This is in the context of higher education being central to European competitiveness, innovation and social cohesion. Not least it is viewed as a key driver for growth and jobs. The commission recognises education as a matter of national and institutional competence. However the challenges for higher education have a clear European dimension and this is where they seek to intervene.

The strategy deals with a range of issues in education including participation rates, access, quality, mobility, internationalisation and governance and funding. For example, the European target for higher education attainment is 40 per cent (of 30-34-year-olds) for all countries by 2020. Ireland is the highest, already at 50 per cent, followed closely by Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg and Sweden. In contrast, Portugal, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic are below 25 per cent.

The strategy emphasises the role of higher education in training new researchers as part of reaching the 3 per cent GDP RD investment target. This complements the Innovation Union research policy of an extra million research jobs by 2020. This is the first time there has been such a clear convergence of European education and research policies.

The strategy has a particular emphasis on doctoral training which lies at the intersection of education and research. It focuses on the fact that the majority of the new research posts will be in the private sector. Therefore doctoral training should ensure that graduates are properly equipped to follow career paths outside of academia. This is an area of interest for Ireland as our national policy from 2006 was based on the doubling of PhD graduates by 2013.

I chaired a European working group that has established the Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training: these are now integrated fully into the modernisation strategy. The principles were based on global best practice. In particular, they follow the approach taken by some countries, including Ireland, in introducing structured PhD programmes. The principles are: a call for research excellence and creativity; an attractive institutional environment with critical mass and respect for the European Charter and Code for attractive working conditions for researchers; interdisciplinary research options; exposure to industry and other relevant work sectors; international networking and mobility; transferable skills training; and quality assurance. These principles are integral to the approach being taken in Ireland by both the universities and funding agencies.

Given the global nature of research, an international environment, staff, students and collaborations are crucial. The percentage of international academic staff in Irish univer- sities goes from about 25 to 42 per cent. Specific disciplines in some universities have more than 50 per cent. Some 35 per cent of doctoral candidates are international.

There is a real need to expose doctoral candidates to a wide range of future career paths given that only a small percentage will follow an academic career. In particular this can include placements during the PhD or being trained within an existing collaboration, eg Science Foundation Ireland centres for science engineering and technology. As part of the promotion of this link, the commission has set aside €20m to fund European Industrial Doctorates within the Marie Curie actions in 2012; cross-border partnerships between universities and companies. We will be well placed to compete given national experience with the Enterprise Partnership Scheme run by the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology.

The commission plans a single programme for education, training and youth between 2014 and 2020. Over the same period, the Horizon 2020 programme will fund research and innovation. The Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training will act as a lens through which all PhD funding will be focused. Ireland’s involvement in the development of the principles has ensured that our approach is now integrated in future European policy and funding.