G8 University executives for joint efforts to improve the quality of education

University heads from G8 countries called upon each other to join forces to improve the quality of education at the international meeting on the role of universities in the development of knowledge- and innovation-based society in the 21st century, held in Moscow Thursday.

“Under the new conditions, G8 countries’ universities should focus their joint efforts on improving the quality of education in line with the demands of innovation development in the 21st century,” said Viktor Sadovnichy, rector of Moscow State University. “Ensuring quality education is the main objective of a university. The integration of science and education is the basis for raising the quality and the innovation dimension of education.”

He said the role of fundamental science at universities should be enhanced to raise the quality of education.

“Measures should be taken to join the forces of G8 universities in the research and innovation spheres,” he said. “With this goal in mind, it would be expedient to suggest the formulation of common tuition programs for G8 universities aimed to meet challenges in energy security, infectious diseases and globalization consequences in the 21st century.”

The rector said universities should work to draft common principles and demands to the quality of education at different stages of the education system.

“We should also elaborate the universities’ common approach to the standards of education and qualifications in innovation subjects.”

The meeting was attended by a spokesperson of the British Council, the rector of Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena, delegates from the universities of Florence, Toronto and Beijing, rector of Bauman Technical University Igor Fyodorov, representatives of the Education Agency within the Russian Foreign Ministry, New York University, the Université Pierre et Marie Curie and Tokay University, as well as representatives from the Moscow office of the World Bank Institute.

The heads of G8 universities also decided to double the number of student and professor exchanges by 2010. Education in the 21st century is becoming international in content and organization, they said in a statement. Taking into account these changes, universities deem it necessary to double the number of students and teachers on exchange programs within the G8 universities by 2010.

The university leaders also called for organizing an international educational network of the universities of G8 countries and China in coordinated spheres of tuition in natural sciences and the humanities.

States, private investors and universities should allocate resources for this purpose, according to the statement. In addition, assistance should be given to the development of joint education, including with the issue of double diplomas and the application of common standards in education and knowledge assessment.

The university heads also called for spreading the practice of mutual recognition of tuition plans, programs, qualifications and education certificates.

They agreed to implement measures to create an open network of educational resources (programs, standards, and teaching aids) for the G8 universities.

The states should be also encouraged to draft common international rules and legal norms defining property rights to intellectual resources in education, the university heads said in their statement. Assistance should be given to the creation of an international network of general and higher school teacher retraining across the world. In addition, a permanent roundtable of G8 universities should be established.

Xu Zhihong, president of Beijing University, called for raising the quality of education in universities around the world. “In my opinion, the quality of education should be enhanced,” he said. “I also want to add that China supports the idea of private universities.”

Gilbert Bereziat, president of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, said innovations and innovation projects in education were of vital significance in the 21st century.

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