In many countries, there is a shared view that university education needs a deep reform not only to meet the demand of the labor market (the old argument after the rise of the mass university) but also to enforce national competitiveness in the global marketplace. Regardless of the high visibility of such reforms however, in-depth understanding of this process, as well as of the consequent impact on individual national systems is lacking. MEHEM contributes to the study and advance of knowledge economy in Europe as its particular focus is on the potential convergence of routes that individual national higher education policies have taken.

The project as summarized here addresses such needs and constraints in several ways.

• MEHEM undertakes the study of the current state of convergence within the European university system, the collection of data on ‘representative’ European educational systems.

• In order to participate effectively and take advantage of the present opportunities, both on an institutional and national level, in the supranational academic network, a degree of alignment by the national university systems is needed to meet the requirements as laid out by the European Union. The study promises to be relevant to policy concerns on how to best adapt to the European context while still respecting national specificities.

• MEHEM assesses the nature of the contribution made by educational institutions to the development of national competitiveness and entrepreneurship, case-based inquiries centered on top national universities are undertaken, thus meeting the need for multi-level analysis of such complex phenomena.