Sarkozy: Invest in Universities + Research is France + EU's way out of Global Crisis, if used well

 *Poitiers/Futuroscope's Palais des Congrès/Angelo Marcopolo/- Invest huge sums of Money  by priority in Universities and Scientific/Technological Research  is France's and EU's way out of the Global Crisis, and it will succeed if Funds are used well by those to whom the State and society at large entrusted the crucial and noble mission to better educate People and efficiently innovate in a competitive Production, stressed in substance French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking in a well-attended Mega-gathering of main Actors of the World of Education and Research for the crucial year 2012, from which will notoriously depend the outcome of Global Competition.

In fact, focus on investing to Science and Technological Innovation is currently  EU core's specific way out of the Global Crisis, since Sarkozy has well coordinated the Strategic move together with German chancellor Angie Merkel, while, f.ex. USA's President Obama notoriously uses also, at least a part of Consumption-driven attempts to relaunch the Economy, but without any convincing result yet.

- "By investing, (even more : in the well known Budgetary context) many Tens of Billions since 2007 in Higher Education, Research and Technologies of the Future, we have, I think, proven that it's not only about words", Sarkozy observed.

- But, it also needs that this Money, this Energy will be spend in serving a Real Project. It still needs to be put in the service of Crystal-Clear Choices", the French President criticaly warned.

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Developing the 1st point, Sarkozy said that he was "Convinced from the start" of his 1st, 2007 mandate, that, "inside this Fast-Changing World, ... Education  and Research are a wonderful Tool in order to take our Destiny in our Hands", with strategic action of structural importance, and "a Key for our Future" ;

- "We made considerable Investments", F.ex., in France, "Higher Education spending was augmented by + 9 Bilions € each Year since 2007" ! (In addition to the "Investments for the Future", and to "Campus"' operations);

+ "Resources affected to Universities augmented since 2007, at an average + 23 %, and for certain Universities (as also that of Strasbourg, etc) for more than + 50 %"...

++ "The tools given by the State to Universities augmented, during these Five last years, Twice more Rapidly, than in the last Twenty previous years ; + 200 % more Rapidly !", Sarkozy observed.

=> So that "a huge ReOrganization of the landscape of Universities is now going on", under the care of Minister Laurent Wauquiez, with "an unprecedented offSpring of Initiatives everywhere", thanks also to "an extraordinary Dynamism of University Presidents and their staff", where "we have made an absolutely Strategic choice to strengthen links between Research and Universities", making for "the Natural place for Research to become anew the University", he stressed.

- Thus, f.ex., "out of 35 Billions € given to "Investments for the Future", 22 Billions € (i.e. a large Majority of more than +2/3) are dedicated to Research and Universities", the French President noted, referring to the "Great Loan" whose Strategic Aims he revealed first on December 2009 near Strasbourg, (See "EuroFora"s NewsReport from Geispolsheim, 12/2009)

=> "A 1st wave of Results from such Investments for the Future, concretely shows Excellence emerging in all areas", as, f.ex., with "New Generation Materials at Nantes, New Varieties of Crops in Auvergne, Chirurgical operations on Human Face, in Amiens, RailRoad Technologies at Valenciennes; Space/Aviation Propulsion project with the P-prime Institute here, at Poitevin, etc, Sarkozy anounced, concluding that "all Regions were able to defend their Projects, and all Regions got at east a Funding" for such projects.

"In 5 Years' time we'll have in France an important Number of World-Rank Universities", Sarkozy felt ready to anounce,, apparently making a reference to the famous Shanghai "Academic World Universities Ranking", established by the Giant University of Jiao Tong, which starts to face itself competition by various  new similar projects emerging elsewhere in the world, but without overshadowing it yet.

Thus, the French President strongly dismissed the claims of those who "believed that such Changes were Impossible, and used to speak about a so-called irreversible Decline (of EU Universities) facing the American or Asiatic gigantism" : - "Declinologists, as they called them, were Wrong", he stressed, citting Facts and "Numbers" which start to prove that :

- F.ex., the "Number of decisions to establish Foreign Corporations' Headquarters since 2007 in France was Multiplied by Three", (i.e. X 300 %°).

