Map of the Week – Education in cities and greater cities
In many European countries, it is the start of the new school year[1] for students in primary and secondary education and the start of the new academic year[2] for higher education students. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, many European schools and Universities had been closed since April of this year[3]. Although some of these closures were partial and some measures have been taken to ensure learning could continue in an online environment, the school closure likely does have negative impacts on students’ wellbeing and learning opportunities[3]. Unfortunately, these negative impacts particularly affect students from vulnerable population groups.
As such, many students across Europe are happy that schools and Universities are reopening. However, as the COVID-19 epidemic is ongoing, measures have to be taken to ensure that education can continue in a safe and responsible manner. While in some regions, schools and universities are able to re-open physically, this is not or only partially possible in other regions[4] and there is a need for effective long-distance learning solutions. In order to help schools tackle this digital challenge, the European Commission has developed the SELFIE (Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering the use of Innovative Educational Technologies) tool. It is a free, easy-to-use, customisable tool designed to help schools and teachers embed digital technologies into teaching, learning and student assessment.
To celebrate the new school and academic year, our map of the week shows the number of higher education students in European cities. You can click on a particular city to see how the number of students has evolved over time.
The data in this map are provided by EUROSTAT.