Technical University of Moldova to be reorganized by merger with Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu State University of Cahul

The Technical University of Moldova (UTM) will be reorganized by merger with Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu State University of Cahul. The project was approved today by the Government.

The document also provides for the establishment of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu University Center of Cahul within the Public Institution Technical University of Moldova, headquartered in the municipality of Cahul, to support the educational, scientific, and socioeconomic development of the southern region of the Republic of Moldova, including by adapting the educational offer to regional needs.

Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun said at the cabinet meeting that the main objective of the decision is “to ensure that in Cahul, in the next 5, 10, 20 years there will be a strong university center, able to respond to the needs of the region and to continue to represent a hub of intellectual life in the south of the country.”

Currently, the University of Cahul has a total of about one thousand students, of whom 385 are full-time. The higher education institution employs 48 core teaching staff. Estimates show that by 2035 the number of students could decrease by up to 25 percent.

“Given these premises and our desire to ensure that there will be a sufficiently strong community center in Cahul in the future, we have decided to integrate the University of Cahul into the Technical University, which is a university roughly 40 times larger, with a budget of 25 million euros, capable of supporting the community in Cahul throughout its development,” said the Minister of Education.

Dan Perciun noted that the university’s headquarters will remain in Cahul, and the new university center will be created within TUM, with its seat in Cahul. It will be called Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu University Center, will have broad autonomy within the Technical University, its own budget, a separate identity, and the academic process will continue in Cahul. At the same time, the Government decision expressly provides for the creation of a vice-rector position dedicated to the university community in Cahul, which will be held by a teaching staff member from Cahul within the Technical University.

In addition, the project requires the Ministry of Education, together with the Technical University, to make annual investments of at least 10 million lei in the new Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu University Center.

The authorities also intend to open new specializations within the university, and during the admission process separate places will be allocated to ensure that the number of students will steadily increase.

“We decided to integrate specifically with UTM because it is one of the institutions with the most available resources and has a profile that is needed in the south of Moldova and will contribute to economic development. This decision is not one that enjoys unanimous support; any reorganization decision always raises concerns, but I am sure that over time we will prove that the set objectives will be fully achieved,” concluded Dan Perciun.

Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu stated that this is not an easy decision, but a necessary one to ensure a high-quality study process.