Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said that the role universities will play in the effort to modernise institutions and society should be pivotal.
Speaking, on Friday evening, at the graduation ceremony of the University of Cyprus, during which students officially received 20 PhD and 200 master’s degrees, he said the degrees were awarded to students from Cyprus, Greece, the US, Georgia, Iran, India, Hungary, Nigeria, Russia, Pakistan, Italy, the Ukraine, the Czech Republic and China.
He noted that government strategy on state universities provides for a new institutional framework with a view of attracting international students, particularly for post graduate studies.
“We will put into practice our declared policy, that is to turn Cyprus into a regional centre of quality tertiary education,” he said, assuring that this is the direction things are advancing, through legislative amendments, to offer more courses in English.
Reforming and modernizing the state, ridding it of nepotism, making the best of new technologies and promoting the best people in every area constitute top priorities for the government, he stressed.
Acknowledging that past mistakes and deficiencies had plagued Cyprus for decades and led it to the troubles it faces today, he pledged that the aim is to bring about a great change in both institutions and society.
In this respect, he said, universities should play a pivotal role.
President Anastasiades said that the government will do its utmost and will stand by every effort so that the University of Cyprus may continue to grow promoting high level teaching and research work.
Austerity measures, he added, must affect education as little as possible, pointing out that investing in education means investing in one’s future.
The Cyprus President highlighted the need to absorb, now more than ever before, as many EU funds as possible on research and innovation, as well as on large development projects which involve private – state partnership.
He said he was pleased that the EU contribution to co-funded EU projects has increased from 50% to 95%, for the period 2014 – 2017.
The University of Cyprus has so far offered 60 post graduate master’s courses and 45 PhD courses.