The cooperation agreement between the Agricultural University of Tirana and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences BOKU, Vienna, Austria, was signed today.
Its main goal is the deepening of the reform of UBT, so that it aligns within 2030 with BOKU and its European counterpart universities in the three pillars of its mission: study programs, scientific research and knowledge transfer.
Today’s agreement comes as a result of the signing of another agreement in April of this year in Austria, between the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Albania and the corresponding Austrian ministries for the “Implementation of the UBT 2030 Strategy”, – which authorizes the two respective universities to agree on a specific cooperation agreement for the implementation of this project in the next four years.
The Agricultural University of Tirana will be transformed into a Regional Center of Excellence, with the final goal that at the end of this four-year cooperation there will be double degrees and joint programs with BOKU in Vienna.
The signing ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Rama, Minister of Education and Sports Ogerta Manastirliu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Anila Denaj, Project Coordinator Mr. Hubert Hasenauer, rectors of UBT and BOKU respectively Mr. Fatbardh Sallaku and Mrs. Eva Schulev-Steindl, as well as lecturers, students, education specialists, etc.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Hello everyone! The rector said that I do not like praise, which is true, but when it comes from a reborn democrat, it’s welcomed, and especially at this moment, which is really a historical moment for your University.
It is also true what the rector said, that three years ago you had a difficult situation with the recruitment of students and the rector came with a proposal that was yours, a joint proposal for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture where he asked support to convince me to lower the entry average at the Agricultural University.
I was absolutely against this idea because it did not make sense to me that because students were showing less interest for the Agricultural University, the average should be lowered so that students would come here. I told the rector that we should aim to make the Agricultural University attractive and turn it into a destination, not only for Albanian students, but also for students from the region, by internationalizing it.
Of course, the rector had no way of trusting me, because the party did not allow him, but we got together and you know very well that this is a process that actually started before, when I came here to your University and barely found my way to the rector’s office because of the illegal constructions. I asked the rector, how much is the total support that the government has given to the university in these years?
And taking into account the great risk that what I am going to do now will turn into a stress for Ogerta, because the rectors of other universities will come and say: “what is happening here, a great injustice has been done”, I am referring to the figures that the rector gave to me. 7 million euros for the farm, 3 million euros for the earthquake reconstruction, 2 million euros for the clinic building. Initially, 500 thousand euros for internationalization and then 2 million euros for the joint program with BOKU. One million euros for KPZ. So there are about 16 million euros given directly to the Agricultural University. This is a strategic program of the government to transform this university into a center of excellence with a very strong radiation in the economy, in agriculture, in the rural development of the country and with a regional influence.
Here we are today at one point, it took three years, of course we have lost a lot of time, but these are big projects that require their time, then for one of the most outstanding excellencies of Europe, 150 years of the University, with this delegation and to accept the “marriage” with us, this is not done as we do when we get married, which is love at first sight. There is no love at first sight in Austria. They get information, they check, they see the brides, they come to see the house where they will bring the bride. It is a long story and the fact that they agreed to come and sign the “marriage” with us today is a very big achievement.
Now it is very important from our side not to tempt them, so that they start thinking about divorce. Hubert said it very well before that now it is up to all of you to get involved in this project, not only with your mind, but also with your heart and to have your personal ambition, to be honest, not only professional, not only as academics, but also as Albanians to transform this University where you spend most of your life into a flag of national pride.
Hubert, I have to tell you something. When we first met, I will never forget how you stared at me, examining me carefully. I felt like I was in front of Interpol, Europol or whatever but you did not only support us, but you decided to become our hero already because you are the manager of the program. You will be in the middle, you will be the person who guarantees the “marriage”, who makes sure that both parties are happy and when they have fights, calms them down.
I was raised by a grandmother who was raised by an Austrian Catholic. She told me when I was young, “you will meet many people in life, you will have to talk, listen, do things, but never forget, the last meeting is the most important. The last encounter is with an old man with long white hair and a white beard called Saint Peter. You will have finished with this world and you will ask him to find you a place in the next world. Surely you will seek heaven and he will ask you: Tell me, what have you done in the world you just left behind? And it is not enough to say “I was a good person, I did my job, I fed my family, I was successful and so on, because what is key to the ticket to heaven is what you do for others.”
Now, Hubert, I have no doubt you are a good man; I have no doubt that you have been successful but when you go before Saint Peter it will not be enough. You can say that I have been the rector of BOKU.
– Well, what then?
– Yes, you will tell him, “I helped, I helped UBT in Tirana, in Albania”, and then he will tell you: “My son, you deserve to go to heaven immediately”.
Many thanks to everyone!
