12 November 1998
Vice-Chancellor's Address to the Graduates
Chairman Ionescu, Your Excellency, Ministers, Secretaries of State, Counselor, Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a pleasure to celebrate this evening the success of the first Romanians to graduate with the Diploma in Management through the progamme partnership between CODECS and The Open University.
I much regret that His Excellency, President Constantinescu, is unable to be with us. As Rector of the University of Bucharest he was one of the founders of CODECS. For years he has worked to create a civil society in Romania and CODECS was one of the mechanisms he promoted for this purpose.
My colleagues at The Open University and I are proud to have played a small part, through CODECS, in the inspiring transformations that have taken place in Romania in this decade.
I believe that we have prepared today’s graduates to play a leading part in making a promising future a prosperous reality for the people of Romania. During my years of involvement with CODECS I have heard many stories about the successful and innovative enterprises that the graduates of this management programme have created.
Today’s graduates are the people who are building the new Romania. It makes me and my Open University colleagues feel humble to know that the business strategies and practices that we advocate in our courses are contributing so significantly to strengthening the economy of Romania and establishing its place in the international business community.
I bring greetings to you all from the Chancellor of The Open University, Betty Boothroyd, who is also, of course, the Speaker of our Parliament. She has a special interest in the growth of democratic institutions in Central Europe, and would have liked to be here with us today.
But she is here in spirit and sends her warm congratulations to the graduates, to their families and friends, and to all the staff and tutors, both from CODECS and from the OU.
It is a great pleasure to welcome to our ceremony His Excellency Christopher Crabbie, the British Ambassador. The activities of The Open University and its partners now create a web around the world. I would call it a world-wide web, but that name has already been taken, so let me call it a global web.
In operating this global web of lifelong learning, which includes 30,000 students outside the UK, we enjoy tremendous support from the British Council and the British missions around the world. I thank his Excellency the Ambassador and his colleagues for that support here in Romania. Since arriving in Romania I have heard many warm testimonials to the work of the British Council and the help that it has given, through scholarships, to CODECS students. We are deeply grateful for that support.
It is truly remarkable to see the transformations that have taken place in Romania since my very first visit over ten years ago. I first came here in the mid-1980s when I was appointed to the Advisory Board of CEPES, Unesco’s Centre for Higher Education in Europe. How things have changed since those days! I congratulate you all on the transformation of your wonderful country in less than a decade.
I am particularly proud of the way in which CODECS and OU staff have worked together so successfully. It is a great tribute to all of you that the number of CODECS students continues to grow so rapidly. It is clear that the increase in student numbers is occurring mainly because students whose lives have benefited from the programme tell others about the new skills and confidence they have acquired.
The Open University programmes that CODECS offers are not only an excellent training in business and management but also, by the way they are taught, a powerful expression of the values of a democratic, pluralistic, liberal and civil society. I am confident that the qualities of openness, integrity and equality that permeate Open University courses will also leave their mark on the graduates.
I expect that today's graduates feel indebted to all the CODECS and OU people who have built up this programme. I am especially pleased that Brian Lund is with us. Brian was the founding father of the OU Business School and was also the initiator of our activities in Central Europe. Those activities, in Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, now involve over 10,000 students.
The work that Brian Lund began has been carried on with enthusiasm by many OU colleagues and their local partners. I have particularly admired the dedication and sparkle that Arthur Lyttle has brought to his work with CODECS. It is also a pleasure to see Alan and Margaret Clarke to this event.
Margaret has been involved in helping a school in northern Romania and Alan has played a central role in ensuring that the business arrangements between the OU and its partners in the region are effective. They are a nice example of the diversity of contacts that British people have with Romania.
Three of the founders of CODECS, Ionel Chera, Kolumban Gabor and Catalin Ionescu have a special place in my affections. It has been a thrill to work with them from the start and see the programme grow to its present success. I note with pleasure that CODECS has applied good business practice to its own organisation and is now a successful Romanian conglomerate with thriving subsidiary businesses.
Since those early pioneering days many new staff and tutors and joined CODECS. I am sure that all the graduates have appreciated the support they have received from the staff, especially when they were discouraged. Let's show our appreciation for their work.
I know there are other people to whom you, as graduates, feel grateful. It is wonderful to see so many of the graduates' family members, relatives, colleagues and friends. We're delighted you are here.
Success in distance learning depends on the tolerance and support of others. All of you who have had CODECS students in your home or in your circle of friends and colleagues are aware of the impact of OU study on family and social life. It is very demanding to manage the demands coursework in addition to family, work and social responsibilities but you have done it.
Those skills of managing yourselves are just as important to your employers as the skills of managing others that you have acquired through the Diploma programme.
I know that the graduates would like to thank those who have supported them through their studies. Let's have a round of applause for the support of your families, friends, and colleagues?
Finally, on the fifth anniversary of CODECS, it gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the MBA in Romania in May of next year. Having successfully completed the Diploma, I hope that many of you will rise to the challenge of studying the MBA. We would be delighted to welcome you as the first MBA CODECS students.
In study, as in life, each success leads on to new challenges. By moving on to the MBA you will confirm the place of CODECS graduates as the elite of the elite of Romanian business and management. The Open University MBA programme, like the Certificate and Diploma programmes that you have taken, is recognised as the best distance learning programme in management in the world.
Part of the reason that the Open University has such a high reputation is because it spun a global web of successful students and graduates that includes yourselves.
Thank you for helping to make your Open University strong. I congratulate you on your achievements, I wish you all success as graduates and I rejoice in the success of the partnership between CODECS and the Open University