|
It is with great pleasure that
I have accepted the invitation of the University of Cyprus and its Centre for
Medieval Arts & Rituals to address the Kick-Off Meeting of the newly
established international Network for Medieval Arts & Rituals (NetMAR).
As I have been informed, NetMAR
is a project that grew out of the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek
Studies at the University of Cyprus, and it has secured funding of 900,000
euro from the European Union Horizon 2020 programme, as part of competitive
process that included 485 proposals, only 70 of which were funded. As part of
this project, the University of Cyprus will be collaborating with
world-renowned European research centres, while researchers attached to
NetMAR will become actively involved in cultural actions and also offer
educational and outreach programmes to students, researchers, professionals
in the tourism industry, and the general public.
Initiatives such as NetMAR are
welcome and commendable, especially so when research proposals by Cypriot
Universities are selected among hundreds of research funding bids from
overseas Universities, making Cyprus stand out in the European and
international field of Higher Education. Our Universities are worthy
ambassadors of our country abroad, and we are proud of their important
achievements.
The University of Cyprus has
managed, over its relatively short life, to become synonymous with excellence
in the field of research. It has generated numerous scientific publications
in international journals and has been participating in international
conferences and forums. Further, it has attracted large and important funding
grants, and is collaborating with numerous Universities, Research Centres,
Institutes and organizations from around the world. I am sure that the
University of Cyprus will continue to excel in the field of research and that
it will continue to be successful in attracting research funding.
This government has set among
its aims for Higher Education the development of research and innovation in
Cypriot universities and has put in place a number of initiatives and
policies to this end. Some examples of the actions we’ve taken are the
following:
- The
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth, in collaboration with
the Ministry of Finance, and in consultation with all the different
social stakeholders, has submitted to the House of Representations
regulations for the modification of the existing legal framework of the
University of Cyprus, intended to allow the University to establish or
participate in companies (spin-offs and start-ups ) whose activities
will serve the public interest and further promote the link between
research and innovation.
- We
have supported the initiative of the University of Cyprus for
formalizing the procedures and criteria for establishing Centers of
Excellence at the University and we are working on finalizing all the
relevant regulations, which we hope to submit soon to the House of
Representatives for approval.
- We
support the proposals of the University of Cyprus regarding the
establishment of new Research Units at the University through submitting
to Parliament all relevant regulations. Despite its young age, the
University of Cyprus has so far managed to have twelve Research Units
approved by the House of Representatives, while others are currently
awaiting approval.
- The
Council of Ministers has agreed to co-finance, using national funds, two
research programmes of the University of Cyprus that have received
funding of several millions from the European Union: the
"KOIOS" Research Center; and the Centre of Excellence in
Biobanking and Biomedical Research. State funding can go up to 15
million euro for each project and is released gradually and premised on
the positive and successful implementation of these research programmes.
- Additional
state funding was provided to the University of Cyprus for its
participation in the Alliance Young Universities for the Future of
Europe (YUFE), which consists of 10 young European Universities.
All of the above demonstrate
how important research in Higher Education is for the government. We believe
that supporting the research effort of Cypriot Universities is an investment
that brings numerous benefits, both to Universities and society more broadly;
it increases the competitiveness of our Universities at European and
international level and allows them to secure important international
funding, it improves Cyprus position in international University ranking
tables, it increases the income of Universities and further allows them to
continue growing, it provides employment for young researchers (and thus
contributes to the reduction of unemployment), it provides strong incentives
for talented researchers to stay and work in Cyprus, but most of all it
increases the overall quality of our Universities, it promotes knowledge
transfer between researchers, academics, and students, and many more.
However, the most important
benefit of investing in research is its impact on society. A great example is
the coronavirus pandemic. Our researchers have been at the forefront of
managing this crisis in our country and we thank them once again for their contribution.
The hope of all humankind has turned to researchers to find vaccines and
cures that will end this devastating pandemic and the loss of millions of
human lives worldwide.
Closing, I would like to once
again express my warm congratulations to all those who worked for this
Network success. I am sure that you will work hard for the successful
implementation of the relevant project. I wish you every success.
IP
|
