate Program in International Career Development (5000 euro) two semester long program with 720 contact hours
Unless requested otherwise the course fees are payable via bank transfer to : (Acc No. 50800111-15484691, Acc Holder: Health Leaders Egyesület, Description and comments section include :” Integration College Course Fees for ……NAME OF APPLICANT”)
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Migration and Integration Healthcare with narrow focus on Pharma in EU, Medicine in EU , Public Policy,Health Policy, Public Health, Forensic Medicine |
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I have read, understood and accepted the terms of application! I declare that the information filled in my application form are true.
Pécs, 2020.
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Deadlines for application is: 2020. 05. 20
Written by Gabriella Gombár
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