The head of Romanian diplomacy, Luminita Odobescu, said on Thursday in Timisoara that the Foreign Affairs Ministry, together with Romanian universities, aim to connect through academic dialogue with students studying in the European space and to develop together attractive university programs to bring back to the country young graduates from the diaspora, thus reducing the exodus of Romanian intelligence.

The foreign minister said at the opening of the international conference „Academic Diplomacy in the Context of European University Alliances”, which is taking place on Thursday at the West University of Timisoara (UVT), in the presence of several Romanian ambassadors from the European Union, that around 10,000 young people leave Romania every year to study in the diaspora.

The international conference addresses this theme, in the context in which 21 higher education institutions in Romania, account for about 67 percent of the country’s students, are part of a European alliance. The event aims to explore the opportunities offered by these alliances for the development of Romanian higher education, but also for reconnecting with the academic diaspora.

„We don’t have exact figures on the number of Romanian students currently studying at universities in Europe, but we do have an idea about Romanian communities. Our objective through this program, together with Romanian universities and in particular with the West University of Timisoara, is to connect, through a dialogue from university to university, with young Romanians studying there, to see exactly the way to try to connect again with Romanian universities, through concrete joint projects. Our ultimate goal is to keep the students and graduates of these faculties in Romania, and to convince those studying abroad to come back to Romania. This requires government policies to attract them to return to Romania.
It’s not just about a competitive environment, not just about education and health, but also about job creation. It is an objective at governmental level,” minister Odobescu detailed.

She emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has competitions open to all students in the country, the offer being addressed to all university students, including those in political science and law.

The UVT Rector, Marilen Pirtea, pointed out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is willing to generate leaderships, different internship programs both for Romanian embassies abroad and in the Ministry, to be followed by potential employment.

„The labor market and education are the most globalized sectors in Europe, and these European alliances have precisely this objective, to create transnational universities. UVT no longer represents a goal for a student, but we promote the idea of an open door to Europe, through the programs available to go to universities in Europe, making a circuit in other universities from where to return with diplomas and common experiences,” said Marilen Pirtea.

AGERPRES