The University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology in Târgu Mureş renovates its infrastructure and clinical labs to boost specialised medical training and research with EU baking

Romanian universities undertake a tenth of the research and development carried out at the average European higher education institution. This is partly because current educational, residential and administrative infrastructure does not allow the universities to be more competitive internationally. But the uncertainty of the return on investment in these activities also makes it much harder to get funding.

The George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș is prominent in medical research in neurology, cardiology, oncology and materials science. It currently counts some 10 500 students (over 3 500 enrolled in medicine) and over 1 400 employees. It’s the only school in health sciences in the country to offer courses in Romanian, English and Hungarian.

It's among Romania’s top six medical schools. But Târgu Mureș found that, to keep up with the growing number of local and international students, it needed to expand its current infrastructure.

“It’s important to have a modern place to learn, where students, teachers and researchers can use the latest technology in their educational activities,” says Professor Leonard Azamfirei, the rector of the university. “But we want to do more than that, by applying for projects with important local industries and making education accessible to all students.”

The university is now able to renovate and modernise its seven buildings, making them energy efficient, lowering its operational costs. The university also creates new jobs in education and research, creating more room to invite specialised teachers and other health professionals. This strengthens the research centres to train future generations of doctors, engineers, economists, lawyers, and teachers.

The European Investment Bank, which is owned by the 27 EU member states, loaned €20 million towards the refurbishment and upgrade of educational infrastructure and clinical laboratories on the campus. The university also received financial and technical advisory support from the EIB Advisory Hub. It’s just one of many investments in Romania by the European Union’s financing arm. Last year, we invested €4.12 billion in Romania, which is equal to 1.28% of the country’s gross domestic product.

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