Sunday, April 27, 2008

Can EIT match up to MIT?

Plans for a European Institute of Technology to rival the US Massachusetts' Institute of Technology are facing uncertainty amid fears the EU flagship could be reduced to a virtual university.

EU education ministers and MEPs are struggling behind the scenes to settle vital questions. Uncertainty still surrounds fundamentals such as funding, powers, governance and legal status, it emerged at a Brussels hearing arranged by European Parliament committees responsible for education and research policies.
EIT will probably be launched on a much reduced scale as a virtual or even partial university, and will have an uphill task in establishing the credibility of EU commitment to tackling what speakers described as Europe's 'innovation gap'.

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