More than 2,000 Romanian professors and researchers are currently working in British universities, which educate over 6,000 Romanian students, foreign minister Oana Țoiu said on Tuesday, February 10, during her working visit to London.

“Education and the mother tongue are the bridges that keep us connected, regardless of distance, and this is also true at the University of Oxford,” the minister said in a post on social media.

“This morning I visited the Romanian Language Lectureship, a project of academic excellence supported by the Romanian state since 2011, and it was a pleasure to discuss with Sir Robert Chote, President of Trinity College, and with professors Martin Maiden and Oana Uță Bărbulescu how our cultural identity is well represented at one of the most prestigious universities in the world,” she added.

She further noted the importance of the Romanian language lectureship at Oxford, as well as the one at the University of Cambridge, noting that Romanian is currently the second most spoken foreign language in the United Kingdom.

“Moreover, we have a remarkable academic presence here: over 2,000 Romanian professors and researchers are teaching at British universities that educate more than 6,000 Romanian students. All of them are future drivers of Romania’s expertise, but they also play a very important symbolic role today, as ambassadors of our excellence in the United Kingdom,” Oana Țoiu said.

During a debate at Trinity College, the minister also addressed Romania’s strategic role on NATO’s Eastern Flank. 

She added that discussions are underway for Romanian to become a GCSE examination subject in British schools and for the expansion of the Romanian Language, Culture, and Civilization course, aimed at helping children born in the UK maintain their cultural roots.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Oana Țoiu)