Public consultation on selection criteria for the EIT Governing Board
The Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers TEK would like to comment and expand the selection criteria as follows:
It is of utmost importance to ensure, that the members of the governing board have different kinds of knowledge and experience, and that diversity is a main aspect taken into consideration when choosing the Governing Board. European Institute of Innovation and Technology is a multidisciplinary and international network of universities, research organisations and businesses. EIT is supposed to become a flagship for excellence in European innovation. The strategic management of such an organisation requires creativity and the ability to detect weak signals. Diversity is the most suitable method to achieve this. Therefore the selection criteria should include such aspects as broad age spectrum, gender balance and experience from various innovation environments within and outside of Europe.
Members need to collectively cover a wide spectrum of knowledge and expertise. Members from the scientific community need to demonstrate extensive experience in international level research, either multidisciplinary research or research in one of the key disciplines of EIT. Several members of the Governing Board should have gained experience in the management of top universities (i.e. Shanghai/THES top 10).
There should be various disciplines and business areas represented. Most of the members should have strong background in management of a multinational, multidisciplinary innovation network. There should be also expertise in intellectual property rights, entrepreneurship, technology transfer and commercialisation of technology. Members from the higher education community should have excellent record in pedagogic issues and teaching of engineering or related fields.
Besides academic, scientific or business expertise technology foresight and futures research are aspects to be taken into consideration. It is important to have radical, fresh and opposing views in the debate. Therefore there should be also students represented in the Governing Board.
The Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers TEK proposes, that the selection criteria is to be made public before the list of potential candidates matching the chosen criteria is made.
Heikki Kauppi
Executive manager
The Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers TEK
