Speech of Ambassador Traian Hristea on the occasion of KIMEP University’s 25th Anniversary
Distinguished President Chan Young Bang,
Esteemed members of the Board!
Dear Members of the Faculty, students, alumni, honoured guests, and friends of the University!
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen!
I am honoured to be here tonight (today) at the occasion of KIMEP's 25th Anniversary Celebration.
The KIMEP University was the first one in Kazakhstan and in the whole Central Asia region, established with the aim of preparing the young generation to embrace the opportunities and challenges of the globalised world.
The EU has a long history of cooperation with KIMEP. It has now been 10 years since KIMEP has been actively taking part in the various programmes financed by the EU in the field of education, taking an opportunity to broaden its cooperation networks, to enhance the capacities and expertise of the university staff, and to improve the skills and employability of students. This successful cooperation previously done in the framework of the Tempus and Erasmus Mundus programmes, is now continuing under the new Erasmus+ programme.
This year we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Erasmus. Since 1987, the programme has supported more than 5 million students, apprentices, volunteers and staff, giving the possibility to more than 9 million people to study or do an internship abroad. I am very glad that many KIMEP's students have had the opportunity to complement their education in the EU Member States universities thanks to the "International Credit Mobility" component of the Erasmus+ programme. I encourage them to continue active participation in the Erasmus+ programme projects.
Let me also point out that, under Erasmus+, KIMEP was the first university in Kazakhstan to establish the Jean Monnet Chair in the European Union Law, which aims at stimulating excellence in teaching, research and promotion of expertise in the EU law in the country and in the wider region.
Ladies and gentlemen!
I am sure that KIMEP will continue to be a centre of excellence for high quality education in Kazakhstan and I trust that we will continue our fruitful cooperation in the future.
Thank you!