Commission: 100 million for digital economy “We need more innovation and a more digital economy in Europe and that starts with a better ecosystem for start-ups. We’re putting our money where our mouth is”: European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes presented the new tranche of grants from a new 100m EU funding to tech startups and SMEse “to develop apps and other digital services, in areas such as transport, health, smart manufacturing, energy and media”. This third stage of the partnership’s funding – initiated in 2011 with a 500 million portfolio – aims to develop new Internet applications and services across various areas of the economy. “Funding will be channelled through 20 consortia – teams from the internet ecosystem – which includes: accelerators, crowd-funding platforms, venture capitalists, co-working spaces, regional funding organisations, technology companies and SME associations, technology companies”. EIGE, more women at the lead of the media “‘ncreased number of women in the decision-making structures of media organisations would bring social justice, better use of talents and innovative decisions. It would also improve media content”, declared Virginija Langbakk, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in the light of a dedicated report. “Women continue being significantly underrepresented in decision-making structures, both at operational levels as senior managers and at strategic levels, as chief executive officers and board members of major media organisations across the EU Member States”. Women hold only 22 % of strategic decision-making posts in the public media and only 12 % in the private media organisations in the EU-27. The report also shows that “the organisational culture within media structures remains largely masculine”, despite the fact that women considerably outnumber men in university-level education in this field and constitute nearly half the workforce within the media industry. Education and permanent formation in Croatia To celebrate Croatia’s EU adhesion the European Centre for the development of vocational training has prepared a statistical overview on the level of education, formation and ongoing learning in the Balkan country. “Having been selected for the political relevance and for the importance of the achievement of objectives in the Europe 2020 strategies – states the report – the indicators quantify key aspects of vocational training and lifelong learning”. For instance, education and vocational training are well-represented in high schools, but participation in vocational training continues and education of adults is modest compared with other European countries”. “If on the one side the participation of adults aged 24-64 in lifelong learning was of 2.4% in 2012, well below the European average of 9% – continues the report -, the percentage of citizens between 30-34 with academic education or a professional qualification of the same level was near the European average (9%)”. European universities: addressing “the global challenge” “While many European universities have established networks inside the EU, many lack a clear strategy for strengthening ties with non-European partners. This urgently needs to change”. For this reason “the Commission will support Member States in the development of higher education networks at international level. There is no one-size-fits-all model for this: countries need to play to their strengths”. Androulla Vassiliou, EU Commissioner for Education, on July 11 illustrated a new strategy, “European education in the world”, “aiming to ensure that European graduates gain the international skills they need to work anywhere in the world and that Europe remains the most attractive destination for international students”. The strategy consists in a set of proposals involving all 28 Member Countries, namely its 4 thousand universities and 19 million students. The Commission highlights the importance of initiatives (created also with European funding, such as that envisaged by Erasmus+) to address “learning competition” from countries such as China, India and Russia.
