Godfather at the University of Korça/ Changes in the law on higher education, focus on internationalization

2026-07-17 15:50:48, Aktualitet CNA

Godfather at the University of Korça/ Changes in the law on higher

The review of the higher education law and the projects for the development of the “Fan S. Noli” University were at the center of the visit of the Minister of Education, Mirela Kumbaro, to Korça. In a meeting with the rectorate and the deans of the faculties, the minister discussed the changes expected to be made to the 2015 law, as well as the new challenges related to the internationalization of universities and their adaptation to technological developments. According to her, the process of consultations with the universities has started since November of last year and aims to improve the legal framework, without drafting a new law.

Minister Kumbaro said that analyses are being conducted at all universities in the country and that the goal is for the changes to the law to reflect ten years of experience in its implementation, while maintaining quality standards and responding to the challenges of the time.

"It is part of my calendar of movements in the sector, throughout the territory of Albania, from one university to another, we are talking about higher education. Because first, we closed an academic year and all the analyses when the year ends are done where university life happens.

Second, I have been and will be in constant, weekly communication with various rectors, with professors, but also because we are at a very important moment in higher education, in the review of the 2015 higher education law. Work that began in November 2025, when the Ministry of Education addressed a letter to all Albanian universities, public and non-public, to ask for your opinion, thoughts, suggestions regarding, let's say, the efficiency, the topicality of the existing law.

It is a ten-year period and in this ten-year period all universities have had their experiences, their suggestions, they have had the opportunity to ascertain where this law has influenced the increase in quality and standards, that it is the main pillar, but where there is a need to supplement or change various legal aspects to facilitate and make the life of higher education and scientific research more qualitative, but also taking into account that 2015 was a very different era, both in objectives and in reality. 2015 aimed to make a deep reform of a degraded situation in higher education, in terms of quality and standards, which has improved the situation enormously, and this is also visible in the international experiences of our universities.

In 2026, in the era of technology and artificial intelligence, but especially at a time when Albania is preparing to integrate into a market that goes beyond Albania's borders."

Focusing on the concrete changes that the law is expected to undergo, the minister explained that the main focus will be the internationalization of universities, the adaptation of study programs to market demands, and the creation of a legal framework that favors cooperation with international institutions.

"First, we are not yet in the final draft of the law review. I want to emphasize that this is not about a new law, it is about, and this comes from the conclusions of all universities, including the University of Korça, which suggest not a new law, but a review of some aspects of the existing law.

First of all, with internationalization. The internationalization of universities is the challenge of all universities, including the University of Korça, and in the several-hour meeting with the rectorate and the deans of the faculties of this university, this was the main topic.

"What should we do, how should we reinvent ourselves in the good sense of the word, to review the programs in order to respond to the challenge of internationalization, which should also find an answer in the new legal framework that we are drafting. Taking all the faculties, all the programs, one by one, and this communication is one, I can say, of the best ways how we can all move forward together."

During the meeting, strategic projects being developed in Korça in the field of education were also discussed. According to the minister, the “Fan S. Noli” University, the Knowledge Pole and the French Lyceum will function as part of a common ecosystem, with the aim of turning Korça into an important center of knowledge, scientific research and technological innovation.

"Second, they agreed that the University of Korça is part of a very important educational ecosystem that I believe Korça, not just the Municipality of Korça but the Korça Region, has a very prominent place in.

This is part of an investment program and a philosophy where the University of Korça, the development that the pole of knowledge will receive by becoming an attractive point for international universities, and the very important investment with the French Lyceum of Korça, which will be a national lyceum, but will always keep the name French Lyceum of Korça also for its extraordinary history, which will be a lyceum with technological and scientific development, will be a very good base to then feed the line not only of the University of Korça, but also of other universities where we have technical-scientific profiles, information technology and so on. So, these are not separate projects, and if they are not all conceived together, of course they cannot move forward.

And we agreed that we will all work together for this ecosystem and not just for an institution. The Knowledge Pole, as the name suggests, is a very interesting project of the Albanian Development Fund that has development in its philosophy, and not just a building for an institution, but a building for a philosophy of development. And dedicated to technology, development, scientific research, but also economic development.

And there is the necessary space to unite the energies that can come from the University of Korça, can come from the private business sector, from other foreign or domestic universities that want to create in Korça, and we are working on this and here, the University of Korça definitely has a very important role, because it depends on the quality and standard that these branches of the University of Korça offer to create their space in the Knowledge Pole.

But it is a space that is also national, just as the Korça High School is a national educational institution. The synergy of all these elements creates, will create, and it depends on what we produce, on what ideas we have, to be part of this park of ideas, of this pole of knowledge."

The meeting at the "Fan S. Noli" University was held as part of the consultation round that the Ministry of Education is conducting with public and non-public universities in the country, while the proposals collected will serve to draft changes to the law on higher education./ CNA