Collaboration between Vocational and University Education: Building Partnerships for Regional Development

Iñaki Goirizelaia	Bernard Hugonnier	Márius Rubiralta

Bernard Hugonnier, Deputy-Director for Education (OECD), Iñaki Goirizelaia, Rector of the University of the Basque Country and Márius Rubiralta, General Secretary for Universities (Ministry of Education) are pleased to present the OECD / IMHE Seminar "Collaboration between Vocational and University Education" which will be held at Campus de Gipuzkoa (Carlos Santamaría Centre), 17-18 October.

Tertiary education has become more diverse in its providers, its learners and the range of skills and training it provides as a response to the growing demand of education in knowledge-based economies. New and more flexible modes of study and delivery have been put in place to attend to the needs of a more heterogeneous student body, in terms of socio-economic background, ethnicity, previous education, age, aspirations, and academic ability. This institutional differentiation has blurred the boundaries between vocational and university education, increasing the competition between tertiary education institutions (TEIs) for students and resources.
 
In a context of constant changes and great uncertainty, tertiary education institutions (TEIs) have to collaborate in order to improve their  responsiveness to the needs of the labour market and the wider society. TEIs can play a key role in human capital development and innovation systems and can help their cities and regions become more innovative and globally competitive. The OECD Reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development assist TEIs  and regional governments to achieve this objective.

This seminar will examine the main challenges and opportunities of collaboration between vocational tertiary and university education for regional development. International good practices of collaboration and division of labour between tertiary education institutions will be presented and discussed from the perspective of their contributions to human capital development and innovation in cities and regions. The seminar is co-organised with the OECD/IMHE, the Spanish Ministry of Education and the University of the Basque Country.

*Translation into English/ Spanish will be available during the sessions.