On 11 March 2024, a 5-member delegation from the Budapest Business University (BBU) led by Dr. Gábor Andrási, Director of International Affairs, visited the Krakow University of Economics (KUE) to discuss the deepening of bilateral relations and the expansion of cooperation within the framework of the ENVISAGE European University Alliance.
The visit provided an excellent opportunity for the BBU representatives (Dr. Gábor Andrási, Director of International Affairs, Dr. Gábor Réthi, Head of International Affairs at the Faculty of Finance and Accountancy, Dr. Richárd Kása, Senior Research Fellow, Nikoletta Barka, Head of the Sports Office and László Varga, Head of the International Project Office) to meet KUE staff in person, to get to know the university and the campus, and to discuss various topics related to inter-institutional cooperation.
The participants agreed to develop joint student projects through the subjects of Service Management and Marketing and Entrepreneurship, combined with a short-term mobility, which could be followed up in more depth.
In the field of sport, cooperation started with the recent meeting, further discussions are needed, but it was agreed that KUE and BBU students will compete in several sports in friendly matches. In the longer term, joint ERASMUS+ applications in the field of sport, joint training of coaches and/or trainers, job shadowing and exchange of experience in the organisation and implementation of recreational sports programmes - with the involvement of other ENVISAGE partner universities - are possible.
A review of the joint research projects launched in 2023 has also been carried out, with 8 joint research projects underway. For those research groups that have started but stalled, the reasons will be assessed and further support will be provided to research participants from both sides. It was also agreed that, building on bilateral experiences, research cooperation could be extended to other ENVISAGE partner universities for multilateral projects.
The continued building of the ENVISAGE Alliance is key, and to this end, discussions were held on the working groups to be launched in the first half of 2024 - on mobility, research, equal opportunities and education.
Besides the European University Cooperation, other joint proposals were discussed, such as the ERASMUS+ Centres of Vocational Excellence project, jointly submitted under the name of ENTHUSIAST, and the TASK FOR ISI INTERREG project. There was also an exchange of experience on Jean Monnet proposals.
The next face-to-face meeting of the members of the Alliance will take place in Krakow this year, probably on 20-21 June 2024, during the ENVISAGE Days.