As time goes by, Romania strengthens its place in the map of European Education. Romanian Universities become better, attracting a great amount of EU and international students, whereas the Medical Colleges of Romania rank among the greatest in Eastern Europe.

More than two decades after the fall of Communism, successive governments have struggled to rebuild and reform the country. In 2013, these efforts seem all the more fruitful.

Romania has finally gained respect, thanks to the initiatives and the works of gifted and hardworking people, like Mr. Remus Pricopie, the Minister of Education, Youth and Science, who paid an official visit to London, on April 25th, 2013 in order to discuss with high-ranking British representatives the cooperation of Romania and the UK in the field of Education.

Mr. Pricopie met several important people, such as Mr. A. Hamilton, the vice-chancellor of the Oxford University. The two men talked about the Romanian scholar community of the University, consisting of no less than 120 individuals. Further discussions focused on the need to secure and extend the affairs between the Romanian Ministry and the celebrated British Institution. These discussions were followed by further meetings with lecturers, professors, researchers, scholars and students. Mr. Pricopie stressed the need to upgrade the level of Romanian Tertiary Education, through the close cooperation of the government with the Romanian community in the Universities of the UK, and especially the Oxford University. Various subjects put on the table were associated with the Erasmus program, the funding of research programs and the organization of international conferences, all supported by the Romanian Ministry of Education.

Additionally, Mr. Pricopie emphasized the need to integrate Romanians who are being educated abroad into the academic life of Romania. This is a realistic point of view, showing that the Minister understands the incorporation of well-educated scholars from abroad is a good way to upgrade the Tertiary Education of his country. Thus, we feel the need to underline that the younger generation of Romanian politicians seems able to handle the needs of the Romanian Universities. This world is competitive and everything is judged on performance. It is noteworthy that under these circumstances, the head of the Romanian Education decides to boost the performance of his country’s highest educational Institutions.

To conclude, Mr. Pricopie’s visit to England demonstrates in the best possible way that Romania’s status in the map of Europe has increased significantly. If anything, a politician who is privileged enough to enjoy the full support of the Oxford University deserves to be considered as successful. What can we expect from Mr. Pricopie in the future? Without a doubt, more efforts to improve the level of the Tertian Education in his country –which, nevertheless, happens to be quite high.

Big thanks to our member John Wood for the article.