The increasing societal demand for high-quality higher education and the pursuit of new knowledge pose unprecedented challenges to European universities. Two significant issues that have garnered significant attention are the career progression of academic staff and the persistent gender gap.
The 14 Policymakers session was organized on 21 June from 2 to 5 pm (online) jointly by RISIS and the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER), to address these concerns. ETER Dataset is a comprehensive collection of official microdata on all higher education institutions in Europe, supported by the DG EAC of the European Commission.
The round table discussions presented preliminary data on academic personnel across European universities, with a specific focus on career levels and gender breakdowns. The event aims to gather policymakers, university administrators, researchers, civil society representatives, and stakeholders.
Kinga Szuly, Head of Sector at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, delivered an opening speech. The focus of the speech was on promoting excellence, equality, and mobility for all personnel in European higher education. Andrea Bonaccorsi from the University of Pisa presented the ETER Policy Brief. This presentation covered data and indicators related to gender, academic personnel, and academic careers. Session 1 consisted of a roundtable discussion exploring the academic gender gap at the micro level. The discussion focused on evidence from ETER data.
Participants in this session include Frederique Sachwald (Director, OST Paris), Cinzia Daraio (Università Roma La Sapienza), and Alessia Zuccala (University of Copenhagen). Session 2 involved a roundtable discussion focused on preliminary evidence regarding academic personnel and careers in European higher education. The panelists for this session are Thomas Estermann (European University Association), Tatiana Fumasoli (Director, Centre for Higher Education Studies, University College London), and Marek Kwiek (Director, Institute for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Poznan). The concluding statements and discussion on the way forward featured Pauline Ravinet (Policy Officer, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport, and Culture), Andrea Bonaccorsi (University of Pisa), and Benedetto Lepori (ETER coordinator, Università della Svizzera Italiana).
