"Imagine, create, innovate" is the three-word slogan of a campaign to promote 2009 as European Year of Creativity and Innovation. The future of the society in which we live and of the economy is increasingly influenced by people's creativity and by their ability not to remain immobile, but to change and to produce new ideas and innovation. As a consequence, especially in a society increasingly characterised by cultural diversity, it has become necessary to train people so that they can obtain the qualifications and skills to embrace change and be open to new ideas.
To support economic growth and strengthen social cohesion, the growth of human capital is therefore essential. The rise in standards of education, including university education, is a strategic objective for the development of a country and is essential for the technological and organisational innovation on which the improvement of factor productivity depends.