25 Nov 2024
Council adopts recommendation on attractive and sustainable careers in higher education
On 25 November 2024, the Council of the European Union adopted a recommendation encouraging EU countries to make careers in higher education more attractive and sustainable. The recommendation stresses the need to acknowledge the diversity of academic career paths, and highlights the importance of valuing teaching as well as research. It also includes measures to incentivise higher education professionals to take part in a broader range of career-related activities, including cross-border educational activities.
The Council’s recommendation highlights supportive action that higher education institutions could take to make careers in the sector more attractive, including better working conditions, continuous professional development, gender equality, work-life balance, and inclusiveness. It also encourages employers to recognise and support the diverse range of academic career paths available to people in the higher education sector.
In particular, the Council calls for greater recognition of the full range of roles and tasks performed by academic and professional staff in addition to research activities. These include teaching, innovation, mentoring, cross-border cooperation, and institutional governance.
Today’s recommendation marks the adoption of the first file in the higher education package, which was proposed by the European Commission in March 2024. The package also contains a proposal for a European degree that could be recognised automatically throughout the EU. Under this voluntary initiative, students would be able to study for a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree at two or more EU universities and obtain a joint qualification.
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Council recommendation on attractive and sustainable careers in higher education