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23.10.19 |
Visit of the delegation of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany to NaUKMA
On October 16-17, 2019, NaUKMA had an honor of hosting at its premises the delegation of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. The European University Viadrina, an innovative and fast-growing university in Germany, is a long-term primary strategic partner of NaUKMA. The bilateral cooperation agreement between the two institutions was signed in 2004 and since then students and staff of both institutions have a unique opportunity to participate in various Viadrina-NaUKMA mobility programs, gaining new skills, sharing experiences and expanding their international outlook. By now, 58 students and 25 staff members on NaUKMA end and 4 students and 5 staff members on the Viadrina end have participated in various mobilities within the two institutions. These activities have been also actively supported by guest professorships, joint research and publications, as well as active NaUKMA participation in the realization of the Viadrina project “Ukraine Calling” and Viadrinicum annual summer schools.
The delegation, led by the Viadrina President, Prof. Dr. Julia von Blumenthal and the Viadrina Chancellor, Mr. Niels Helle-Meyer have spent two days in fruitful discussions with the university leadership and heads of the NaUKMA key departments sharing experiences and developing possible formats for further expanded NaUKMA-Viadrina cooperation. Special discussion panels have been devoted to financial governance and management, digitalization of university operations, library resources and language center’s activity.
At the end of the visit, Viadrina Chancellor, Mr. Niels Helle-Meyer has kindly shared his impressions about the visit and plans for future cooperation in a brief interview:
Interview
with Mr. Niels Helle-Meyer,
Chancellor of the European University Viadrina
Foto: © Heide Fest
Mr. Helle-Meyer, good afternoon. Firstly, we would like to thank you for an opportunity to meet for this interview and for the productive two days of sharing experiences between our two institutions. We were extremely glad hosting the delegation of the European University Viadrina at NaUKMA and hope for continued fruitful cooperation in the future.
Looking back at the past two days of meetings with NaUKMA officials and other staff members, what are your impressions about the university?
The overall impression was really good. The team at NaUKMA is absolutely dedicated and the spirit of the Academy seems to be really inspiring for everyone working here. It is also promising that the staff is currently in a period of transition. There are older and younger members of staff and some have the long term goals more in mind than others, I would say, but the overall spirit is intact, that is what is important.
After a series of meetings at the university, what do you see as potential window of opportunities for internationalization of our two institutions in the future?
I must say, there is more than I expected before I came here. We had very good discussions on the budgeting process and financing of the university and we already talked about continuing staff exchange in order to further share our experiences. I also heard from our Chief Librarian, Mr. Happel, that the discussion with the Head of the Library here was very promising and that this visit offers a very good opportunity for exchange. Of course we want to intensify our exchange on the student level, which is already a good tradition and can be further developed. There may even be a chance for a double degree in the future.
Do you think there are also opportunities for cooperation in any other formats e.g. applying together for some grants or projects in the future?
There is, absolutely, the chance that we will find common interests in research and also that we will together apply for projects, which are funded by external organizations. I might add that a very, very intense approach against corruption is an important issue here. I think the leadership of the Academy has been doing the right thing and this kind of opens the field for cooperations which also involves financial transactions.
Any ideas and thoughts that your team would bring back home to Viadrina from NaUKMA? Anything new or anything done differently here, just for comparison?
That is actually an interesting question. I have to talk to my staff this evening in order to learn more about their respective experiences. The overall impression of NaUKMA is that your people take responsibility for what they do and this is something that especially in Eastern Europe is not so common. People here at NaUKMA are aware of what they do here as well as dedicated to what they do. They take responsibility for the whole outcome and that does not go without saying. It is something you have, somehow, fostered as a spirit and I think that all of my people have gotten a good impression of it.
What would you wish to NaUKMA as an institution?
I wish you that you can further pursue the way you have found for you to establish your academic self-dependence. That’s because we are all more or less influenced by the state, due to the fact that we use a lot of state money (it is the same at my university, as well). But to reach out for excellence, it is important to have a certain degree of independence and as I understand it, this is what you are heading for. This is the right way of putting yourself on the map in Europe: reaching out for academic excellence and supporting this by financial independence.
It has been a special opportunity and a pleasure for us to bring this delegation to Kyiv.
Photos from the 2nd day of the delegation of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany visit to NaUKMA
Photos: Serhiy Rossinskyi
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1615 - Kyiv-Mohyla brotherhood school, later turned into Collegium, was founded
2012 - NaUKMA is a classical university with six faculties (Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Economics, Computer Sciences, Natural Sciences). During the twenty years since its re-establishment, Academy has initiated reforms in higher education, was the first university in Ukraine to introduce the bachelor, master and PhD programs, a curriculum in Liberal Arts Education, and a system of entrance tests
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