On 1 December 2022, the fifth European Education Summit, ‘Bright Young Minds’ took place in hybrid format, with speakers and panellists present in person. The summit was opened by Mariya Gabriel – European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth— and an inspirational speech by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, followed by a keynote address by European Commission’s Vice-President Margaritis Schinas.

Screenshot retrieved from the webinar

Setting the stage for this year’s summit, the first panel, moderated by Mariya Gabriel, tackled the progress achieved with the European Education Area so far (for more details, see ACA Newsletter – Education Europe, November 2022). Eight out of the 14 EEA initiatives proposed in 2020 (such as micro-credentials, environmental sustainability, pathway to school success) were delivered by 2022. Three areas for improvement in the upcoming period include the working conditions and opportunities of teachers, the European university alliances and the bridge between innovation and education. War in Ukraine and post-pandemic challenges were also emphasised as important developments to be taken into consideration in building more resilient, sustainable, and the future-proof European Education Area in the upcoming period.

Other highlights from the summit in the higher education field include:

• Inclusion of and engagement with the young people both in agenda setting and policy making processes is an important goal to improve European education policies.
• Non-formal and informal education & training channels should be further improved.
• Innovation and research should be further encouraged at European universities with more structural funding, new learning labs and deep-tech innovation valleys, and a revised education system fostering scientific entrepreneurship.
• Further development is needed in the provision of digital education and training to improve digital literacy and skills.

For more information, see commission’s webpage.