2020 Cyprus Country Report

Education
Sector Profile
Cyprus’ public and private universities, all
part of the Erasmus programme, have rapidly
expanded their offering and continue to forge
new links and collaborative agreements with renowned
universities abroad. Distance learning
is another growth area, with UNIC a pioneer in
this field. Its medical schools offer busy working
doctors worldwide the opportunity to take master’s
degrees online in family medicine and in
public health.
MEDICAL SCHOOLS
Medical schools are a relatively new and growing
aspect of the Cyprus educational sphere. In the
last decade, Cyprus has gone from no medical
schools to three programmes offered by Cypriot
universities. These are proving popular with both
local and international students, as academic
standards in Cyprus rival those of well-established
British and American medical schools and
students graduate with qualifications recognised
across the EU and beyond.
UNIC, which established the island’s first
medical school in 2011, did so in partnership
with London University and its prestigious teaching
hospital, St George’s. It offers a four-year
programme for graduate-level entry students,
knowing this would appeal particularly to students
from the US, which is the world’s biggest
exporter of medical students, but also to regional
markets such as Israel and Lebanon which have
decent numbers of graduate-entry students.
UNIC has since launched a second medical
school, with a six-year programme for high
school leavers. The approximately 650 students at
UNIC’s two medical schools come from almost
60 countries, proving its international appeal.
Following suit, EUC established a medical
school four years ago with a six-year course that
has attracted students from Israel, Germany,
Iran, Austria, Greece and Cyprus, among others.
In 2017, it also launched a dentistry school. The
mostly state-funded UCY established its medical
school six years ago and graduated its first students
in 2019. It also offers parallel courses in
English to cater to 100 students a year.
Cyprus’ main competition for medical students
comes from eastern and central European
countries where tuition fees and living costs are
often lower, and some of the universities have
hundreds of years of heritage. However, many
of these universities sign up overseas students
knowing that after four years they cannot provide
enough clinical training slots for all students to
complete their courses. Whereas, according to
UCY all the medical schools in Cyprus operate
on the basis of having clinical training spots for
all students right from the beginning.
INVESTING IN EDUCATION
The location of Cyprus as the EU’s easternmost
outpost and bridge to Asia and Africa also gives
Cyprus a natural advantage in attracting overseas
students and investment from foreign universities.
For example, keen to recruit more students from
Russia, the Middle East and China, the aforementioned
British UCLan chose Cyprus as the site for
its very first overseas campus almost a decade ago,
built near Larnaca at a cost of €53 million. The potential
for further growth and foreign investment
is reflected in the building boom of the last few
years of universities expanding and creating new
departments, building new luxury and high-tech
accommodation to house increasing numbers
of students with facilities unlike anything seen
in Europe so far, featuring rooftop pools, restaurants,
gyms and private gardens. For example, the
UNIC residences are the result of a €60 million investment
constituting the largest university infrastructure
investment to date in Cyprus – and once
completed claims to be one of the most functional
student hubs in Europe.
However, in order to maintain the momentum
of attracting foreign students Cyprus must
improve its cumbersome visa application for
non-EU nationals. Otherwise, the universities
have few complaints and value the government’s
assistance in forging new academic and research
links and organising visits from international accreditation
agencies.
The global market for anglophone higher education
geared at internationally mobile students is
estimated to be up to €50 billion, and it is growing
at 5% per year. Cyprus is well placed to capitalise
on this provided it continues to develop its educational
offering. Part of this effort is the government’s
dedication to support this sector along with
its investment promotion agency, Invest Cyprus,
who in cooperation with the Ministry of Education
and Cypriot universities launched a new campaign
in 2019 branded ‘Study in Cyprus’. The campaign
is a concerted effort to promote Cyprus as an educational
centre of excellence and provide information
on studying, living and working in Cyprus.
Cyprus has always valued, and continues to
invest in, education and today the innovative drive
of Cyprus’ universities is enriching the island’s
human capital and enhancing its attraction as an
international centre for business and education.
With expanding global links, spin-off projects and
business ventures in multiple sectors, these institutions
are bringing together a multinational and
multidisciplinary community that is supporting
the development of Cyprus into a veritable knowledge
hub. n
Discover more at www.cyprusprofile.com
I see more
programmes
transitioning
into online
delivery
methods.
Several education institutions,
including universities, have
increased their online offerings
opening new possibilities to
attract a global audience. The
online approach also provides
solutions to individuals
who lack the time to attend
face-to-face classes or who
cannot combine education
with working hours. For
certain, the use of technology
in education will continue
to play an important role for
local education institutions.
Marios Siathas
CEO
European Institute of
Management & Finance
PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
The University of Cyprus
The Open University
of Cyprus
The Cyprus University
of Technology
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES
European University - Cyprus
Frederick University - Cyprus
Neapolis University - Cyprus
University of Nicosia - Cyprus
University of Central
Lancashire - Cyprus
78 Country Report CYPRUS 2020