Vision statement by President of Board

In February 2020 we mark the 20th anniversary of the first official meetings which resulted in the foundation of SEEU in 2001. Those of us who participated in those meetings were excited at the prospect of building something new and distinctive in Macedonia, with our main aim being to offer high quality higher education to all the young people of the region, and addressing the long-standing problem of access for Albanian speakers . The international community supported us over time with some 40m Euros of their citizens’ money, and SEEU remains the only University in Europe to have been founded by a combination of US and European funds.  Respecting these donations, we were assisted by friends and colleagues from a range of universities regionally and internationally, from Europe and the USA. The excitement and novelty of those early years led to the progressive development of an institution which now stands out from the rest of the higher education system of the Republic of North Macedonia in its commitments to multi-ethnic, multilingual education and high quality.  Because we are a University with an international outlook, assisted by international membership of the governing Board, means that we are entirely immune from political influence, which has been a key issue for us, we maintain the highest ethical standards and we operate in a wholly transparent way.

After almost 20 years of working, our vision now is to build upon and enhance our services with a renewed commitment to quality, including ensuring that students are prepared in the best possible way, through acquisition of knowledge and skills, for the world of work locally and internationally. In particular we want our graduates to be competent in those languages necessary to communicate effectively at all levels of business, commerce and government, and international languages, particularly English. They should also be confident and competent in effective use of new technologies, and to have been educated in an institution which takes seriously its responsibilities towards the environment.  We want our graduates to be self-confident citizens who will have a major influence, as our alumni already have, on good governance and solid economic development in the region. No doubt all parents want this for their children.

On a more practical level, we recognize that attending an institution which is not fully state-supported incurs additional cost. We are not private profit-making, so all our income is devoted to maintaining and enhancing the quality of our diplomas.  There are no investors or shareholders, and everything we do is fully audited to international standards and transparent. We try to help with a scholarship scheme, assisted by donations from the government, and with a payment system that reduces the burden on parents and families. We believe that investing in your future is worth doing. Everyone is welcome to apply to be part of our community. 

President of the University Board

15 March 2019