Latest Blog Posts

Marina Cino Pagliarello The implementation of a common Higher Education policy has been a long-standing objective of the European Union (Corbett, 2005). The launch of the Bologna Process in 1999 with its aim of creating a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the establishment of the European Research Area (ERA) have been important drivers in […]

Introduction Since science diplomacy is a relatively nascent field of scholarly enquiry, it is worth exploring its capacity to keep in step with other dynamic contemporary theoretical currents which are pre-occupied with the evolution of diplomacy. Science diplomacy holds the potential to induce the practice theory with a broader view of the diverse actors engaged […]

Corina Balaban & Susan Wright Mobility in Doctoral Education was the topic we tackled in the most recent special issue of LATISS, the International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences. ‘Mobility’ is now a buzzword of research policy, referring to a whole range of experiences, from moving between countries to switching between disciplines […]

Isabel K. Bolliger, Katharina Cramer, David Eggleton, Olof Hallonsten, Maria Moskovko, Nicolas Rüffin[i] We are witnessing the emergence of ‘grand challenges’ impacting societies on a global scale. These include climate change, artificial intelligence, and access to resources. Large-scale research and internationally coordinated collaboration in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy are viewed as the means […]

Isabel K. Bolliger, Alexandra Griffiths and Martin Müller In 2000 the European Commission (EC) launched the European Research Area (ERA) initiative, with the intention to improve coordination and collaboration in research and innovation in Europe. ERA became a key element of the ambitious Lisbon strategy in order for the EU “to become the most competitive […]

Inga Ulnicane Tackling Grand societal global challenges has become a popular goal of knowledge policies and governance including many science, technology, innovation and higher education strategies and initiatives. Over the past 15 years, the European Union, many international organizations, national governments, private foundations, scientific societies and universities have declared their priority to address societal challenges […]

Merli Tamtik Despite long-lasting resistance from the member-states and the unwillingness to yield power ‘naturally’ to the supra-national level (Gornitzka, 2009), the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation has established itself as a leader in coordinating European research policy. How do we explain this emerging role of the European Commission in shaping European research […]

Inga Ulnicane ‘Crisis should not be wasted’. Since the beginning of the global economic crisis in 2008, this idea has been repeated many times suggesting that crisis should rather be used as an opportunity for innovative solutions and necessary reforms. One of such potential changes emphasized by European institutions has been prioritization of research and […]

Mari Elken and Jens Jungblut On the 3rd and 4th of March 2016, the European Research Area collaborative research network (CRN) had its final workshop at the Directorate General for Research & Innovation of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. Building on the diverse activities and encompassing research that has been conducted within the framework […]

Meng-Hsuan Chou In July 2015, UACES’s (The Academic association for contemporary European studies) European Research Area collaborative research network (CRN) held its second workshop at the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) in Cambridge. Knowledge policies continue to be at the forefront of contemporary global politics. There is an accepted belief among policymakers that […]