About: Androulla Vassiliou

Europe struggles with digital education
European higher education remains too conservative to adapt to technological innovations, said a Commission High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education in its report published last week (22 October).
Athletes unite for European Special Olympics opening
SPECIAL REPORT: More than ten thousand people gathered at the Special Olympics’ opening ceremony to watch athletes with intellectual disabilities launch the games, in Heizel, on 13 September.
Commissioner Vassiliou: Sport is a crucial means of encouraging social inclusion
Commissioner Vassiliou said the lack of exercise is a problem affecting all social groups that is why the Commission will have a dedicated budget for sports activities as part of the new Erasmus+ programme. The European Commission is also a partner in the special Olympics European summer games 2014 that are taking place in Belgium from 2-20 September.![Demonstration for quality internships, Brussels, 18 July 2014 [European Youth Forum]](https://www.euractiv.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/interns_not_slaves_youth_internship_jobs_credit-european-youth-forum_facebook.jpeg)
Europe’s first ‘Intern Day’ highlights unfair work conditions
Internships replacing jobs are an "increasing problem" in Europe, civil society organisations protested on the first-ever European Interns Day on Friday (18 July), explaining that up to 60% of interns in Europe are still unpaid. VideoPromoted content
Erasmus students programme breaks new record, Commission says
Nearly 270 000 students benefitted from EU grants to study or train abroad in 2012-2013, according to new data released by the European Commission on Thursday, setting a new record for the Erasmus Programme. VideoPromoted content

Female commissioners call for gender equality in new Commission
Top EU officials warned on Thursday that the next Commission will lack in women, unless more governments put forward female candidates for the Commissioner posts.
EU’s celebrated Erasmus student grant scheme breaks new record
Nearly 270,000 students received EU grants to study or train abroad in 2012-2013, setting a new record, according to new data from the European Commission.
EU report calls for supporting students with high tuition fees
Increasing tuition fees do not necessarily have a negative impact on higher education enrollment if they are balanced with student support, according to a European Commission-funded study published on Monday (23 June).
Eurobarometer: Education and training don’t match available jobs
A quarter (23%) of EU citizens believe that their education or training did not give them the skills to find a job that matches their qualifications, according to a new Eurobarometer survey.
Vassiliou introduces European sports week
The European Commissioner responsible for sport, Androulla Vassiliou, has unveiled plans for a European Week of Sport, with the first week taking place in September 2015.
New European university ranking system launched
The EU's education commissioner Tuesday (13 May) launched a new global ranking system of universities, that rates them across many more criteria than traditional league tables. VideoPromoted content
Commission welcomes new international university ranking
The launch of a new global university ranking, set up with €2 million in EU funding was welcomed by the European Commission on Monday. U-multirank assesses the performance of more than 850 higher education institutions worldwide by producing multi-dimensional listings rating universities on a wider range of factors than existing international rankings.
Boosting e-skills in European higher education requires political will at national level
With 25% of adults in the European Union lacking the necessary digital skills to effectively use information and communication technologies, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published in autumn 2013, the European Commission is facing various challenges in order to bridge the competitive gap with the rest of the world. VideoPromoted content
Erasmus+ wants to reach more than university students
A new and updated version of the European exchange programme will be accessible to more people and received a 40% budget. VideoPromoted content
Commission welcomes TV, film industry pledge for easier cross-border copyright
European consumers should find it easier to access television and films from their home state when travelling through the continent if pledges made by the audiovisual sector to the Commission yesterday (13 November) are honoured. At a plenary session in Brussels, audiovisual industry participants in the so-called Licences for Europe process made formal pledges on cross-border access and portability of services, user-generated content and micro-licensing, audiovisual heritage and text and data mining. VideoPromoted content

Eat well, drink well, move – A small step for you, a big step for Europe
Obesity is a lifestyle disease that is becoming one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. Unless we make significant changes to both our diet and way of life, obesity will continue to rise in Europe. The solution to this problem must include the 3 following elements: Eat well, drink well, and move. European leadership to counter the epidemic of obesity is lacking. The event discussed the actions the EU and its member states should take. VideoPromoted content

Vassiliou: EU should promote physical activity and a week of sport
Androulla Vassiliou, commissioner for education, culture and sport, recently launched an initiative on physical activity and called for a 'European Week of Sport'. She said that participation in sports and physical activities was one of the most effective ways of staying physically and mentally fit, and referred to the ancient Greek saying ‘A healthy mind in a healthy body’.
Vassiliou: ‘Europeans should get out of their chairs more often’
Some 60% of Europeans seldom engage in sport or physical activity, says EU Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, who urges Europeans to get out of their chairs to help combat obesity.
Commission launches initiative to promote physical activity in Europe
The European Commission on Wednesday (28 August) adopted an initiative on health-enhancing physical activity which is the first ever proposal for a Council Recommendation on sport. VideoPromoted content

Erasmus student programme sets record
The EU’s top education official, Androulla Vassiliou, has called for a revamped Erasmus student exchange programme to place more emphasis on youth employability in the coming years, as the European Commission reveals a record 253,000 students took part in the programme last year.
Erasmus student programme sets record
The EU’s top education official, Androulla Vassiliou, has called for a revamped Erasmus student exchange programme to place more emphasis on youth employability in the coming years, as the European Commission reveals a record 253,000 students took part in the programme last year.Women and education: The case of Malala Giousafzai
The case of Malala Giousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who the Taliban tried to kill for promoting girls' education, is just one example of the unacceptable inequality and brutal repression faced by women and girls on a daily basis in some countries, writes Androulla Vassiliou.
Struggling southern states targeted in ICT training push
SPECIAL REPORT / EU education ministers met in Brussels last Friday to debate how new online tools can benefit the unemployed, with a specific focus on struggling Mediterranean countries. Meanwhile, a new initiative, the Academy Cube, seeks to bring together all stakeholders on one online platform to retrain unemployed people with e-skills for future ICT jobs.