-
.
- Ελληνικά
It is with great pleasure that I am attending tonight's ceremony to share with you this very important moment, your Graduation Ceremony from the School of Business Administration of the University of Nicosia. A special moment for all of you, as the journey to obtaining the degree you will be awarded tonight required hard work, patience, perseverance and love for the subject you chose to pursue. At the same time, your degree is a strong asset that will allow you to develop even further and advance to the next stage, either by choosing to continue your academic and scientific path or by choosing your professional path.
Since its foundation, the University of Nicosia has charted a path of growth and achievement. A path of which we are proud, adopting a strategy based on the continuous upgrading of the content of its studies, extroversion and internationalisation. At the same time, the University's human-centred approach and its modern building facilities create an environment in which the student community can follow a wide range of innovative programmes, under the guidance of its highly qualified academic staff. It is no coincidence that, responding to the needs of the labour market and our society, the University of Nicosia was one of the first to understand the need to link education with the labour market and managed to attract a large number of students and academics and to stand out among the high-level academic institutions of our country and abroad. I felt proud when I heard from a foreigner living in our country that the University of Nicosia was the first in the world to offer the world's leading postgraduate programme "Blockchain and Digital Currencies".
Allow me, therefore, to warmly congratulate the President and the members of the University Council, as well as the Rector, the Senate, the academics, the administrative staff and of course all of you, the students of the University of Nicosia, for your choice. The zeal and dedication to the promotion and promotion of the University's work are the most basic components of its academic constitution and the quality - because we are interested in quality - higher education it offers.
It is precisely this level of quality Higher Education that the University of Nicosia has achieved in recent years through its dedication to excellence and through the assistance of the State that we, as the Government, seek to upgrade and strengthen even further over time. This Higher Education that will provide tomorrow's scientists and citizens with the specialized knowledge and training that international societies and economies require to remain competitive and innovative in today's environment.
Precisely in this context, we remain committed to the continuous support of Higher Education and our university institutions, seeking to fully exploit the potential of our country and its subsequent emergence as a regional and international centre of quality education and research. This is an area where we cannot afford to make mistakes. We want our young people to be able to receive from our country's universities the necessary skills that will enable them to develop academically, professionally and personally, which they will use for the benefit and development of our society. We want to build the knowledge society, with innovation and inventiveness as its main pillars and with the ultimate goal of increasing employability, reducing unemployment, progress and prosperity.
In this direction we are promoting specific actions, a specific strategy for higher education, in the design and implementation of which, together with the Ministry of Education, four other Ministries are involved: Foreign Affairs, Finance, Interior and Labour. The strategy will contribute to the further development of Higher Education in Cyprus, through the utilisation of the scientific potential of our Universities, the interconnection of the research programmes of the Universities with the labour market, the promotion of transnational agreements for mutual recognition of qualifications and the updating of the relevant legislation.
At the same time, the Ministry of Education, through the action of the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Body in Higher Education, ensures that the quality of the curricula offered by our Universities is guaranteed. Recognizing, at the same time, the importance of mobility and the exchange of knowledge, we have developed on a wider level the cooperation and synergy of our university institutions, both in Cyprus and abroad.
Our aim is for our graduates to remain in our country, both to receive their academic training in an environment comparable to that abroad and to work, utilizing their skills for the benefit of our society. To this end, we have developed mechanisms that link the supply of knowledge and expertise with the demands and challenges that arise in the ever-changing economic and social environment of modern times.
Already, the Ministry responsible is implementing, within the framework of the Resilience Recovery Plan, a specific project aimed at addressing the skills mismatch between the labour market and education. We have at our disposal the first results of the relevant surveys, and by the end of this year we will present the findings concerning the course of our graduates in comparison with the course of graduates from sixteen other EU countries.
In the same framework, we are also working on the amendment of the legislative framework of universities, with the aim of linking and transforming the knowledge produced into marketable products through their participation in companies. Because the most important thing in research and innovation is the commercialisation of the product produced through research and innovation. A debt that will be repaid, among other things, through the provision of quality and continuously upgraded education in all areas and at all levels. Already, and I am particularly pleased about this, our plans are bearing fruit, as evidenced by the measurable results of their implementation.
In close cooperation with all relevant bodies and services, taking first and foremost into account the concerns and needs of the new generation, we will continue to work to offer them a brighter, more promising future.
A future which you, my dear and dear graduates, will develop.
A future which you, my dear and dear graduates, will develop. Already, today you have achieved a very important personal goal. The presence here tonight of your own people, your professors and all of us on this important moment that marks the sealing and recognition of your efforts and the demanding effort you have made indicates everyone's pride and confidence in you. I invite you to reflect at every step of the way on the difficulties you have faced up to this moment, the disappointment - very much to be expected - that you have experienced on several occasions, and to keep from all of them the courage and the fighting spirit with which you have faced them to the point of holding your degree in your hands.
Continue, therefore, to set goals, overcome obstacles, challenge and pave the way for growth, progress and prosperity.
Congratulations and good luck to all of you.
(PM/EP/NYAN)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
