Higher education is said to be going through a worldwide revolution. The processes of rationalization, commercialization, commodification, and globalization are predominating university life. Traditional university goals, missions, and values are being replaced by market values; education is becoming a commodity; and universities are being treated as firms producing skills and knowledge.

In this paper, discussing the process of restructuring database teaching and learning programs and syllabi, the authors start with the presumption that universities in the European Union (EU) should facilitate the use of teamwork and project-based learning skills related to databases. At the same time, the focus is on a new education model that is shaped as a skill-based education framework.

The special skills needed in the database field, gleaned from international textbooks on the subject, are the primary focus of this paper. However, the authors found that current literature in this field lacks works that consider database teaching in accordance with the EU convergence portfolio’s required set of skills. Some basic (general) and advanced skills are listed, followed by a comparison of database teaching models found at three universities from three EU countries. The models are studied by exploring university systems and methodologies applied to the education process. These models are connected with current database courses via study of the teaching environments and syllabi.

Findings are presented in the discussion section, with easy-to-read presentations followed by results that present real-world problems and issues regarding the correlation between the educational system methodology and skills assessment presented for each country. The conclusion section points the way to new thinking on EU convergence. The authors also point the way to some new horizons for further research in this area, making this paper a valuable read for the teaching community.