A New ERA in the digital age of interconnected education, research and innovation - MCAA Magazine News January 2021

The key lesson of the COVID-19 crisis is that digital education should no longer be viewed as an island of its own but considered an integral part of all education and training. So said European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager when she unveiled the New Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027.

In her speech on 30 September, Vestager outlined the three strategic proposals:

• Communication on a European Education Area
• Digital Education Action Plan
• Communication on a renewed European Research Area

“Digital education is now an integral part of our future", said Vestager. In this context, the European Research Area and the European Education Area are expected work together to achieve a new level of ambition in which education, research and innovation are interconnected.

Both are serving the same purpose: beyond ourselves for future similar challenges as the one we are currently facing. They are about creating the right conditions to ensure Europe makes the most of its twin digital and green translations.

A NEW ERA

The Commission’s proposal for a new European Research Area (ERA) is based on four strategic objectives.

1. Prioritising investments and reforms: The interaction between national and European Research and Innovation systems will be simplified, keeping in mind the principle that “the best researchers with the best ideas obtain funding”.

2. Improving access to excellence: EU Member States will be supported to increase the performance of their Research & Innovation (R&I) system through Horizon Europe and the Cohesion Policy

3. Translating R&I results into the economy: ERA will focus on Europe’s competitive leadership in technology and will work to improve the environment for business R&I investments.

4. Deepening the ERA: Researchers will be helped to develop the skills they need to conduct research, and all stakeholders will be connected across Europe.

FUTURE ACTIONS

To reach these objectives, the Commission proposes a set of 14 actions to be implemented in the coming years. Above all, the new ERA stresses the 3 % Gross Domestic Product (DGP) EU R&I investment target and proposes a new EU 1.25 % GDP public effort target to be achieved by Member States by 2030.

At the beginning of 2021, a platform of peer-reviewed open access publishing will be launched. It will aim to analyse authors’ rights to enable sharing of publicly funded peerreviewed articles without restriction, to ensure a European Open Science Cloud and incentivise open science practices.

The ERA Forum for Transition will also be launched in 2021, to support Member States in the coordination and prioritisation of national R&I funding and reforms.

In addition, ERA will support Member States who are below the EU average as regards Research and Development (R&D) investment over GDP. The aim will be to increase their total investment in R&D by 50 % within the five coming years. Less performing Member States will be supported, as the new ERA will set up a dedicated work stream in the ERA Forum for Transition and help them to increase their number of highly cited publications, by onethird over five years.

Moreover, inclusive gender equality plans will be developed with Member States and stakeholders, to promote gender equality in R&I. Also, Europe-wide participatory citizen science campaigns will be organised to increase awareness.

In the course of 2021, the strategy plans to develop a roadmap of actions to create synergies between higher education and research, as well as to develop with Member States an approach to set and implement strategic priorities through the ERA Forum.

The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (EFSRI) White Paper will be implemented, by the end of 2021, to establish an updated governance structure for research and technological infrastructures.

By the end of 2022, common industrial technology roadmaps will be developed, as well as a networking framework to support Europe’s R&I ecosystems. Guiding principles for knowledge valorisation will be set up together with a code of practice for the smart use of intellectual property.

Finally, the strategy plans a new toolbox to support researchers’ career development by the end of 2024.

A NEW DIGITAL EDUCATION PLAN

Over the past few years, digitalisation has changed many aspects of work and daily life. In her political agenda for Europe, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen emphasised the necessity to unlock the potential of digital technologies for learning and teaching, and to develop digital skills for all.

Development of a digital education ecosystem

The first strategic priority of the digital Education plan aims to foster the development of a digital education ecosystem. A dialogue with Member States will be launched by 2022 in order to prepare a proposal for a Council Recommendation on the enabling factors for digital education.

The plan also proposes a Council Recommendation on online and distance learning for primary and secondary education, by the end of 2021. What’s more, Erasmus cooperation projects will play a major role in supporting the digital transformation plans of primary, secondary, vocational education and training (VET), higher, and adult-education institutions.

Finally, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be at the centre of the strategic priority, as ethical guidelines and data usage in teaching and learning for educators will be drafted.

Digital skills and competences for the digital transformation

The second strategic priority of the digital Education plan focuses on digital skills and competences for the digital transformation. Common guidelines for teachers and educational staff will be set up to foster digital literacy.

The European Digital Competence Framework will be updated to include AI and data-related skills. In addition, Europeans will have the possibility to indicate their level of digital competences thanks to a new European Digital Skills Certificate (EDSC).

A Council recommendation on improving the provision of digital skills in education and training will be proposed in accordance with the Skills Agenda.

Students’ digital skills are also in the spotlight of this strategic priority, as it is planned that the share of 13-14-year-old students who underperform in computer and information literacy will be reduced to under 15 % by 2030.

Finally, advanced digital skills development will be strongly encouraged, as well as women’s participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

MCAA Editorial Team