Seven new European university alliances have joined the Erasmus+ European Universities initiative, which provides support to higher education institutions in the EU. This brings the total number of alliances to 50, involving over 430 higher education institutions across 35 countries. Among these alliances are the University of Nicosia and Cyprus University of Technology.

The initiative encompasses all EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Norway, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Türkiye.

The European Commission recently announced the results of the 2023 Erasmus+ call for the European Universities initiative. This call received a record overall budget of €402.2 million from the Erasmus+ programme, with each alliance receiving a budget of up to €14.4 million for a four-year period.

Regarding Cypriot tertiary education institutions, the University of Nicosia participates in the NEOLAiA network, which includes institutions from Sweden, Czechia, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Germany, Romania, and France. Additionally, TEPAK is part of the EUt+ alliance, alongside universities from Germany, Latvia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Spain, Romania, and France.

This program aims to bring together a new generation of Europeans who can study and work in different European countries, languages, and academic disciplines, transcending sectors.

In the upcoming fall of 2023, the Commission will launch the next Erasmus+ call for proposals. The objective is to reach the European strategy's goal of expanding to 60 European University alliances with over 500 universities by mid-2024.

Meanwhile, President Nikos Christodoulides expressed his aspirations for Cyprus to become an upgraded and quality educational and research center during the graduation ceremony of the School of Business Administration at the University of Nicosia.

He announced that the government will soon initiate a public consultation with universities to develop a strategy towards this objective, aiming to accomplish it before the end of 2023. The President informed the Ministers of Education, Interior, Labor, and Foreign Affairs about a working document prepared by the Presidency.

According to Christodoulides, this document emphasizes enhancing the quality of higher education by providing more opportunities for students who choose to study in Cyprus, as well as offering incentives to universities based on quality indicators. The government recognizes the significant importance of quality higher education for the country and is taking targeted measures to transform Cyprus into a reputable educational center, both regionally and internationally. He emphasized that the key to achieving this lies in the quality of education and its ability to facilitate development and establish Cyprus as a reliable educational hub.

President Christodoulides extended his congratulations to the graduating students and commended the University of Nicosia for its invaluable work.