Gibraltar eyes the Seychelles model for its university plans

Gibraltar education minister Gilbert Licudi speaks about the university idea at the State House, Victoria, Seychelles (Mervyn Marie, Seychelles News Agency)

(Seychelles News Agency) - With plans in the pipeline to set up a university in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar next year, its education minister Gilbert Licudi is in the Seychelles to seek the advice of the university of the 90,000 population Indian Ocean islands which was set up by the government in 2009.

Licudi met with Seychelles President James Michel, who is also Chancellor of the University of Seychelles today, according to a press statement from the Office of the President.

“It’s a project which is on course by next year, and we want to know how it was done and how it will work in Gibraltar, because of the challenges that are particularly faced in a small place like Seychelles and Gibraltar… What Seychelles offers us is that fact that you’ve been through it, you’ve done it, you already got a fully-fledged established University and we want to know exactly how you did it so we can learn from you,“ said Licudi, in an interview with local press.

The University of Seychelles (UniSey) offers degree and post graduate studies to Seychellois and international students including 17 undergraduate course programmes and four post-graduate programmes, with degrees awarded by the University of London, L’Université de La Réunion, L’Université de Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne, Amity University, India, the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) among others.

Gilbert Licudi and James Michel at the State House (Mervyn Marie, Seychelles News Agency) Photo license: Attribution

Licudi says that Gibraltar plans to create a centre of excellence in education in the Mediterranean, and that its School of Health undergraduate studies would be integrated in the university, which would create partnerships with other universities, just as the University of Seychelles has done.

 “I am pleased that we can share our experiences of setting up the University of Seychelles with the government of Gibraltar, as we have many common challenges and needs to develop our economies. We can build partnerships and exchanges together which will increase the quality of education and ensure that  our young people have better access to high education,” said Michel following the meeting.

Seychelles is the only country in Africa that has already fully achieved education for all, in line with the six Education For All (EFA) goals set out by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, for attainment in 2015, according to a new report published in May by UNESCO’s Regional Office in Dakar. 

Second batch of UniSey students with President Michel (centre) who graduated in November 2013 from Seychelles' first University (Seychelles Nation) Photo license: NonCommercial