The new University of Limassol held its opening ceremony on Monday evening, with Education Minister Athina Michailidou promising innovative teaching methods which connect easily with the labour market.

Michailidou told guests that the government is “targeting the internationalisation of [Cyprus’] tertiary education and the interconnection of universities’ research activities with the diverse challenges which our country faces”.

“University education plays an outstanding role in the economic and social development of a country, while also providing its human potential the required material in order for the economy and society to become and to remain competitive and innovative,” she said.

She spoke of how higher education in Cyprus has seen great progress in recent years and is now seen as a regional and international centre of education and research. She added that the government supports higher education and the universities “in every way”.

“Through innovative teaching methods, the connection of study programmes with the requirements of the labour market, the promotion of research in not only scientifically but socially interesting subjects, will equip its students to have successful professional and personal lives,” she said, speaking in particular about the University of Limassol.

Students at the new university will have access to undergraduate and postgraduate courses from the CIIM Business School, as well as a new School of Technology and Innovation and a School of Economics and Finance. There are also plans to open a Law School, a School of Social Sciences and a School of Health Sciences.

In his speech, the mayor of Limassol Nikos Nikolaidis confirmed that around 700 students from Cyprus and abroad will enroll at the university in the new academic year and “reinforce … the multicultural environment of the city and the cultural and societal dialogue”.