President praises ascent of the University of Cyprus

The remarkable progress and rise in academic rankings of the University of Cyprus were praised by President Nikos Christodoulides at a graduation ceremony.

The President highlighted its inclusion among the top 1000 higher education institutions in the world according to the International University Ranking.

He said the University of Cyprus was ranked 473 after evaluating thousands of universities in dozens of countries.

“I am confident it will soon climb even higher in the relevant rankings.”

He addressed Monday’s graduation ceremony of the School of Humanities and the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Cyprus.

As Christodoulides previously taught at the Department of History and Archaeology, “I feel even more proud”.

Addressing the graduates, President Christodoulides urged them to face difficulties with patience and determination, to nourish their dreams and never stop spreading their roots deep and building the solid foundations needed to reach high.

He referred to the bamboo tree, whose seeds need five years to sprout.

“In the experiment called ‘Break Point and Beyond,’ the researchers asked participants the following simple question: ‘What can a paper clip be useful for?’

“At the age of five, the children managed to draw over 145 uses of the paperclip at a rate of 98%.

“Growing up, at the age of eight to ten, this percentage dropped to 50%.

“And the capacity for creative thinking continued to decline with age until adulthood and beyond, where they could barely think of five to ten uses at best.

“From the story of the paper clip, I would like you to keep two messages:

“Be aware of our lost childhood imagination and remember its importance so that we can be resourceful and find solutions to the problems and challenges that will be part of your daily life.”