Prime Minister Edi Rama held a meeting at the Hall of Maps in the Prime Ministry with leaders of universities, the Academy of Sciences, research institutions, academics and teachers, as part of a process of consultation that precedes the reform of the research system. The meeting took place after the auditing brainstorming process that each of these institutions have performed to identify problems and propose solutions in order to improve their functioning.
Prime Minister Rama considered the importance of the consultation process as a necessary precursor of further steps in the reform of research. In addition, he briefed the academics with an overall view of the opinions and proposals received.
“The changes proposed for the legal and regulatory framework of the Academy are generally radical, but also partial. It is positive, in our view, the fact that there is a need for a review of the vision and mission of the Academy. The conclusions are that in the current situation, despite all these contributions, we do not have an exhaustive analysis of the causes of inadequate performance. There is a general tendency concerning the issue of funding, to understand what the sources are beyond the state budget source, which can give Academy a broader financial breathing.”
In addition to thanking them for the development of this phase of the process, the Prime Minister presented the next steps which are the establishment of three working groups and a questionnaire developed by the Ministry of Education and Sport, to be completed within the first 10 days of June.
“We have a tradition, we have some milestones, but we operate with a lot of determination to change the whole system, to ensure that the Academy and the people of academia and science will feel better, will have a different civility, and the system will start to produce. My invitation is the same of the first time. We have to carry forward this process without delay. Let’s establish together a working group at the Ministry of Education and Sport to approve the research strategy. Second, let’s establish a working group for the new law on science. And a third group, to have a common approach to reform in the system of the respective science institution, namely the academia, the institutes, the research centres and agencies. The report including all of the opinions will be sent to each of you. And the deadline for this is the first 10 days of June.”