June 21 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's government has successfully implemented a higher education and research development project, funded with a 12 million euro ($13.6 million) loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the World Bank said on Friday.
The Higher Education and Research for Innovation and Competitiveness (HERIC) project, which will be completed on June 30, has strengthened the quality and importance of higher education and research in order to ensure their greater contribution to the economy and society, the World Bank said in an e-mailed statement.
In the field of higher education, the project supported the new model of higher education funding, which in turn enabled free enrollment for all new students of elementary studies at the state university, four universities have been re-accredited in line with the EU norms, and support was provided to universities and faculties in Montenegro through institutional grants to strengthen their administrative and operational capacities which led to better conditions for teaching.
In the area of innovation and competitive research, the government established an Excellence Centre in which the efforts of a number of domestic and international faculties were coordinated.
($ = 0.8846 euro)