Lithuanian and Belgian Education Representatives Meet at Vilnius University to Discuss International Cooperation in Higher Education
A meeting of high-level Lithuanian and Belgian education representatives took place today at Vilnius University (VU) Francis Smuglevičius Hall. The event was attended by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, Dr Jurgita Šiugždinienė, rectors of Lithuanian and Belgian universities and other academic community members, as well as an official Belgian delegation. The meeting aimed to tackle higher education issues and opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
The event started with a greeting by the Minister, Dr J. Šiugždienė, followed by a discussion on the situation of higher education in Lithuania, Flanders and Wallonia by the Rector of the VU and President of the Conference of Rectors of Lithuanian Universities (LURK), Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, Rector of the Ghent University and President of VLIR (Flemish Interuniversity Council), Prof. Dr Rik Van de Walle, Prof. Dr. Vincent Blondel, Rector of UC Louvain, and Prof. Dr. Luc Sels, the Rector of KU Leuven.
The event was held in a roundtable discussion format. Participants will exchange information on current challenges in higher education and research cooperation in different sections. Two representatives, each from Lithuanian and Belgian higher education, were presenting discussions with the audience on four themes.
The first topic, "International cooperation for a sustainable future", was presented by Prof. Juozas Augutis, Rector of Vytautas Magnus University. This roundtable discussion focuses on international cooperation between universities, which is crucial for the sustainable development of science, innovation and progress, for creating a common educational area in the EU and is vital for the reconstruction process in Ukraine.
The second-panel discussion on "The potential contribution of university unions to European integration" was moderated by Prof. Dr Philippe Dubois, Rector of the Université Catholique de Mons and President of the European University EUNICE. This session focused on the integration of European higher education through the European Universities Initiative, with the twin objectives of increasing the global competitiveness of the European higher education system and developing the citizenship of future Europeans.
The panel on "Challenges of University Governance in Overcoming Big Challenges" was chaired by Prof. Regina Valutytė, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at Mykolas Romeris University. This discussion focused on the pandemic-influenced move of studies and research into virtual space and the related new procedures and strategies for human resource management, quality of studies, etc.
Prof. Dr. R. Van de Walle's "Responsible Internationalisation: as open as possible and closed if necessary" discussed whether the previously prioritised issue of open international institutional cooperation needs to be reconsidered in the context of military conflicts, geopolitical tensions, human rights violations, etc.
The objective of this event is to present and better understand the higher education landscape in both countries as well as the cooperation between higher education institutions and governmental authorities and international partners. Furthermore, current challenges and opportunities in higher education and research cooperation will be discussed. Inevitably, these exchanges will touch upon humanitarian, social and health crisis-related topics as listed above.