Presentation by Mariana Patru at the International Association of Universities - Jaume Bofill Foundation International Meeting in Barcelona Spain October 2015

1. LOOKING BACK TO THE FUTURE: HIGHER
EDUCATION FOR THE SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE WE WANT
Mariana Pãtru
UNESCO

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‘WE OUGHT TO THINK THAT WE ARE ONE OF THE LEAVES
OF A TREE, AND THE TREE IS ALL OF HUMANITY.
WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT OTHERS,
WITHOUT THE TREE.’
Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist, conductor and composer
(1876-1973)

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“THE ONLY CONSTANT THING IS CHANGE”
Heraclitus of Ephesus, Greek philosopher
(535-475 B.C.)

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UNESCO: Mission and Relevance in the 21st century
World Education Forum 2015: Education 2030 and
Its Framework for Action
A Call to Action
Education 2030: Charting the Future of Higher
Education

5. UNESCO has 195 Member States and
8 Associate Members
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6. UNESCO’s Roadmap 2014-2021
‣ Serving as a laboratory of ideas and generating innovative
proposals and policy advice
‣ Developing and reinforcing the global agenda through
policy analysis, monitoring and benchmarking
‣ Setting norms and standards and supporting and
monitoring their implementation
‣ Strengthening international and regional cooperation and
fostering alliances, intellectual cooperation, knowledge
sharing and operational partnerships
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7. Drivers of Change
‣ Democratization of knowledge and access are gradually
driving a global ‘education revolution’
‣ Increased global competition for domestic and
international student markets
‣ Digital technologies
‣ Global mobility
‣ Integration with industry
(University of the Future:
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/University_of_the_future/
$FILE/University_of_the_future_2012.pdf)
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8. The World of Higher Education Is Changing Quickly
and Dramatically
‣ Institutions are courting
new student populations
‣ Creative financing is
needed to balance
shrinking budgets
‣ Online learning is the new
frontier
http://www.economistinsights.com/sites/defa
ult/files/EIU_AcademicPartns_WEBr1.pdf
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Global education needs are URGENT:
‣ 58 million children out of school globally.
‣ Around 100 million children do not complete
primary education.
‣ Some 250 million of children are not learning
basic skills.
‣ The world would need more than 12 million
additional teachers to get all children in schools by
2020.
‣ About 781 million adults are illiterate; two-thirds
are women.

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The World Education Forum
(19-22 May 2015, Incheon, Korea)
Towards 2030: a new vision for education

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Sustainable Development Goal 4:
ENSURING EQUITABLE QUALITY EDUCATION AND
LIFELONG LEARNING FOR ALL BY 2030
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld )

13.  Access
 Equity
 Inclusion
 Gender equality
 Quality and learning outcomes
 Lifelong learning opportunities
(https://en.unesco.org/world-education-forum-
2015/incheon-declaration)
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Underpinning principles

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On 25 September 2015 the UN General Assembly
adopted the landmark 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development:
‣ 17 SDGs and 169 associated targets.
‣ By adopting a stand-alone goal on Education, world
leaders have committed themselves to an
ambitious and transformational vision for education
in the 21st century.
‣ For the first time, the UN has recognized inequality
in access to higher education as a driver of poverty
(gender, social, regional/ethnic background, age,
disabilities).

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Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all
women and men to affordable quality technical,
vocational and tertiary education, including
university.
Target 4.4: By 2030, ensure that all youth and
adults have relevant skills, including technical
and vocational skills, for employment, decent
work and entrepreneurship.

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‣ Opportunities to access higher levels of education
are often insufficient, especially in developing and
LDCs targets, resulting in a knowledge gap.
‣ All forms of tertiary education have expanded
rapidly, with a total enrolment rising from 100
million in 2000 to 199 million in 2013.
‣ Tertiary education and universities play a critical
role in stimulating critical and creative thinking as
well as in creating and disseminating knowledge for
social, cultural, ecological and economic
development.

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‣ Another trend – the increasing mobility of learners
and the flow of students moving abroad to enhance
academic credentials.
‣ A growing area of concern – the comparability,
recognition and quality assurance of qualifications ,
in particular in countries where administrative
systems are weak.
‣ A well-established, properly regulated tertiary
education system, supported by technology,
distance education and quality Open Educational
Resources, can increase access, equity , quality and
relevance of courses delivered.

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Indicative strategies:
‣ Develop cross-sectoral policies for and between
vocational skills development, TVET and tertiary
education to keep pace with changing contexts and to
remain relevant; develop effective partnerships
(public-private-industry).
‣ Ensure quality assurance, comparability and
recognition of tertiary education qualifications and
facilitate credit transfer between recognized tertiary
education institutions.
‣ Develop policies and programmes for the provision of
quality distance learning linked with appropriate
financing, access and technology, including through
Internet, MOOCs and other modalities.

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‣ Develop policies and programmes that reinforce the
research function in tertiary and university education
through the early uptake of Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), particularly by
girls and women.
‣ Ensure quality assurance, comparability and
recognition of tertiary education qualifications and
facilitate credit transfer between recognized tertiary
education institutions.
‣ Develop policies and programmes for the provision of
quality distance learning linked with appropriate
financing, access and technology, including through
Internet, MOOCs and other modalities.

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Quality, relevance, access, excellence,
innovation, good governance as well as a
system centered on students - the main
funders and beneficiaries of higher
education - are defining the university
business model for the next 15 years.

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With innovations taking place at a much
faster pace outside of the higher education
system, universities will face increasing
pressure to broaden the ecosystem of
higher education innovation through
partnerships with and the inclusion of new
stakeholders, such as employers, business
service providers, entrepreneurs.

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ON 4 NOVEMBER 2015 at UNESCO-Paris
A SPECIAL HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON
EDUCATION 2030 FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION
• will formally adopt the Education 2030
Framework for Action
• will provide guidance to countries for the
implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda

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The Future is here.
Now is the time for action.
IAU and UNESCO should continue to work
together to assist countries and universities
worldwide in driving forward their
Education 2030 policies and programmes
in Higher Education.

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UNESCO Invites You to the
2016 Mobile Learning Week
(7-11 March 2016, Paris)
Innovating for Quality
More information:
http://www.unesco.org/new/
en/mlw

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THANK YOU!
GRACIAS!
GRÀCIES!
m.patru@unesco.org