President Papadopoulos inaugurates Cyprus University of Technology

The Cyprus University of Technology, based in the southern coastal town of Limassol, was inaugurated by President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, during an official opening ceremony, thus marking a new academic era in the country.
President Papadopoulos noted that Cyprus is one of the five countries worldwide with the highest percentage of university degree holders in proportion to its population.
“The government and the people of Cyprus welcome the official opening of the third state University in our country. What remains now, is to proceed to the next necessary step, which is to upgrade our academic studies and degrees with the ultimate goal of excellence», the President underlined.
The Cyprus University of Technology aspires to become a modern and pioneering University capable of offering high level training and research in popular fields, which today offer great economic, technical, and scientific output.
The first stage of the new University will last five to six years and the second stage provides for the construction of new premises throughout Limassol which will gradually be handed over to the University.
President Papadopoulos noted that education and cultural development are among the highest priorities of the government and added that the state budget for 2008
provides for more than 554 million Cyprus pounds to be spent for the Ministry of Education and Culture.
“One of our main goals in the field of education and culture is the development of academic education and quality education for Cypriot as well as foreign students. We also aspire to promote life learning, skill learning, innovation and research”, he added.
Furthermore, the President said that the new University in Limassol will contribute to creating added infrastructure projects in the city center, such as parking areas, pedestrian precincts, public transportation and bicycle routes, “which will upgrade the city”.
Minister of Education and Culture Akis Cleanthous referred to the University’s faculties. He said that five faculties are operating in the new University, namely Geotechnical Sciences and Environmental Management, Economics and Management, Applied Arts and Communications, Engineering and Technology and Health Sciences.
These five faculties are divided into eight departments one of which includes 200 students who are studying in the Nursing School which is based in Nicosia. The remaining 250 students will be studying in Limassol in the other seven departments.
The Minister added that the Cyprus University of Technology is part of the overall government plan to reform and improve its educational system.
Chairman of the Interim Governing Board, Professor Andreas Demetriou said that “this University, along with the University of Cyprus and the Open University of Cyprus, together with the other Universities that will be established in the future, will further enhance the society of Cyprus, but also Cyprus as a state”.
“The Cyprus University of Technology also changes one of the most important towns of Cyprus, Limassol, which now becomes a university town. The University will change Limassol’s scientific, academic, cultural, social and economic areas, since these fields will interact, day by day, with our University”, he noted.
The opening ceremony was also addressed by EU Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocnik.
In a televised message, Potocnik noted the importance of the new Cyprus University in Limassol and expressed certainty that the university would offer new opportunities for education to the wider area of the Eastern Mediterranean. Limassol Mayor, Andreas Christou, says hosting the Cyprus University of Technology is a great honor for the town of Limassol.
“No other event united our city as much as the idea of this University. Our citizens have welcomed the opening of the University in our town and have set it as their priority. It was a matter of prestige”, the Mayor said.
The opening ceremony ended with the official hymn of the Cyprus University of Technology.