Today, the Higher Education Policy Document 2030 was presented at a special event hosted by the Ministry of Education and Sports, with the participation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, Ogerta Manastirliu, Minister of Education and Sports, as well as leaders and representatives of public and private universities, the Accreditation Board, the World Bank, and agencies and institutions related to education.

This policy document—a multi-year package of measures aimed at transforming higher education in Albania—aims to ensure that higher education meets international standards, supports the European integration process, and serves as a key driver for national development.
The document reflects a commitment to improving quality and bringing Albanian higher education standards closer to those of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the European Research Area (ERA). It aims to transform universities into engines of economic and social development, to improve teaching and scientific research, and to promote and support the internationalization of Albanian higher education.
Prime Minister Edi Rama:
“Since the document also provides for a revision of the Law on Higher Education, I would like to ask for the understanding and support of everyone who can help me. I start from a moment when the rector said, ‘The University of Durrës, the University of Tirana, and a non-public university,’ without mentioning its name, treating it as a kind of outsider. So I would like to ask for help from anyone who can help to make this division a little easier, because it appears that the public universities are considered the ‘legitimate’ ones, while the non-public universities—I don’t understand why they are called ‘non-public’—are’ actually public institutions with private investments. Since they are non-profit organizations and reinvest all the money they make in education, they should be viewed differently.
If a way can be found to rehabilitate these latter institutions, it would be a positive step for democratic development. So, rector, I would say…”
– Polis University, Mr. Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: “You told your colleagues! Well, apart from that, first of all, I sincerely believe that this document is very important because it is a homemade product. It is not an external document imposed by the government, nor is it a translation or a recipe taken from those we usually call our strategic partners. It is a joint internal creation of all universities, whether public or privately funded public institutions, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Accreditation Board, and personally, Shqiponja has played a special role, along with the valuable expertise of the World Bank.

Since this document is, so to speak, a joint effort of all those who are expected to advance higher education, I believe that it provides a solid basis for confidence that both the Action Plan and its implementation have great chances of being successful processes.
In addition to the rector, who was instrumental in this effort, I would like to thank several others: Besnik Aliaj, Leka Xhuvani—I’ve written down their names so that I don’t forget anyone; of course, the always dedicated Professor Et’hem Ruka, Entela Haloci, and Selami Xhepa for their special contribution to widening access for foreign students, which has been given a prominent place in this document.
These are very positive steps with significant potential that now require focus and for everyone to play their role effectively. As far as the government is concerned, we feel very comfortable in this environment, as this is a jointly developed product. The chances of opposition are minimal, and of course we’ll need equally intensive and focused cooperation to make the necessary adjustments to the Higher Education Act. Enough time has passed for us to revise the legal framework, based both on our experience and the new developments around us, as well as the alliances that universities have now formed. As a government, I’m very proud that we have broken the barrier between the EU and non-EU countries—Albania has been at the forefront of this effort. In fact, during the EU summit held here in Tirana, it was decided to open the European University Alliance to institutions from non-EU countries, including ours.
As the experience of the University of Tirana, the University of Durrës and the University of Polis shows, I hope, believe and encourage all universities to follow this path, because it brings extraordinary benefits at various levels: from academic exchange and enrichment of human resources, to strengthening financial capacity through European funding, as well as sharing expertise and improving the quality of scientific research.
Secondly, I strongly believe that the three points raised by Shqiponja also reflect the main challenge—one that is not explicitly stated in the document but which underpins its very existence. While we have rightly discussed the need to broaden the financial base, to double the funding for higher education, and to increase the research budget fivefold, the truth is that we don’t see enough effort to improve the quality of academic staff. Yes, we’re all working to improve the quality of students, but that inevitably depends on improving the quality of academic staff.
We also paused the Ph.D. programs for a while because of the chaotic situation in higher education, which felt like it was 100 years ago but was really only a decade ago. At that time, higher education was a disaster, with 18 universities operating as businesses. I remember a true story that illustrates this: a dean of a dental school at one of those universities was fired because the owner said to her, “Look, you’re bothering the students by not passing them. When the dean said, ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t pass students who don’t show up, especially since they’re going to be dentists and they have to learn,’ the owner replied, ‘You misunderstand—they look like students to you, but to me they’re customers, and I can’t upset my customers. This is a free market economy; some jaws will break, but eventually things will fall into place.
