Session 1 – Post open access transition
16 September 2021
9:45-11:45

Despite some excellent results with regard to a very significant share of international publications, the presence of strong national research organisations in several European countries that work closely with Universities, and the thrust provided by the European Union through the ERCs, the Flagships and active industry-academia research funding programs, our Universities throughout the European Union lag behind their competitors in neighbouring and more distant advanced countries both with respect to base funding and in the visible push towards excellence. This reflects also the lag in European industry and business that is driven by high technology and strong innovation, and in the imbalance in our Universities between tertiary education on the one hand, and competitive advanced research and technology innovation on the other. This presentation will provide quantitative comparisons about these matters, and then give some proposals that can propulse European Universities once again into a world-leading role in the future.