The group of academic experts from the Diaspora has presented a development plan for the profiling of the University of Korçë (UNIKO).
The University of Korçë (UNIKO) has entered a new phase of transformation under a development plan aimed at profiling and modernising it, drawn up by three experts from the diaspora. This ambitious project by the Ministry of Education, supported by the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF), aims to transform the university into a regional centre of excellence and scientific research by 2030.
During the introduction of the development and profiling plan for UNIKO, Ogerta Manastirliu, the Minister of Education and Sports, emphasized the significance of this plan, pointing out that it helps to both internationalize and profile the institution and become an example for other regional universities.
“Today marks a new chapter for the University of Korçë.” By 2030, we want to have accomplished all of the goals set forth for the university’s continued growth while maintaining and strengthening its core principles with the help of the government and the Ministry of Education and Sports. We want to improve regional universities so that the new “S3” strategy, which focuses on education, includes the goals of this UNIKO plan. The University of Korça is the first regional university to be transformed into a centre for internationalization, said the Minister of Education and Sports, Ogerta Manastirliu.
The transformation plan for the University of Korçë has been the focus of the last year for three distinguished Albanian diaspora academics: Dritan Agalliu (Ph.D., Columbia University), Mirjeta Beqiri (Ph.D., Gonzaga University), and Labtona Sado (Ph.D., Università Roma Tre). They underlined how much the university can contribute to the domains of technology, tourism, agriculture, and cultural heritage. They state that the following five essential elements must be met in order for this strategy to be realized: fostering multidisciplinary research, internationalization, education for the future of the region, and the empowerment of people.
According to Minister Manastirliu, the Agricultural University of Tirana serves as an example for internationalization and development.
“We came to a great arrangement with the Agricultural University of Tirana and the University of Boku in Vienna, whereby we provided them with €2 million in support of the Agricultural University’s transformation plan, which is led by the University of Boku in Vienna. There are plans not only for staff and for student exchanges, but also to support PhD and Masters programmes in which we will work with faculty from Boku University in Vienna, and to support the development of research units at the institution. “We have a model that we can apply to the University of Korçë,” Manastirliu explained.
In line with efforts to modernise Albania’s education and research sectors, the government has taken significant steps to strengthen the legal environment for scientific research. One of the most important projects is the new draft Law on Science and Scientific Research, which aims to improve investment prospects in the field, while encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and the promotion of open science.
“This week, we will also approve in the Assembly a new law on science and scientific research, which will create another opportunity for investment in science, scientific research and open science”. This law creates new tools for cross-sectoral cooperation in the promotion of scientific research and open science,” concluded Minister Manastirliu.