President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has inaugurated the new premises of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Cyprus in Nicosia.
In his speech on 5 November, President Christodoulides noted that investment in knowledge and research is the most essential and the most valuable investment a state can make.
The project, he pointed out, was designed to serve the modern educational and research mission of the University, adding that the Faculty's research activities touch on critical and decisive areas and challenges before us, such as the green transition, natural resource management, civil protection, improving infrastructure and strengthening the resilience of our cities.
He also reiterated that the Government sees the University as a strategic partner in the joint effort to make Cyprus a regional research centre.
He also referred to the strategy for ensuring the quality of higher education, its internationalisation and its interconnection with the labor market.
In his greeting, UCY Rector Tasos Christofides said that the Faculty of Engineering is a living organisation of research and innovation, a vibrant hive of knowledge, a technological and scientific park, where its people can unleash their creativity and contribute decisively to the development of science.
The Rector emphasised that according to the Shanghai list, the Faculty holds high positions in environmental science and engineering, electrical and electronic engineering and the field of automation and controls, while according to the Engirank ranking, which focuses on the ranking of Engineering Schools, the School is ranked in forty-eighth place in the whole of Europe.
He also said that its people, its academic staff, and the researchers have attracted 706 external research programs since its foundation with a total budget for the University exceeding 168 million euros.
The President of the Council of the University Tasos Anastasiou said that we are inaugurating an emblematic building, with state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure and laboratories, and expressed the certainty that it will become a reference point for its architectural dimension and a centre of innovation, scientific cooperation and excellence for the entire wider region.
He assured that the project will allow the maximisation of the academic, research and economic footprint of the Faculty of Engineering and the University of Cyprus in general, ensuring that EU funding will bring long-term multiplier benefits to the economy and society of Cyprus.
Themis Christofidou, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional Policy and Urban Development, said in her speech that today we are celebrating a vision that is becoming reality, a project that brings research, technology and innovation to the heart of development.
She added that the research laboratories of the Faculty are a milestone for Cyprus with a total public expenditure of 44 million euros and co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund of 85 percent of the amount.
Christofidou also stressed that political cohesion does not only concern projects, but mainly people, the new generation who study and research, and the Commission's goal is to give young people the right and incentives to stay in their place of choice.
Vice Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank, Thomas Bocek said that the Bank follows the development of the University Campus from the very beginning and is proud to be present at the inauguration of the Faculty of Engineering.
He said that the Bank will continue to support the further development of the UCY Campus and looks forward to returning soon for the inauguration of new buildings.
Over 4,000 graduates
The Faculty of Engineering welcomed its first students in 2003. It has over 4,000 graduates, four departments, three research centres, two centres of excellence for research and innovation and more than 70 laboratories. It offers 6 undergraduate, 13 postgraduate (many in English) and 7 doctoral programs and has secured over 170 million euros in research funding. It has also secured 16 grants from the European Research Council and 1 in 4 of its academic members are ranked among the 100,000 leading scientists internationally, based on the Stanford list.
The Faculty has more than 65 academic members, in addition to 25 administrative members, more than 300 researchers and more than 1,100 students and its modern facilities have the potential to accommodate 1,500 people in its interior spaces.
(Source: CNA)
