Within the continuously and rapidly changing developmental landscape, Western Macedonia finds itself before a challenge – an invitation for the future: that of a merger to create a single Higher Education Institution.
For TEE/TDM, this is historic. Those who envision the progress and future of our region must respond positively to it. And we answer positively.
We highlight the following in order to open the dialogue with the participation of everyone who can contribute to the vision of creating Higher Education and Research in our region, serving as an engine for the development of outward-looking potential and knowledge production.
The individual developments are manifold. The routing of transport and energy networks, the necessity of transitioning to lower carbon activity with the support of the European Union, the reinforcement of the primary sector with value-added products and services, the geopolitical developments in the area that establish our Region as a hub, the utilisation of our lakes and our mountainous terrain, and the mandated comprehensive spatial planning.
What do we have to confront? On one hand, the relentless need to secure the necessary academic personnel to support the venture, and on the other, the academic approach to the matter in terms of completeness and the strengthening of the new University. Reactions, complaints, resentments, and petty interests will emerge, as in any major change, as a logical consequence of the resistance from existing organisations. All this is understandable, but only up to a point.
What we believe:
• The creation of a single institution must be a strategic objective of our Region.
• It is imperative to upgrade/create faculties rather than scattered university departments. A faculty provides the critical academic mass necessary to stand firm and progress within the highly competitive academic environment.
• The creation of the proposed faculties must be comprehensive; they must integrate not merely as pre-existing departments but under the logic of a unified faculty, enabling a holistic approach both in covering academic subjects and in providing the modern interventions that a University must contribute.
• There is a necessity to establish English-taught departments in order to attract students from abroad, and for the university to play a substantial role in scientific knowledge and research as the primary ambassador for our region. This is an issue that obviously requires specific legislative provision.
• The funding for the venture must be sufficient, making use of both existing infrastructure and those under construction, devoid of extreme localistic demands. The additional funding for the required scientific personnel must be derived from costed proposals put forward by the academic community. This is because the initiative must be supported in practice, eschewing haphazard approaches to ensure it is not annulled.
• The new institution must, from its inception, present a detailed development plan to address the issues that act as a deterrent to the operation of domestic higher education institutions, particularly regional ones (reduced funding, a high student-to-teacher ratio, prolonged duration of studies, an inability to attract teaching staff from abroad, difficulties in developing efficient administrative services, hurdles in linking study programmes to the labour market, and a lack of clear planning concerning medium- and long-term strategic goals per faculty and department, etc.).
• The planning for the new institution ought to be explicit regarding the research orientation of the individual faculties and departments, so that within a reasonable timeframe it secures a high ranking based on its research performance.
The dialogue must take place on two levels:
• On the academic level, which will also identify the current necessities (regarding students, transition processes, support, requisite courses and laboratories alongside their correlation with the existing human resources, procedures for evolution or academic progression, etc.).
• On the developmental level, where the Region, the Scientific Chambers, the Local Government, the local stakeholders, and the citizens must not simply voice their opinions, but actively support its operation, rising above petty political interests and backlash.
In the future, no one will remember the individuals, but rather the existence of a robust University Structure that will bolster Development and Research beyond the narrow confines of Western Macedonia, participating in knowledge production and supporting development on an equal and substantive footing.
Let us build upon the new era approaching with trust not only in the Academic Community but in all those with the spirit to contribute, combining developments on an international level with the target focus that the New University Institution must hold.