NG University bids farewell to its last students and NG 4 U begins
September 30, 2025 was a big day for our 12 bachelor‘s and 16 master‘s students: graduation ceremony. A beautiful evening! With gowns, certificates, exquisite rings, and the traditional cake, we sent them off into their future careers with the best possible preparation. As always, it was a great joy. But this evening also marked a new beginning: with this ceremony, the NG University (NGU) in Buçimas is finally closing its doors and the NG 4 U program is beginning.
There are many reasons for the closure: administrative hurdles that were simply no longer surmountable for us as a small institution that is not concerned with profit but with quality and absolute integrity. The population in Albania is declining, young people are now looking for study opportunities abroad, and EU integration is unpredictable. The university needed a lot of financial support. So we will move from “rain” to „drip irrigation“. We are individualizing our support and start the “NG for you” program, or NG 4U for short. Individualized help based on our core values and in line with the pillars of our work: medicine & social services, education, and project empowerment.
In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ulli Arnold, rector of NG University, reflected on the successes of this unique university project.
Since its foundation in 2008, we have guided 172 young people to a degree accredited in the USA, Germany and Albania. Of these graduates, 33 were international students hailing from various countries in Africa and Latin America.
This group in particular is now bearing remarkable fruit. Almost without exception, they have found success and are dedicated to the welfare of their fellow human beings, whether through founding their own aid organisations, holding management positions in existing ones, or establishing their own social enterprises.
NGU has also been successful because its high standards have set a benchmark for other universities in the country.
Our focus is on quality rather than quantity, and over the next few months we will be looking for people whom we will support individually through the NG 4 U program. We look forward to receiving continued support from donors for this project. Support can be provided in a variety of areas, including higher education, vocational training, further education, character building, and more.
Arnold Geiger compares this to the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Bible (Luke 10:25–37).
“To help the victim of an assault, the Good Samaritan did not build an inn or a clinic himself; instead, he administered first aid and delegated everything else to an existing institution — in this case, a hostel with a dedicated and competent innkeeper. We are now rebuilding some of our projects according to this principle, including our Amaro Tan School.”
ALFRED RABSON
Bachelor‘s graduate 2025
He is truly missed at the Buçimas Campus: Alfred was always ready to help out, play along and pray along, and he did so in his typical gentle manner. He discovered his passion for regenerative agriculture. Every day, he could be found on the ‚Little Farm‘.“The experiences I had working with the animals on the land are beyond explanation.“ Alfred is now back in Tanzania, his home country. He dreams of setting up his own agricultural projects and is determined to make them a reality.