The EU aims to be “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world”, but how should it go about constructing policy towards that end? In this course, we will examine the three fields which come together to comprise knowledge policies: education, research and innovation. The starting point of our exploration is the knowledge-based economy which has become de rigueur for policymakers. We examine this concept and how it impacts the institutions responsible for creating, disseminating, and exploiting knowledge as well as how the EU uses the OMC and scoreboard mechanisms to promote aspects of the knowledge-based economy. The course is then divided into three parts reflecting the three core knowledge policy areas mentioned above. In each of them we will study the institutional foundations that the EU is constructing alongside its attempts at policy coordination in these areas. The course concludes by looking more deeply into the relationship between knowledge and politics, specifically international relations and the emerging field of scientific diplomacy.
Last update: Young Mitchell, M.A., Ph.D. (01.09.2017)