+ At the same time, "thanks to Fiscal Advantages for Research, recently multiplied also three times more, France became the most Attractive Country in Europe concerning Innovation". So that "the 1st area in Europe for the number of Foreign Investments creating Jobs in Industrie and EcoTechnologies, became France", which is also "2nd Best among (27) EU Countries in terms of the Number of Foreign Investments creating Jobs", revealing its "Attractivity".

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-  "But the (Global) Crisis obliges us to work deeper inside our own habits, together with real, cultivated Scientists and researchers, the French President observed from the outset on the 2nd, Critical point ;

- "In fact, the (Global) Crisis  revealed the reality of our society, monitored by Short-term considerations, Obsessed by searching Immediate benefits, Horribly stack in a confortable Present, but ready to Sacrifice the Future", Sarkozy energetically denounced.

- Because "this Crisis is so Profound that, sometimes, it makes forget where we come from, and our Values", he criticized.

- "If the only question raised was that of merely augmenting Spending and Budgets, then, we should have the Happiest Educational staff in the Wold !", he joked, citting percentages of Money augmented during recent years in terms of Salaries, Buildings, Labos, etc.

Indeed, speaking in terms of all Education, from Schools and Colleges up to Unoiversities, the French President reminded that the available Resources for Professors have "augmented + 80% during the last 30 Years"

- "But, in fact, everywhere People are telling me that there is a kind of Crisis in the Educational staff", he observed.

+ Because "this Crisis is aso a Moral Crisis, and a Crisis of Civilisation", where "it has become Urgent to find New Views", where "we need New Ideas", Sarkozy pointed out.

=> So that "it has become a Prority to Re-Define aNew the Mission of Teaching staff", in order to "find anew its Dignity", and be "reValorized"; he stressed.

F. ex. "Professors have to accept New ways to work", they should "have an Office" inside Educational Buildings, "in order to be really able to meet with Students and their Families, etc.. They shoud use "New Criteria in order to Evaluate their Professional Quality", in a "more Human, Less Bureaucratic way", etc.

Scientific and Moral "Authority" must go together with "Serein" relations, able to convince Students and their Families that Professors are really "taking Care" of their Students well, so that they gain anew the Trust of the People, and succeed to "keep Hope as our most important good", Sarkozy concluded on this point.                                                                                                                                                               
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 In this regard, various other, often practical, concrete critical questions were raised in discussions with several Experienced participants to the Poitiers 2012 Mega-meeting on Education and Research :
                                                                           

- But, in addition to well known, traditional and on-going controversies concerning the possibility for Teachers' work to be evaluated by an independent instance, so that any eventually affected Citizen has a Fair Chance to Legally face any eventual Arbitrariness, redress an Error, etc, an Expert Lady experienced into monitoring Educational staff critically observed, speaking to "EuroFora",  that, "on the contrary, as far as it concerns University Professors, this situation traditionally is even worse : - Practically nobody controls what they are doing, so that it's difficult to prevent eventually dangerous damages in case f.ex. or any error or even more or less risk of arbitrariness, incompetence, partiaity, etc. - "There are some real "Black-Holes" there !", she noted...

+ According to another, Ministry of Universities/Research Expert, speaking to "EuroFora", except a vaguely evoked, hypothetic possibilkity to exert at least a Minimal "Checks and Balances" Monitoring on Professors' work, at least when it might seriously affect EU Citizens scientific, socio-political, business and/or family Lives, as well as a whoie University and/or a Country's reputation, it's only through its "Attractiveness" that a University could be judged, as well as via the "Insertion" of its Students in the Economy by their capacity to find a job.

But, even if these 2 last criteria might naturly be interesting, the obviously couldn't provide any Prevention, nor even Redress for possible Arbitrary Blunders, and, therefore, cannot replace at all a serious and responsible, timely Monitoring. As for "Attractiveness", if it's measured only by taking into account the Number of Students, it can obviously be Misleading : F.ex. "EuroFora" knows well the real case of a Brillant University Professor who had been, indirectly but surely, "pushed" by a small group of his Jealus, Mediocre collegues, to leave a University and go elsewhere, just because he "frightened", as they claimed, Stupid and/or Lazy Students who didn't want to make the Intellectual Efforts and the work required in, order to reach the Level desired by his Excellent Quality Teachings, and deserted the classrooms.. Instead, his Mediocre collegues, proved that they preferred to .. Lower the Scientiific and Intellectual Level of that University's department, in order to have .... more Students, by attracting even Stupid and/or Lazy, Mediocre candidates)..      

