Bank of Cyprus and University of Nicosia join forces

The Memorandum of Understanding provides, among other, the granting of scholarships to students, the conduct of research and implementation of projects

The University of Nicosia’s Department of Computer Science, School of Sciences and Engineering and the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In the context of the University’s efforts to connect with the job market and the Bank’s efforts to further strengthen and expand its cooperation with the country’s educational institutions, the two organisations proceeded with the signing of the Memorandum on Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

The Memorandum was signed on behalf of BoC by Mr. George Kousis, Executive Director of Technology and Operations Division, and on behalf of the University of Nicosia by the Head of the Department of Computer Science, Professor Athena Stassopoulou, and the Director of the Career Success Centre, Dr. Maria Siopacha.

The MoU provides, among other, the granting of scholarships from BoC to students of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Computer Science and Data Science at the University of Nicosia, the conduct of research and the implementation of projects. Of significant importance is the intention of BoC to function as the bridge that will “connect” new talents with the job market, as students of the University of Nicosia will have the opportunity to be placed in departments and services of the Bank to gain professional experience. The BoC aspires that in this way, new talents, particularly those with studies in the area of Information Technology, will have the opportunity to showcase and develop their skills.

Upon signing the Memorandum, Mr. Kousis stated: ‘This is a mutually beneficial cooperation, which lays the foundation for further development of our relations with the University of Nicosia. BoC practically demonstrates its longstanding support, but also its trust in the country’s higher education institutions. Their contribution to the transformation of the Cypriot economy is pivotal and we, as the largest financial organisation in the country, want to draw knowledge and, of course, provide opportunities for new talents to emerge and establish themselves in the labour market.”

On behalf of the University of Nicosia, Professor Athena Stassopoulou stated: ‘The top priority of the Department of Computer Science is to provide modern study programmes and to expose its students to high-level professional practices. We are proud of our strong relationships with the industry, which we include in our study programmes in many ways: by developing modern study programmes, so that our students can meet the demands of the job market, by teaching courses, by providing internships in companies as part of the curriculum, and by conducting seminars and presentations. Our collaboration with the Bank of Cyprus is another important step in this direction, which will create important synergies and opportunities for our students, particularly in the Informatics and Data Science study programs.”