13TH REPORT: PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH THE
EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: INTERIM REPORT
COMMISSION RESPONSE
The European Commission would like to thank
the Social Policy and Consumer Affairs Sub-Committee of the House
of Lords' EU Select Committee for their comments on the proposal
to establish the European Institute of Technology (EIT). The interest
shown by the House of Lords in the EIT proposal is very welcome.
The Commission attaches great importance to the proposal which
it sees as an integral part of a broader strategy to harness Europe's
currently fragmented innovation potential.
The comments of the House of Lords' EU Select
Committee focus on the following issues:
(a) The need to clearly identify the nature of
the knowledge transfer problem in Europe and the merits of carrying
out a Lambert style review across the EU.
(b) The capacity of the EIT in the form proposed
to encourage knowledge transfer within the EU and to provide incentives
for the involvement of the business community in the EIT.
(c) The relationship between the EIT, the 7th
Research Framework Programme and the ERC.
(d) The proposed budget of the EIT and the KICs,
especially the use of the Structural Fund and the unallocated
margins, the incentives for private companies to invest and the
impact of the proposal EIT upon 7FP and national and regional
budgets.
(e) The proposed administrative structure of
the EIT.
(f) The issue of the degree-awarding powers of
the EIT.
The Commission wishes to shed some light on
these points:
(a) The need to clearly identify the nature
of the knowledge transfer problem in Europe and the merits of
carrying out a Lambert style review across the EU
Knowledge is a critical factor for Europe to
preserve its international competitive advantage. The European
leaders made this explicit at the Hampton Court meeting in October
2005. They undertook to modernise higher education systems and
to make them more responsive to global innovation challenges.
The underlying vision is to ensure that our education systems
regain lost ground and focus on becoming a force for growth and
employment.
The challenge of addressing the innovation gap
and promoting knowledge transfer in Europe is well documented.
In the framework of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, the
Commission has taken a comprehensive array of policies and initiatives
to make Europe more innovation friendly. In particular, in October
2006 the Commission adopted a broad-based innovation strategy
for Europe to translate investments in knowledge into products
and services.
The Commission's views on the nature of the
innovation and knowledge transfer problem are very much at one
with those expressed in Mr Lambert's report on Business-University
Collaboration. Indeed, the findings of the Lambert Review
have been a source of inspiration for the Commission's reflection
on improving knowledge transfer between the public research base
and industry across Europe. Equally, it has influenced the Commission's
Communication on how to modernise European universities, its Communication
on knowledge transfer and the reflection leading to the establishment
of the EIT.
(b) The capacity of the EIT in the form proposed
to encourage knowledge transfer within the EU and to provide incentives
for the involvement of the business community in the EIT
The in-depth review the Commission carried out
before launching the EIT proposal encompassed consultation on
the role of knowledge transfer. From Spring 2005 to Autumn 2006,
the Commission carried out a wide-scale consultation process with
all EU Member States as well as key stakeholder groupings. A public
consultation exercise was conducted where more than 760 organizations
and individuals participated. Various rounds of meetings were
convened with more than 40 European organizations representing
the business, research and innovation communities as well as with
representatives from the Member States. More than 50 position
papers were prepared, with an active involvement of the UK government
and UK universities. The Commission issued two Communications
in February and June 2006 which took stock of the feedback from
the consultation process. The Commission's proposal has thus extensively
drawn from the wide-ranging consultation process. This process
led the Commission to adapt and adjust its initial concept for
the EIT. The Commission's proposal is therefore not the outcome
of Commission's internal reflection, but the result of carefully
listening to the interested parties, taking advantage of fresh
ideas and addressing the major concerns raised during the consultation.
As a result of this extensive consultation with
the key stakeholders, the Commission has concluded that the best
departure point for the EIT would be a network-building approach,
and that this should be developed to lead to an EIT based on truly
integrated partnerships. The EIT will provide a new, innovative
model of collaboration between business, education and research.
It will define long-term strategic priorities and invite the best
resources from universities, research centres and businesses to
pool their resources, to integrate their work and to meet pressing
business and innovation challenges.
The EIT will be a university, a research centre
and a centre for developing applied business solutions. It will
be based on an enhanced partnership, at the intersection of private
and public; of university and business; of education, research
and innovation. It is an innovative experiment to encourage innovation
through all pertinent forms of knowledge sharing, which could
become model for many of tomorrow's ground breaking initiatives.
This innovative initiative is, it is clear from
the consultations undertaken, appealing to the business community.
The EIT will be an organization where business, research and universities
will have an equal voice in setting a strategy and implementing
it. Business leaders will be members of the Governing Board; companies
will be integral parts of the KlCs. In short, business has a unique
opportunity to focus the EIT on emerging areas that have a potential
of boosting growth and competitiveness. Moreover, the EIT will
offer European companies a new relationship with education. It
will make business culture and the entrepreneurial mindset part
of the day to day educational activities. This has the potential
to have a substantial impact on the provision of the skills needed
in the knowledge economy.
(c) The relationship between the EIT, the
7th Research Framework Programme and the ERC
Community activities for research, development
and demonstration are carried out under Title XVIII of the EC
Treaty and funded from the Seventh Framework Research Programme
(7FP) (Arts Art 163 & 166/EC). 7FP is thus the main funding
mechanism at EU level targeted towards research and technological
development in Europe. However, this does not prevent other Community
funding sources, such as the Structural funds, from being used
to finance eligible national or regional activities that relate
to research, in the pursuit of other Community objectives. But
such finance cannot be cumulative with 7FP funds. Further, EIT
funding could not be targeted towards research activities, either
in competition with, or in addition to, 7FP funds.
