HIGHER EDUCATION, MOBILITY AND LIFE OPPORTUNITIES

This article discusses what in the author's perspective are some of the most urgent aspects of certain questions which must necessarily be answered if one is to take seriously the basic ideas of the “One‐Europe” concept. As far as they concern institutions of higher education, they are first discussed in terms of the comparability of university degrees. For this purpose, the basic problem is stated with reference to two examples taken from Germany. Then the much more complicated situation involving many systems is sketched. It is not at all the intention of this article to recommend a strategy of “homogenization as far as possible”; however, it grapples with the reality that if graduates are to be able to obtain employment abroad, that is, to make a reality of international mobility, some system of comparability is urgently required. Another point raised refers to the effects of the constantly expanding educational sector on the opportunities of individuals and age cohorts, an aspect of the question which is frequently overlooked. Here the need for more information ‐ and planning according to the information received ‐ is obvious. The paper ends by suggesting certain changes in social conditions in order to improve opportunities for mobility.