VMU Staff Week: Fostering Global Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange
On April 24-28, the International Cooperation Department of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) organized an international Staff Week, which was attended by 140 teachers and non-academic staff from 43 countries who came to VMU under the Erasmus+ mobility programme.
The program was divided on two main pillars: Staff Teaching Week and Staff Training Week. Both offered a diverse range of activities, including seminars, workshops, and discussions led by experts in the field. These discussions covered various topics, such as student mobility programs, international partnership development, intercultural competence, and effective marketing strategies for attracting international students.
Beyond the formal program, the event fostered informal networking opportunities that allowed participants to establish lasting connections and engage in cross-cultural exchanges. The social activities, including guided tours to Kaunas and Vilnius, a food fair, a Lithuanian language workshop, a folk dance and music activities provided a glimpse into Lithuanian culture and traditions, enriching the overall experience for all attendees.
The impact of the event extends far beyond the immediate outcomes. The connections formed during the International Staff Week often lead to fruitful collaborations, joint research projects, and the development of exchange programs between participating institutions. These long-term benefits contribute to the enhancement of internationalization efforts and the overall quality of higher education on a global scale.
The programme also included a Joint Mobility Office meeting organized by the Transform4Europe Alliance. The participants shared their insights on student mobility procedures, including blended intensive programmes, funding opportunities, IT tools for managing mobilities, etc.
Feedback from the participants:
“Keep on organising these events! The networking the Week has created will be a good asset to our professional and personal evolution. Thank you!”
“Through participation in the program, there is a real opportunity to establish new sector relationships and strengthen existing ones”.
“I am very satisfied with the programs which I think is a good kickstart for the participants to get international exposure and gain new knowledge and transferrable skills. Therefore, I hope that VMU will consistently implement these activities in the future”.
“It was a great activity that I really enjoyed, and I would like to recommend it to my colleagues to join. It allowed me to meet new friends from different countries and build networks within the relevant industry”.
See all photos of this event here.
Comments
I trust it will be a pleasant experience meeting professionals and colleagues from different countries across the world, building new research collaborations and friendship that would benefit our world through unity in diversties. I look forward, earnestly to this soonest.