Support for basic research is a matter
for the European Research Council (ERC). Clearly the EIT and the
ERC have different mission and objectives.
The EIT system (through the KICs) will directly
perform education, research and innovation activities. Its mission
is to reinforce the innovation capacity of Europe. By integrating
the three elements of the knowledge triangle, it will involve,
on an equal footing, education, and research and business organisations.
The EIT will pull together resources in the framework of integrated
partnerships—the KICs. It is thus not targeted on projects
but on integrated partnerships. Each KIC will develop a strategic
work programme over a relatively long period (seven to 15 years).
The ERC is a funding mechanism within 7FP and
it addresses only the research element of the knowledge triangle.
It focuses on investigator-driven frontier research, not on innovation
and is targeted on individual researchers and teams not on creating
integrated partnerships. The Commission has had regular contacts
with Professor Kafatos, Chairman of the ERC, to explore the potential
for synergies and interaction between the EIT and the ERC.
(d) The proposed budget of the EIT and the
KICs, especially the use of the Structural Fund and the unallocated
margins, the incentives for private companies to invest and the
impact of the proposal EIT upon 7FP and national and regional
budgets.
The Commission's EIT proposal assumes that the
activities of the EIT and the (KICs) will be financed from a combination
of sources and that the Community contribution should essentially
be a mechanism to mobilise external support. The proposal makes
available new funding and also invites participants to draw on
existing EU funding mechanisms. What matters most is the multiplier
effect of the Community contribution—its capacity to draw
forth the commitment from other sources—business, public
authorities, and research and education institutions—that
would not otherwise be available.
The Commission has proposed that a Community
subsidy will be directly earmarked for the EIT. As no specific
provisions were made for the financing of the EIT in the Multi-Annual
Financial Framework for the period 2007-13, the Commission has
therefore proposed that these monies will come from the unallocated
margins of sub-heading 1A, up to an amount of €308 million.
In addition, Community funds from the Structural
Funds and from the Community programmes are expected to flow directly—always—in
accordance with their normal rules—to the partner organisations
which are members of a KIC, and contribute to the funding of some
activities.
The Commission has estimated that the main source
of Community funding for the KICs or their partners will be the
Structural Funds. This is for two reasons: first, because all
possible activities to be undertaken by KICs are potentially eligible
under the Structural Funds' rules. Second, because the requirement
for national and regional authorities to invest Structural Fund
contributions in innovation, research and education activities
(60% of expenditure for the Convergence objective and 75% of expenditure
for the Regional competitiveness and employment objective should
be set aside for such activities) constitute an opportunity to
foster the territorial interlinkage between the local business
community and the local KIC participant to improve knowledge sharing
and cluster development, which is particularly important for SMEs.
Any structural fund support for KICs activities would have to
be obtained through the normal national or regional multi-annual
operational programmes, negotiated with the Commission. So clearly,
there is no obligation for national and regional authorities to
include in their programming documents the activities developed
by the KICs.
The Commission has no intention to take money
away from the Community programmes, namely 7FP, the Competitiveness
and Innovation Programme or the Lifelong Learning programme, to
finance the EIT. Furthernore, there will be no preferential treatment
for the EIT within these programmes. The EIT and the KICs will
be able to participate in these programmes, in accordance with
their specific rules and procedures, with no privileged access.
Financial support from industry will be the test case for success
and credibility of the EIT. Contacts with leading industrialists
as well as with European organisations (Eurochambres, Business
Europe) have clearly shown that the business community is very
favourable towards the EIT project.Fast access to new business-relevant
knowledge and researchers trained in these domains with an entrepreneurial
mindset count among the factors attracting business. However,
at this point in time, it is difficult to make a robust estimation
on the contribution of the private sector. This is understandable
as negotiations on the EIT concept and its further development
are still on-going within the Community institutions. Industry
will only commit in a tangible way to the EIT when the priority
domains and operating modalities are known. Furthermore it will
be important that the EIT remains as independent, flexible and
non-bureaucratic as possible if their interest is to be converted
into real participation. In this respect, the proposed participation
of business in the Governing Board of the EIT not only provides
for business-relevance at the strategic level, yet also sends
a clear message of business-relevance to industrialists.
(e) The proposed administrative structure
of the EIT
The Commission fully shares the view of the
Select Committee that the administrative arrangements for the
EIT should be as light as possible. This is why the proposed support
structure has been limited to what is deemed strictly necessary
for the EIT to effectively fulfill its tasks. The number of staff
employed by the EIT is estimated at a maximum of 60, consisting
in equal proportions of scientific staff and support staff. Moreover,
all the personnel directly employed by the EIT will be under fixed-term
contracts.
(f) The issue of the degree-awarding powers
of the EIT
The Commission has been attentive to ensure
that the proposal respects Member States'competences in the field
of education. The degrees will be awarded by universities and
other higher education institutions which are members of a KIC,
in accordance with national rules and accreditation procedures.
Where appropriate, degrees and diplomas should be joint or multiple.
This will foster trans-national cooperation between higher education
institutions across the Union and promote the mobility of students
and researchers. It will contribute to the development of a Higher
Education Area as well as to the Bologna process.
These degrees and diplomas should also be clearly
identified with the EIT. This will ensure that they have the prestige
of clearly identified excellence. It will also help develop the
attractiveness of the EIT. The EIT brand will be exclusively borne
by new PhD and Master degrees and diplomas awarded in the framework
of the KlCs. These should be innovative in their content. The
brand will not be extended to other degrees and diplomas awarded
by the partner universities. Ensuring the high quality of EIT-branded
degrees and diplomas and promoting them as a prestige layer of
academic achievement will be a task of the Governing Board.
June 2007
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