The true competitiveness of a country will not be judged by the size of its economy, but by the size of the opportunities it provides to its people, stressed the CEO and President of the Council of European University Cyprus, Dr. Christoforos Hadjikyprianou.
Speaking at the 18th IN Business Awards, Hadjikyprianou highlighted the necessity of investing in knowledge as a national priority.
"The real question is whether we will dare to do it. Because the great battle of the next decade will not be about capital... It will be about talent," he noted.
Stressing that Cyprus currently has thirteen universities for one million inhabitants and that more are expected to be created, the CEO and President of the Council of the European University Cyprus explained, however, that there is still no national plan for the professions we need. “We do not need more universities. We need better ones. And we need a plan. Because the crucial question is not how many graduates we produce. The question is: in which specialties, with which skills and for which economy,” Hadjikyprianou stated.
Pointing out that the major shortages in technology and health are highly indicative, he explained that the problem is therefore not quantitative, but deeply strategic.
Referring to the example of the European University Cyprus, which shows what our country can achieve when it thinks strategically, he pointed out that in Frankfurt, doctors and health professionals that Germany needs are trained. “In China we are collaborating with the central government in the fields of technology and biomedicine. In Greece, we are opening our next branch, to meet the needs of the Greek market,” Dr. Christoforos Hadjikyprianou said, indicating that this is not just an expansion of a university, but a strategic response to the human resources problem.
Read below the speech of Dr. Christoforos Hadjikyprianou – CEO & President of the Council of the European University of Cyprus at the 18th IN Business Awards:
"Your Excellency Mr. President of the Republic of Cyprus,
Distinguished guests,
Mr. President, I begin with your statement at the recent General Assembly of the Hellenic Confederation of European Industries. You spoke about the strategic autonomy and competitiveness of Europe.
You were right ----- and today I want to tell you why this battle is decided elsewhere than we all think.
The biggest threat to Europe is not the missing funds. It is the missing people.
And the competitiveness of the European economy -----
It is not lost in investments. It is not lost in the markets.
Lost in skills -----
Recently, the European Council officially recognised for the first time that human capital is a strategic priority for Europe.
And the data is revealing:
Seven out of ten European businesses are not investing as much as they would like. The European Investment Bank says it clearly. Businesses in Europe today do not stop investing because they lack money. They stop because they lack people.
And in five years, Europe will be looking for twenty million highly skilled workers that it will not be able to find. These are not predictions. This is the Europe that is coming.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Human capital is now becoming the most important growth factor in Europe.
And herein lies Cyprus' great opportunity -----
But let's be honest.
In Cyprus, we continue to operate without a comprehensive strategic plan for the human resources that our economy needs.
We have the institution of vocational guidance in schools, but in essence we do not have vocational guidance. The European Commission has listed 42 professions with a critical shortage in Europe. In Cyprus, our young people are heading elsewhere. Not by choice. By lack of planning
Cyprus currently has thirteen universities for a million inhabitants. And we want to create more. But we still do not have a national plan for the professions we need. We do not need more universities. We need better ones. And we need a plan.
Because the crucial question is not how many graduates we produce.
The question is:
in which specialties,
with what skills,
and for which economy?
The major deficiencies in technology and health are highly indicative.
So the problem is not quantitative.
It is deeply strategic.
The example of the European University of Cyprus shows what our country can achieve when it thinks strategically.
In Frankfurt we train doctors and healthcare professionals that Germany needs. In China we collaborate with the central government in the fields of technology and biomedicine. In Greece we are opening our next branch, to meet the needs of the Greek market.
This is not just an expansion of a university. It is a strategic response to the human resources problem.
Your Excellency Mr. President,
It is now clear that we must invest in knowledge as a national priority.
The real question is whether we will dare to do it.
Because the great battle of the next decade will not be about capital… It will be about talent.
Because at the end of the day, a country's true competitiveness will not be judged by the size of its economy.
It will be judged by the size of the opportunities it gives to its people -----
The awards will be presented shortly. Behind every award tonight, there is a person who someone, somewhere, decided to invest in. This is what we do at the European University of Cyprus. This is what Cyprus expects from all of us.
Congratulations to tonight's award winners.
Thank you very much."
The 18th IN Business Awards were presented by the European University of Cyprus
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- Gold Sponsor: Alpha Bank
- Silver Sponsors: Sklavenitis Supermarkets , Landas Colours , Glenfiddich
- Communication Sponsor: Alpha TV
- Organisers: IMH and IN Business magazine
(Source: InBusinessNews)
