Barroso backs Europe's answer to MIT

Despite UK opposition, the head of the European Commission insists the planned European Institute of Technology will bolster competitiveness

The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, yesterday reiterated his commitment to developing a European Institute of Technology (EIT) as part of the commission's wider plans to increase European investment in research and development.

The plans for a European answer to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have faced criticism from UK politicians and business leaders with a recent Lords committee claiming the proposals were impractical and would add little to the work already being done by existing universities and businesses.

However, speaking to 2,500 business leaders at the annual Institute of Directors (IoD) conference in London, Barroso insisted that the EIT would help promote "excellence in research, education and innovation across Europe, by deepening the links between academia and industry".

"[The UK] has excellent global universities with strong business links, but much of the rest of Europe has a long way to go," Barroso said. "We need a European dimension to stop too many of our best research talent leaving Europe too young."

Barroso also insisted that increased commercial investment in science and technology research was essential to protect European competitiveness. "Private research and development in the EU rose by more than 5 percent in 2005," he said. "But again, we cannot be complacent. The number of engineering graduates from China is the same as the total number of graduates from the UK."

Earlier in the day, IoD director general Miles Templeman also called on businesses to do more to help tackle the UK's skills shortages, urging more business directors to support local schools and colleges. He argued that with the government claiming it wanted a "demand-led" skills economy, it was up to business leaders to work closer to educational establishments to help drive the skills agenda.

Templeman added that the IoD had launched a new service to put local schools and businesses together and urged more IoD members to join those already giving "their time and expertise as school governors or as supporters of the new business-led academies, not for any altruistic reason but because there are practical benefits".