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More Than Ever, 'Education is Power'
1 April 2006
Amongst her various responsibilities since joining the staff in
the earliest planning stages, Heather Gordon has been in charge of
the library. She has decided to move on, and many of us will miss
her professionally and personally, as she has been a key member of
staff.
One of the things that Heather has done regularly is to send me
a range of fascinating articles or web sites so that I could keep
up to date with themes as varied as the precarious office of
presidents or vice-chancellors, through to key international data
on trends in higher education.
Recently she sent me reference to a very readable, concise OECD
report on why education is seen as the key to Europe's success.
The Lisbon Summit in 2000 set the goal that Europe become 'the
most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the
world'.
'Knowledge economy' is an often used and abused phrase, but
essentially reflects the global transition of economies from the
land, labour and capital, to the production of knowledge. The most
effective modern economies will be those that produce the most
information and knowledge, and making them accessible to the
greatest number of individuals and enterprises.
The report stresses that the countries that invest most heavily
in education and skills benefit economically and socially as a
result.
It states that for every euro invested in education, every
taxpayer at every level of society gets more than that financial
investment returned to them in tangible benefits - in health,
architectural, engineering or other fields.
The evidence internationally is unequivocally that there is an
insatiable demand for people with degrees and higher
qualifications, and that their earning power continues to grow and
sets them starkly apart from the underqualified in terms of
earnings.
The Report also points to how school and university systems can
become more effective. Schools systems are said to be more
effective where teachers are given greater professional autonomy at
the expense of centralised curricula.
Universities will be stronger if they are diverse yet deeply
concerned with quality. They need to improve access from
disadvantaged groups. They need to mobilise both public and private
funding. They need leadership that is enterprising but ensures
long-term financial sustainability. Finally they need to reflect a
wide range of stakeholder interests.
The data that have led to these recommendations are impressive,
and on all or most of those counts USC is travelling well, I
believe.
Both the Coast and the University, however, still have much to
do together in the years ahead to develop the 'knowledge economy'
that will be essential for our quality of life.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast