UMFST: The future belongs to comprehensive universities, not isolated ones

The Rector of the "George Emil Palade" University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Târgu Mureş (UMFST), Prof. Dr. Leonard Azamfirei, emphasized during the ceremony dedicated to the seventh anniversary of the merger of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMF) with the "Petru Maior" University (UPM), the importance of this historic decision for the future of higher education. "We were inspired. We looked at Europe and understood that the strength of universities comes from academic diversity and connection, not from isolation in ivory towers. If we wanted to be part of the global academic world, we could not imitate this only through speeches. We had to act concretely," declared the Rector of Azamfirei. He emphasized that the idea of the merger was a bold and visionary one, starting from the conviction that the future no longer has patience with fragmentation, duplication or unnecessary parallelism between higher education institutions.

• A courageous merger, on unknown ground

Leonard Azamfirei recalled the courage of the members of the two institutions who, seven years ago, put the collective interest above their own pride and history. "It was not a simple legal or administrative exercise. It was a fight for the idea of an interdisciplinary university, where engineering meets medicine, letters with pharmacy, computer science with social sciences", pointed out the UMFST rector. The merger process also had difficult moments: some internal disputes led to court actions, with the UMF Senate being sued for the decision to merge. After two years of trials, the judiciary validated the move. "We won in court and demonstrated that the collective good, when pursued correctly and legally, wins," added Azamfirei. Today, UMFST "George Emil Palade" is a strong, internationally recognized university, with modern campuses, top research centers and a united and competitive academic community. The former rector of UPM, professor doctor Călin Enăchescu, stated that the process of rapprochement between the two institutions began in 2012, through the formation of a university consortium, with the actual merger to take place in 2017. Enăchescu emphasized that the integration continues today and proposed, in the context of new academic realities, the introduction of a mandatory artificial intelligence course for all specializations, following the model of major American universities: "It is a universal tool for solving problems and a necessary direction for the future." Currently, UMFST Târgu Mureş has approximately 13,000 students, which is over 10% of the city's population. Students are enrolled in bachelor's, master's, doctoral and residency programs within the seven faculties: Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine in English (including the UMCH Hamburg branch, Germany),

Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Sciences and Letters "Petru Maior", Faculty of Economics and Law. According to the university management, through the merger of UMF and UPM, UMFST has become one of the most dynamic and modern universities in Romania, with solid international partnerships and large-scale research projects.

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