In 1998, ministers of education from France, Italy, the UK, and Germany issued the Sorbonne Joint Declaration, which made boosting the economic competitiveness of university students a top goal. In 1999, education ministers from 29 European nations signed the similar Bologna Declaration.
1998 年，法國、義大利、英國、德國等 4 國教育部長共同發表了「Sorbonne 聯合宣言」，將「提升學生就業力」明列為大學教改的主要目標之一；1999 年由歐洲 29 個國家教育部長共同簽署的「Bologna 宣言」，也有相同的宣示。