Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: “European universities need to think global. They must act strategically to capitalise on Europe’s reputation for top quality higher education. They need to promote international mobility of students and staff, provide world-class innovative curricula, as well as excellence in teaching and research. While many European universities have good links inside the EU, many lack a clear strategy for strengthening ties with non-European partners. This urgently needs to change. The Commission will support Member States so that they can develop their international higher education networks. There is no one-size-fits-all model for this: countries need to play to their strengths.”

There are more than 19 million students in European Union universities and other higher education institutions. The Commission underlines that universities must also promote an international outlook among the 85% of students who are not mobile, so that they too acquire the international skills required in a globalised world. This means universities need to develop international curricula, promote language skills and expand digital learning.

Overall, the number of higher education students in the world is expected to quadruple, from around 100 million in 2000 to 400 million in 2030, with particularly strong growth in Asia and Latin America. Europe currently attracts around 45% of all international students, but its competitors are rapidly increasing their investment in higher education. The largest providers of internationally mobile students are China, India and South Korea.

The new Erasmus+ programme, to be launched in January 2014, will for the first time mainstream opportunities for students from beyond Europe’s borders to spend part of their degree studies at a European university, or vice versa. 135 000 student and staff exchanges between the EU and the rest of the world will be funded – 100 000 more than under the existing Erasmus Mundus programme, in addition to 3 million student and staff exchanges within the EU.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the appalling attack,” a spokesperson for the UN chief said in a statement.

“It is truly shocking and distressing to see so many young people dedicated to pursuing their education in the midst of strife lose their life to senseless violence,” the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in a news release.

Two explosions ripped through the university, Syria’s oldest institution of science and technology, on Tuesday, reportedly killing at least 82 people and wounding more than 160 others. According to reports, the bombs went off as students were taking exams, and it remains unclear who was responsible for the attacks.

“Deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian targets constitutes a war crime. Such heinous attacks are unacceptable and must stop immediately,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said. “All combating parties in Syria must abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.”

Both Ms. Bokova and Mr. Ban expressed their condolences over the attack, with the UNESCO chief calling on “all those involved in the fighting to respect the right to education” and the Secretary-General believing that “this latest atrocity should be promptly and fully investigated.”

“He also calls for a reflection by all Syrians about the degradation of a conflict that is tearing their nation apart, and stresses the urgent need for a peaceful political solution that ends the violence and meets the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson added.

More than 60,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in early 2011. Recent months have witnessed an escalation in the conflict, which is now in its 23rd month.

Meanwhile, the UN agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees called on all sides in the conflict in Syria to refrain from taking up positions in or conducting the conflict in civilian areas.

In a statement, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) appealed to the parties “to ensure the protection of Palestine refugees, other civilians and their property and to comply with their obligations under international law.”

The UNRWA statement also called for respect for “the sanctity of human life,” noting that there was a “duty to avoid arbitrary displacement of civilians.”

The UN agency is particularly concerned about the conflict’s impact on Palestinian refugees in all areas of Syria, including those living in Damascus, Rif Damascus, Dera’a, Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Homs. UNRWA noted that its concerns are deepening with reports of serious incidents which continue to occur, including in areas under the control of armed opposition elements.

In mid-December 2012, the conflict saw intense armed engagements inside Yarmouk, a suburb south of Damascus, which housed more than 150,000 Palestine refugees. This was followed by the incursion of armed opposition elements into Yarmouk and their taking up of positions in this civilian residential area, in turn attracting a military response more intense than previously seen.

“This has brought new highs of suffering to Palestinian and Syrian residents of Yarmouk who had already endured, since July 2012, the trauma of protracted conflict in their neighbourhood,” UNRWA said in a news release. “Since mid-December 2012, the Yarmouk experience has been played out sequentially in other areas of Rif Damascus.”

The UN estimates that the overall number of people in need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria quadrupled between March 2012 and December 2012, from one million to four million. UN humanitarian aid planning estimates that up to a million Syrian refugees will need help during the first half of 2013, with most of these located in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt.

The MoU which comes as part of the long term cultural and scientific cooperation between the two countries, was signed at Al-Azhar’s headquarters in Cairo by Saeed Al-Meqbali, the Undersecretary of Local Sectors at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Committee on Aid to Egypt and Sheikh Abdul Tawwab Abdul Hakim Qutob, the Undersecretary of Al-Azhar in presence of senior Egyptian and Emirati officials.

According to the MoU, the funds will be used to construct a new building for the Al-Azhar’s library, to house more than 50,000 manuscripts as well as publications, to secure the current assets by state-of-the-art electronic control and security systems and to construct new accommodation units for the university’s students.

The MoU expresses the appreciation of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan for the role Al-Azhar plays in servicing the Islamic nation and the Arab nation as a whole and as a continuation of strengthening the ties between the two countries.

The initiative is supervised by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, according to Al-Meqbali.

“The UAE under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan takes pride in this great seat of Islamic learning which has become a prominent center for Islamic studies across the Arab nation and the world.” the UAE official said.

For his part, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tayeb expressed appreciation of the initiative by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and valued the role taken up by the UAE in service of the causes of the Islamic nation and the Arab nation.

Sheikh Abdul Tawwab Abdul Hakim Qutob, the Undersecretary of Al-Azhar said the UAE never spares any effort to help Egypt. We have been in close ties with the Emirati government for a long time and we value this partnership and for their endless support.”