Read about the seminar and Donostia-San Sebastián: www.oecd-donostia2011.com

The programme is now available: here

Register now  here

Third round

Regions can now sign up for the third round of reviews

HEIs, cities and regions can now sign up for the 3rd round of reviews. Two review visits of the 3rd round have already taken place in the Free State (South Africa) and Antioquia (Colombia). The review of Antioquia was organised on short notice to accommodate the wishes of the region. The next review visit will take place in Sonora (Mexico) and Wrocław (Poland). The OECD Secretariat is currently negotiating with several regions and their HEIs in Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Greece, Mexico, Thailand, United States, and Spain. The third round will benefit mainly regions and cities having IMHE member institutions. Read more here.

Review visit of Antioquia

OECD review team: Julio RUBIO (Metropolitan Autonomous University, MX), Jocelyne GACEL-AVILÀ (University of Guadalajara, MX), Oscar VALIENTE (OECD/IMHE), Martha LAVERDE (World Bank), Simon SCHWARTZMAN (IETS, BR)and Jose Joaquin BRUNNER (University Diego Portales, CL).

The Department of Antioquia in Colombia has a population of over 6 million. It is one of the most dynamic economies in South America, but the economic growth has not reduced deep rooted social inequality as almost 47% of the population lives in poverty. The economy of Antioquia presents low levels of innovation and limited capacity to generate jobs. While the Department of Antioquia has made progress in reducing dropouts in secondary education, learning outcomes remain poor, posing a challenge to the expansion of higher education. University-industry co-operation is at an early stage of development. The national government's recent decision that 10% of the royalties from the mining would be managed by science and technology committees in the regions opens a window of opportunity for improving the contribution of HEIs to regional development. The OECD review report will be submitted to the region in December 2011.

Second Round

Fourteen regions have participated in the second round of the OECD Reviews of Higher Education in Regional Development in 2009-2011. The second round is coming towards the end. 11 review reports have been published on the OECD website. Two review reports are awaiting feedback from their regions and one review report is in the production process. The overview report is currently under preparation and will feature articles from Jamil Salmi (World Bank), Susan Christopherson (Cornell University, US), John Goddard (Newcastle University, UK), Ellen Hazelkorn (Dublin Institute of Technology, IRL) and OECD analysts. To learn more about the regions and review reports, please visit our dedicated website www.oecd.org/edu/imhe/regionaldevelopment

The OECD Paraná review report has just been published. Read the report here. The executive summary is available here.

The launch meeting will take place in Curitiba on the 14-16 of September. Speakers include John Goddard (Newcastle University, UK), Maria Helena Nazaré (European University Association - EUA) and Jamil Salmi (World Bank). Paraná is one of the most prosperous states in Brazil and has invested in higher education, science and technology, and public-private partnerships. Its HE scene is dominated by federal and state universities, even though the private sector enrols a much higher number of students, particularly from low income families. The OECD report analyses how Paraná can build its capacity as an internationally attractive place to live, work, invest and study in the face of growing global competition. It identifies how HEIs can contribute to business formation, the development of the existing industry and SMEs and addresses long term challenges of poverty and inequality. 

The OECD Penang review report has been published. Read the report here. The executive summary is available here.

Penang is one of Malaysia’s most industrial states. Its long-term economic growth has been based on manufacturing and foreign direct investments. Dependence on multinational corporations has brought growth and development but also an underdeveloped local industry, limited indigenous innovation and a lack of dynamic new entrepreneurship. An underutilised asset of the region is the higher education sector including University Sains Malaysia, which has been granted APEX status, giving it the autonomy to transform itself into Malaysia's first world class university. This OECD report explores how Penang can move up in the value chain, to a knowledge-driven economy and how its diverse tertiary education sector can contribute to regional and local development.

The OECD Report for the State of Victoria, was launched in April by Barbara Ischinger, Director of the OECD Directorate for Education in Australia at both Victoria University and La Trobe University. These meetings attracted high level participants, including the Minister for Regional Cities Denis Napthine, Victoria University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Dawkins and Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Linda Rosenman. The key message arising from the meeting is the need for a co-ordinated strategy for regional innovation and human capital development. Collaboration between the government, tertiary education institutions and the private sector should be developed and the many good practice examples that are already in place should be extended and scaled up . Widening access to higher education requires sustained co-operation between HEIs and schools in order to meet the challenge of skill shortages in Victoria. Furthermore, while Victoria has made strong investments in leading-edge research infrastructure, there is a need to ensure returns on public investments in terms of job creation and business formation. The review report is availabe here.

The OECD Report for Catalonia was launched in April in Barcelona. The dissemination meeting was chaired by the new Regional Minister of Economy and Knowledge, Mr. Andreu Mas-Colell. Jaana Puukka (OECD/IMHE) brought the key messages from the OECD review. Other speakers included Mr. Francesc Santacana (President of the Strategic Plan for the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona), Mr. Josep M. Vilalta (ACUP), Mr. Martí Parellada (Fundación CyD), Mr. Jordi W. Carnes (Local Minister of Economy, City of Barcelona) and Mr. Dídac Ramírez (Rector of the University of Barcelona and President of the ACUP). The meeting drew a large attendance (more than 100 people), including Ms. Mercedes Chacon from the central government (General Director for University Admissions in the Spanish Ministry of Education), Mr. Jordi Pujol (former President of the Regional Government), key regional and local authorities, and public and private sector stakeholders. The meeting received good coverage in Catalan and national media. Speakers agreed that the economic crisis calls for greater efficiency in the HE system. There is a need for university-industry collaboration between universities and the VET sector; and there is a need to improve skills levels and widen access of underserved groups such as new immigrants. The review report is available here.

Staff News

Jaana PUUKKA is back leading the OECD reviews after her 6-month mobility in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS).

Oscar VALIENTE continues as a consultant with a focus on Latin America.

Freya DAMRELL, trainee, joined the IMHE reviews in June. She has a Bachelor's degree in French and International Relations from Simmons College, Boston and is currently completing a dual Master's degree in European Affairs at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and the London School of Economics.

Inmaculada PERIÁÑEZ FORTE completed her secondment in IMHE in May 2011 and moved to the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry where she is co-ordinating the Regional Smart Specialisation project and contributes to the analysis of the role of Open Science in the commercialisation of knowledge. She has made an important contribution to the review of Andalusia and the Seville Conference. She is a technical advisor to the Andalusia's Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Science.

Staff

Jaana PUUKKA, Project Manager, jaana.puukka@oecd.org, Tel +33 1 4524 1661; Mobile +33 6 2795 4723
Òscar VALIENTE, Consultant, oscar.valiente@oecd.org, Tel +33 1 4524 9226
Austin DELANEY, Consultant, austin.delaney@oecd.org, Tel +33 1 4524 9551
Rachel LINDEN, Project Assistant, rachel.linden@oecd.org, Tel +33 1 4524 9755
Freya Damrell, Trainee, freya.damrell@oecd.org

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