Hosted by Bedfordshire’s Vice Chancellor, Bill Rammell, Dr Ion Jinga highlighted the responsibilities and challenges Romania faces as an EU member state, having joined in 2007.

In addition, Dr Jinga, who visited the University last Wednesday (19th), discussed a host of other topics during his lecture, including the growing number of Romanian students studying in the UK, including at the University of Bedfordshire.

“The number of Romanian students wishing to study abroad is growing and, with 80 per cent of the Romanian population using English as their second language, the United Kingdom is an increasingly popular place to study,” said Dr Jinga, who was appointed Romania’s Ambassador to the UK in 2008.

“The University of Bedfordshire is proving particularly appealing for Romanian students due to the high employability rate the University enjoys, while the prospect of English students studying in Romania is something we would love to happen.”

Mr Rammell commented: “After speaking at last year’s conference for Romanian students in London, I was delighted to welcome Dr Jinga here to Bedfordshire.

“The number of Romanian students studying here at Bedfordshire currently stands at more than 130, and I only see that number increasing.

“I am extremely proud of the University’s links with Romania. After holding talks with Dr Jinga, we are keen to develop this relationship further by extending the University’s student exchange trips to Romania.”

Dr Jinga trained as a nuclear physicist before obtaining a PhD in Law from the University of Bucharest. He joined Romania’s diplomatic service in 1992 and has served in a number of roles including Deputy Head of the Romanian mission to the European Union, Director General for European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest and Romanian Ambassador to Belgium before he was appointed as Ambassador to the United Kingdom.