State universities may create research and innovation centers

The state-run higher education establishments with financial autonomy will be able to create research and innovation centers, laboratories and stations as part of them. A group of Liberal-Democratic lawmakers put forward a legislative initiative whereby the national legislation on education is adjusted to the European one. According to the bill authors, European experts recommend that the Moldovan universities that apply for international accreditation should have the status of research institutions, Info-Prim Neo reports. The informative note to the bill says the goal of the legislative initiative is to remove divergences from the legislation. The Civil Code bans the setting up of legal entities under higher education institutions, while the changes adopted by Parliament at the end of last year allow organizing university communities that can manage themselves without any interference. The MPs propose amending the Civil Code and the Education Law so as to allow the state universities to create experimental research and innovation centers, experimental laboratories and clinics, university hospitals and sports clubs and to possess additional plots, incubators and creation studios. The authors said the universities that will possess such centers cannot run them for commercial purposes. The MPs say that if these changes are approved, the education process will be optimized, while the education institutions will be able to modernize the technical-scientific assets in accordance with the latest development trends.