university–enterprise cooperation

36
standards in education, also in the light of
the ongoing EU integration process of the
region [67].
In line with the emphasis of the Austrian
EU Presidency on quality in education,
the IX Conference of European Ministers
of Education held in 2006, discussed
the widening of the EHEA to the Western
Balkans, the main themes in focus were
the ongoing integration of the Western
Balkan countries into the EHEA, the
significance of qualification frameworks for
education reforms in a Life-long learning
perspective, and the role of the universities
for the reform process as a point of
synergy between education, research and
innovation. The implementation of the
Bologna objectives, the participation
of higher education institutions in the
new Community programmes, and the
integration into the European Research Area
(ERA), are vital for the higher education
institutions of the Western Balkan region.
Generated strategic paper a “Pact for
Education” for the Western Balkans [60]
has defined framework for the European
support for educational reforms in the WBC
region, intended to serve both as source of
information and as a basis for discussion.
The Task Force “Fostering and Building
Human Capital” of the Regional Cooperation
Council (RCC) adopted Action plan [90]
in this area for period 2009-2010, on the
occasion of its meeting held in June 2009,
in Zagreb. Here are main upshots, related to
three sides of knowledge triangle:
1. Promotion of coherency and coordination
between education, training, higher
education, research and science by
creating a platform for dialogue and
cooperation of actors involved in these
sectors is the main aim of TF;
2. It is evident of the growing impact of the
“knowledge triangle” on the economic
and social development in SEE;
3. Following cooperative action should be
undertaken by TF:
• Lobbying on highlighting the role
of education, training, science and
research as main factors for sustainable
economic development and knowledgebased
growth as well as towards policy
measures aiming at enhancing innovation
capacities and fostering excellence in
education and research in SEE;
• Cooperation of SEE institutions and
organizations with EU and international
institutions in the area of building and
fostering human capital;
• Providing information related to potential
hosting institutions for mobility of
students, teachers, education managers
and researchers from SEE region;
• Promotion and management of an innovative
networks by providing a structure for cooperation;
• Facilitating of establishment and sustainable
functioning of clusters of knowledge (CoKs).
4.1.2 Research side
S&T system in the WBC Region has
not recovered fully yet, after years of
international isolation, political instability
and economic depression. Though research
systems in WBC (Western Balkan Countries)
have undergone substantial institutional
The “Pact for Education” for the Western Balkans as an initiative and result of the Austrian EU
Presidency is in this sense a political initiative for the mobilization of existing obligations on
the part of EU Member States and international partner institutions towards the region, which
facilitates the timely integration of all the countries of the Western Balkans into the European
educational area. The Pact for Education should thus increasingly support the respective national
reform efforts and thus make a contribution to the European perspective of the region of the
Western Balkans via education.
The integration of the countries of the Western Balkans into the European education and higher
education area in the sense of sustainable and also qualitatively new partnerships between the
region and the EU through sufficient pre-accession support and through the transfer of knowledge
and expertise is for this reason a strategic objective of the Pact for Education.