25.01.2024 EUPeace Work Package 4 - Facilitating Mobility Kick-off Meeting at the University of West Bohemia, Pilsen

UWB organized a Kick-off Meeting as part of the Facilitating Mobility package. Representatives of 8 universities involved in the European University Alliance EUPeace gathered at the UWB on January 17th and 18th, 2024. The two-day workshop was held within the framework of WP4 - Facilitating Mobility.

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The University of West Bohemia hosted the first EUPeace Workshop since the Alliance's inception. The workshop "Challenges for the future: Kick off WP Mobility" brought together representatives from the International Office of UWB and 15 colleagues from 7 foreign universities, including the University of Marburg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Comillas Pontifical University, University of Calabria, Cukurova University, University of Limoges, and University of Sarajevo.

During the workshop, participants discussed topics introduced in the previous year's workshop, which occurred before the formation of the Alliance. This year's workshop resulted in the formation of the "Facilitating Mobility" working group. Selected representatives are now actively working on implementing joint mobilities, with a particular emphasis on sharing best practices in the area of EWP (Erasmus Without Paper), a crucial element for realizing student mobility.

Seven representatives from four UWB faculties also participated in the workshop. These representatives came from the Faculty of Economics (Jiří Preis and Ivana Horaisová), Faculty of Arts (Jan Pěchota), Faculty of Electrical Engineering (Jan Michalík and Kateřina Newton), and Faculty of Education (Václav Salcman and Tereza Havránková). Faculty representatives contributed to the discussion by sharing best practices in the field of international mobility, presenting their activities, and discussing obstacles and challenges that might arise during the implementation of student and staff mobilities, providing valuable insights for all participants.

During the workshop, students Anna Vaicová and Matěj Líbal, representatives of the ESN Plzeň organization (formerly Buddy System UWB), presented issues faced by international students and proposed possible solutions. The subsequent discussion served as motivation for partner universities without similar student organizations.

The afternoon program also focused on one of the goals of Work Package 4 – discussion about creation EUPeace digital campus. Additionally, discussions addressed finding intersections between semesters across universities and the possibility of organizing summer and winter schools or short-term mobilities through the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP).

Monika Mundilová, International Office, University of West Bohemia