In other words, for University/Research, the concept of "Attractivity" should obviously be clearly defined. 

- Similar critical Questions are raised also on the recently (since more than a Decade) imported in France, mainly AngloSaxon, "Small" PHD Theses are "too Short" in Time : The 3 Years average period being obviously "insufficient" for serious Scientific work, so that Young People have started to complaint about Unemployment and Researchers are currently obliged to add also some other, f.ex. "Post-Doc" experiences in order to approach the Level of the Classic "State Doctoral Thesis" which existed in the Past, taking some 5 to 15 Years of research, on average, according to concrete issues, and accordin to whether the candidate was funded or had also to work, in a similar or differend area.

+ Moreover, a more fexible and morally, as well as Scientifically "just" possibility existed for those Researchers who might have been brutally obliged to suspend the pace of their Doctoral Thesis in order to work in other, sometimes interesting to combine in the Future, areas, for reasons may be absolutely Independent of their Scientific Capacities, which coud be really Excellent, (f.ex. the sudden Death or even Killing of the Head of a Family, a Catastroph or a Criminal destruction of personal/family Property and/or other Aggressions/Harassment, etc, urgent Socio-Political obligations, etc), to re-start many Years later anew working mainly for their State Doctoral Thesis with a Fast track pace, once these obstacles were overcome, (f.ex. thanks also to the recent augmentation of resources invested in RST : See supra, or by finding, at last, their own means).

Otherwise, Universities would be often condemned to limit themselves only to some "lucky" or "Nepotist" Mediocrities who just happened to stick to Small, Banal PHDs, may be even totally Indifferent to the Scientific Quality and SocioPolitical Importance of a Doctoral Thesis, but only interested into running fast to get some Money and Jobs inside a stupid, counter-productive, inhuman and petty Bureaucracy wasting Public Funds and Taxpayers' Money in a sometimes Scandalously parasitic way, (f.ex. uselessly multiplying Tiny, inconclusive and Mediocre, "small and Short PHD", particularly to "Political Friends", but deprived of any serious Scientific and Social usefulness, depreciating the whole institution)...

- On another point, the recently established  "Doctoral Schools" are not there in order to waste precious Public Funds in time of Crisis for some non-specialist Bueaucrats to add eventual counter-productive obstacles and/or other petty interferences inside the work and life of Scientific Researchers often in domains on which they lack personal experience and/or are obviously incompetent, augmenting the danger for superficial arbitrariness which may gravely damage both the "Doctorants" and/or a concrete Scientific area and/or a University or a State, but, on the contrary, "they are mainly useful into offering certain Services which help (and don't hinder) their work, such as f.ex. Training on e-Data Basis, e-Bibliograpgy retrieval, Ethical issues, etc", President Jean-Pierre Gesson told "EuroFora".-

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=> Therefore, "we have to make 3 Choices", Sarkozy went on to conclude, speaking of "Excellence", "Justice" and "Unity" : - "The 1st one is for Excellence", "because, in a World which faces a more and more intensified Competition, .. there is no room for Mediocrity", he stressed.

- "And this reality prepares a 2nd Choice; ... that of Justice ; Because in a Society of Knowledge, the worse Inequality is not that of Richness, as some still claim, but between those who had a chance to complete a Good Education, and those who had not that chance  : The most Shocking Inequality is no more in a Gap of Riches, but in a Gap between those who had the chance to make Good Studies, preparing a Good Professional Future, and those who didn't have that chance", Sarkozy rightfully denounced.

- Last, but not least, "the 2rd Choice is that of Unity, since a Republican Education is the Best Defence against Selfish Egoism and against Communautarism" : "We have to remind that the Principal Mission of  Education is to transmit a basis of Knowledges, a Culture and Common Values", the French President concluded.