In the development of research and skills, but also in the global role of education as components, so that Europe can become greener, more digital and more inclusive, said the Vice-President of the European Commission Margaret Cordass, speaking at the “Science and Research Day” event organized by the University of Western Macedonia in the auditorium of the new facilities in ZEP Kozani.
In his speech on “The European way of life and from the Europe of crises to the Europe of opportunities and open horizons”, Mr. Schinas referred to the European university partnerships funded by Erasmus, in which more than 560 higher education institutions participate across the EU, as well as the prospect that opens up for partnerships to be even more competitive “by offering the possibility of a European diploma”.
As he explained, “this diploma will give higher education institutions the opportunity to raise resources and develop educational programs that they could not provide on their own and will give students the opportunity to obtain a degree by combining studies in different European countries. “We are thus shaping what Enrico Letta, in his report on the future of the single market, calls the ‘fifth freedom’ – the freedom to learn, study, teach and research without borders”, he noted.
Mr. Schinas gave particular importance to the issue of skills development, stating that “European industry and companies lack human resources with skills”. He stressed that access to skills “should not concern human resources in urban centers” and those who are in one way or another close to organized social institutions “but to young people on the islands, those who are isolated in mountainous rural areas and even more young people who work seasonally”. He stressed that “we must insist on the issue of skills development” and that the agencies responsible for this issue should “address these young people themselves”.
Speaking about the advantages of Europe, he said that “we have the best organized internal market where it produces 20% of the world’s wealth and also the second strongest currency in the world”.
He admitted that Europe lags behind in matters of diplomacy saying this “here we failed”. He gave as an example two regions, the wider Caucasus region and Israel, where “Europe could not intervene because its members had different approaches to the issue”. He spoke about the need for Europe to grow with a new enlargement that includes Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia and, speaking about the Balkans, he stressed that “Europe must in no way betray the Balkan countries”, referring to the promises to North Macedonia and Serbia, but also the accession processes with Albania that have just begun.
He spoke of “a sequence of unprecedented crises in Europe in the last five years” that affected all areas of life and mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, with ramifications for the whole of Europe, the instrumentalization of immigration at our borders, the growing tension in relations between the USA and China, the explosion in the Middle East, with serious consequences and humanitarian implications here in Europe, but also hybrid threats.
Based on the above, Mr. Schinas explained that “Three critical priorities for the future of Europe have emergedsuch as developing political autonomy and resilience, safeguarding European values and international law, and close cooperation with like-minded partners.” He concluded by saying that “the aforementioned triptych – autonomy, defense of European values and cooperation with like-minded partners – is necessary for Europe to regain its rightful role on the international stage.”
Concluding his presentation, Mr. Schinas made special reference to the “European way of life”, which, as he said, “combines health, security, immigration policies), but also policies for a Europe of opportunities in areas such as education, skills, mobility”.
“The European way of life is not about the past or the present, but the future beyond the borders of Europeserves as a model and inspiration”, he added.
The Dean of PDM Theodoros Theodoulidis highlighted that “the PDM was reorganized in 2019 and since then has been going through a phase of rapid development”. He cited data from the period 2019-2023, where the university managed to “more than double publications (from 250 in 2019 to 650 in 2023) in prestigious international journals, while 13 of its members are included in Stanford’s list of the most influential scientists .” He spoke of a significant increase in the flow of funding for research projects, while also noting that “10 Technoblasti companies were founded”, creating dozens of new high-paying jobs in cutting-edge areas such as IT.
He referred to his participation University of Western Macedonia in the Innovation Zone that will be located within the university, “hosting incubators for new technologies, connecting the academic and student community with companies”.
Previously, Mr. Schinas, accompanied by the Rector, visited the openlabs which were installed in the institution’s atrium, where groups of scientific students from the departments of the Polytechnic School presented their results to the schools throughout the day. At the Rectory, the Technoblasts research groups that have been created in the PDM in recent years presented their research project financed by European programs.
Source: AMPE