On 14 March 2024 the Jagiellonian University was visited by members of the Icelandic diplomatic corps, including Hannes Heimisson, Ambassador of Iceland to Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania, based in Warsaw and the Consul General to Kraków Janusz Kahl. The delegation was received in Collegium Novum by the JU Vice-Rector for International Relations Prof. Dorota Malec and the Dean of the JU Faculty of Philology Prof. Władysław Witalisz.
The Ambassador of Iceland came to Kraków because of his relations with the JU Faculty of Philology. The Dean of the Faculty Prof. Witalisz remarked that that many JU students are interested in learning Icelandic language. The embassy officer Emiliana Konopka also pointed to the considerable demand for translations from Icelandic into Polish.
As stressed by Prof. Dorota Malec, the Jagiellonian University has a successful collaboration with Icelandic institutions of higher education and the country itself has become a popular destination for JU students and staff going abroad. Hannes Heimisson expressed his conviction that the cooperation has been especially fruitful in the field of ‘people-to-people’ exchange. He also said that Polish immigration to his country, especially for economic reasons, has increased in recent years, and there are already people who can be described Icelanders of Polish origin.
The meeting participants all agreed about the importance of joint efforts to create and develop international networks and associations, research projects, as well as bilateral exchange and cooperation as part of the Erasmus+ programme.
Hannes Heimisson expressed his belief that the Polish-Icelandic relations will continue to flourish, also suggesting that it may be advisable to organise more meetings between Icelandic and Polish youths, which could be facilitated by the presence of charter flights between the two countries;
Right after the meeting, the diplomats took a tour of the JU Museum Collegium Maius, and then met with academics and students of the JU Faculty of Philology.
