Rector Costoiu: Big universities must have special treatment, be financially supported by Gov't

The rector of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest (UPB), Mihnea Costoiu, on Tuesday told AGERPRES that the big higher education institutions should have "a special treatment" and they should be financially supported by the Government, in the context of "increasing pressure from the European universities."

"In order to support the great Romanian universities, it is necessary for the Government, not only the current Government, the political class in general, for the society as a whole to understand the need to finance the great universities, especially those universities that gather values around them and have potential for growth, those that can really change the face of Romania. The big universities must have special treatment, it is important that we all understand this, on the one hand. On the other hand, taking into account that this year we started the academic year on Education Day, it is very important to understand that the important actors in education, those who have assumed the responsibility of leading universities, it is normal to be consulted on Romania's development strategies, as it happens in all civilized countries, not just them as individuals, but the teams around them, the universities as a whole," Costoiu said.

He stated that UPB wants to establish itself as a "top" university in Europe and in the world. "We do not have a national competitor. Our competitor is a European one, and our struggle is to establish ourselves as a leading university in Europe and in the world. In this context we have joined many European associations and we have a special concern to develop relations with the great universities of the world", explained the rector.

Mihnea Costoiu announced that the Polytechnic University of Bucharest will have in about a year and a half a new dormitory with 500 beds that will be built in the Regie Complex.

"We rehabilitated the dormitories in the two large student complexes Regie and Leul. We also purchased dormitories. This year we started by signing a contract for a new modern dormitory in the Regie Complex - a dormitory with 500 beds to be completed in about a year and a half, in order to be able to offer students a new pleasant and useful living space suitable for the century in which we live, obviously, with all the facilities that such a dormitory can offer.We will start the works in the next period. It will be the first dormitory built in Regie since 1980", Costoiu said.