Education, teachers and skills are not only a tool to be exploited by the labour market, but are “at the core of the European response to the challenges of the future”, Education Minister Athena Michaelidou said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference after a two-day informal summit of European education ministers in Nicosia, she said education “is called to be a long-term investment in human capital for a competitive, democratic, resilient and fair Europe”.

She added that during the summit, “particular emphasis was placed on professional autonomy, social recognition, stability, strengthening digital skills and their continuous training in skills related to artificial intelligence”.

The meeting is the first convening of European education ministers since Cyprus took on the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency, with the government’s programme for its six-month term stating that it will “promote a comprehensive learner-centred approach”.

“Emphasis will be placed on citizenship education, inclusion, lifelong learning and strengthening competences for the digital and green transitions,” it said.

It also said it would aim to bolster mobility and internationalisation in higher education, as well as labour market-aligned upskilling and reskilling, while also promoting the joint European degree initiative.

The European Commission describes the “joint European degree” as a “new type of joint degree awarded after transnational bachelor, master or doctoral programmes delivered at national, regional, or institutional level” which is automatically recognised across the EU.

It would be awarded jointly and on a voluntary basis by a group of universities across Europe, with the stated aim of “contributing to Europe’s competitiveness by equipping graduates with future-proof skills” and “providing a strong symbol of our common European identity and strong sense of European belonging”.

This, it said, will “reinforce our common academic values and bring people and universities together”.

Students who undertake the joint European degree will have more opportunities to study at various universities in different EU countries and to graduate with one universally recognised joint diploma.