Mr. Simon Roy leads the Higher Education Policy Team in the OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills. The OECD work programme on higher education policy is currently focused on the issues of resourcing higher education, digitalisation within higher education and adapting higher education provision in the face of evolving skills demand and increasing requirements for upskilling and reskilling. Projects within the team typically combine reviews of international research evidence, policies and practice, data analysis, international peer learning and the development of recommendations. As part of its current activities, the OECD Higher Education Policy Team has established a collaborative network of policymakers and practitioners from OECD and EU member countries – the Education and Innovation Practice Community (EIPC) – to strengthen understanding of how higher education can help individuals acquire the competencies needed to drive and adapt to innovation. The EIPC focuses particularly on the role of higher education in supporting skills development for the green and digital transitions and includes a strand examining policy and practice to increase higher education’s role in upskilling and reskilling adult populations. Major
projects related to higher education financing, widening access and study success and quality assurance are also ongoing. Simon joined the OECD in 2017, prior to which he worked for seven years on higher education policy issues at the European Commission.
