By: Amina Kaja, Young European Ambassador from Kosovo

Dearest reader,

My name is Amina – a veteran Young European Ambassador (YEA) (it’s been 4 years already!) from Kosovo. I’m writing to share a particularly exciting experience I had with our brand new ‘Follow Me!’ club series of activities, which is about organising trips for us YEAs to explore EU-funded projects.

This brought me to the construction site of University of Pristina’s newest facility – the all-improved Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Located in the Technical Faculty Zone, this EU-funded project aims to promote inclusivity, increase the quality of education through modern infrastructure and push both students and academic staff towards research-based teaching and learning. This is incredibly important since Kosovo’s youth largely have their sights set on studying abroad.  So our new Faculty is just one of many steps towards ensuring a fulfilling academic life for students in their home country.

The project is implemented by UNOPS, and the warm welcome from their team made my visit even more enjoyable! Joined by the EU Ambassador to Kosovo, Tomáš Szunyog, and University of Pristina’s Rector, Qerim Qerimi, the UNOPS team gave me a tour and detailed how the facility will look in just a couple of months. Picture this – a huge 4-storey building with a gorgeous, green, bustling outdoor area for both students and the local community, state-of-the-art amphitheaters and classrooms full of chatter, breastfeeding rooms for students and faculty members, offices with glass walls ensuring a warm atmosphere and social nooks and crannies on every floor for after-class relaxation. Makes you want to join, doesn’t it? Ambassador Szunyog put it perfectly, “The EU’s investment in this project is not just about building infrastructure; it is about building a brighter, knowledge-based future for Kosovo.” The future truly does look brighter, and I’m suddenly jealous I chose to study medicine and not math.

This project, funded by a EUR 8.9 million grant from the EU with an additional EUR 5 million from the University of Pristina, will serve over 2,300 students and 133 staff members in the departments of physics, chemistry, biology, math and geography. The specific objective is the construction of accessible, inclusive, safe and environmentally-friendly premises for everyone, all while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. As such, through improving quality standards in higher education, the EU is directly supporting future Kosovar scientists and researchers.

With Kosovo’s population proudly boasting 55% of people under 30 years of age, such a faculty is more than necessary. You never know where you’ll meet a new Marie Curie or Thomas Edison, and such opportunities open doors to all who wish to explore the wonders of science – giving them a shot at finding themselves and exceling in their fields. Science has the power to bring communities together, and finding common ground has never been more important – or easy – than now. With the world in disarray, it truly is up to the youth to make a change, and we STEM nerds can’t leave everything up to the social scientists, can we?

With a total investment of EUR 85 million in Kosovo’s education system from 2007 to 2022, the EU is the largest provider of financial assistance in Kosovo. These investments are intended to improve opportunities for students and teachers, bring Kosovo’s education system up to EU standards, and stimulate economic development and job creation. Through it’s support, the EU is committed to contributing to a higher quality and more inclusive education system in Kosovo.

Read more about the EU’s work in Kosovo here.