That was the situation at that time in the non-public universities, as the rector calls them, and even within the public universities, where problems were also rampant. I wouldn’t say that everything is perfect today, but many problems have been solved. Now that we are reopening PhD programs, our goal should be to achieve European-level doctorates—not just PhDs for the sake of the title.
The most important point, in my opinion, is to deepen the shift towards linking scientific research with national development. Research for research’s sake, leading only to a publication with little real-world value, is not a luxury we can afford. We need to focus scientific research on the development of the country and its sectors.
This policy document isn’t scientific research per se, but it is exactly the kind of result we should expect from research—an internal contribution aimed at transforming a strategic sector like education.
So, what is stopping us, and what is stopping the university from helping other sectors in the same way, whether on a macro or micro level for specific issues?
I think it is quite possible, and I think it would greatly energize and motivate the university body, because of course there would be additional financial rewards for the work. It would bring the university closer to reality, connect institutions more effectively, and certainly create new perspectives for students. I think we all need to do more together at this point.
We have seen very positive developments in this direction, but we need to accelerate efforts to increase the scale and turn this into a consistent, ongoing, uninterrupted relationship between the government, the university, and the market. If this doesn’t take a definitive form, and if the market, its needs—and when I say market, I don’t just mean the private sector outside institutional life, but also institutional actors as part of a market that the university should see as its own—this becomes essential.
One of the most promising developments we are witnessing is the transformation of the Agricultural University. This university seemed destined to remain on the fringes of Albania’s academic world, as a kind of refugee camp for those who couldn’t enter the mainstream of academia due to very low standards and who gathered at the Agricultural University with grades of 5. Thanks to the courage and commitment of the rector and the team there, together we have managed to put the Agricultural University on a completely new path. We are practically building a new academic reality through a partnership with BOKU University in Vienna, with the ambition that by 2030, degrees from the Agricultural University of Tirana will be recognized as BOKU degrees and vice versa. The ambition is that students from Albania, the region, and Europe will come to Tirana to obtain a BOKU degree—this is entirely feasible and already underway, as confirmed by our Austrian partners.
The University of Shkodra should follow this example. I hope that a player recruited from the public universities, now representing the public University of Shkodra, Tonin Gjuraj—a product of the Democratic Party and the European University of Tirana, which go hand in hand—will help make this happen. The European University of Tirana has become a refuge for those produced by the Democratic Party, who then return to the national arena. I hope that the same will happen at the University of Shkodra.
Finally, without taking up too much of your time, since I know you have other panels—which I was pleased to see included participants from both public and non-public universities—I would like to emphasize that a special focus should be placed on Artificial Intelligence in all universities. It’s not just a necessity; it’s an extraordinary opportunity for a simple reason: it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, as long as the minimum conditions are met—the data are provided, and you find a talented person among 10, 15, 20, or 30 young people. If you put them to work, something extraordinary can happen, something that can be used not only by you but by the whole world. Beyond the global impact, I think every university should immediately set up its own modest AI lab. It doesn’t have to be anything extraordinary at first. Every professor should have the opportunity to knock on the door of this lab, where 5-6 dedicated young people can help explore how AI can be applied to their field, topic, or subject.
Many extraordinary things can come out of this. We will do everything we can to support this initiative with our resources. Any university that develops a plan in this direction doesn’t need extraordinary funding or complex plans to start with. It just needs to understand the data and start activating it. The more data, the better—and then future developments will show what the processing of this data will bring.
Thank you for your patience. Once again, I thank you for your contributions, and with great respect to all of you, I’m confident that with this document, with the action plan, and with the cooperation that we have established as a government with the Conference of Rectors, we will achieve very ambitious goals.
I also believe that after this document, we should consider reformatting the Conference of Rectors—not just having a representative of non-public universities acting like a representative of the Association of Political Prisoners, but creating a more reasonable balance.
Thank you very much!