On November 16 the international conference Enhancing Cooperation in Higher Education between Central Asia Countries and the European Union started at the Jagiellonian University.
The opening of the conference featured the Jagiellonian University Vice-Rector for Research and Structural Funds Prof. Stanisław Kistryn, the Director of the Department of International Cooperation at the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education Juliusz Szymczak-Gałkowski, the Undersecretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Marek Ziółkowski, the EU Special Representative to Central Asia Peter Burian, and a number of other officials from both the EU and Central Asian Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.At the opening session, Juliusz Szymczak-Gałkowski read out a letter from the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education Dr. Jarosław Gowin, who expressed his conviction that the conference will contribute to the strengthening of international collaboration between the participants’ institutions. He also stated that he is very pleased that the conference takes place in Kraków – a city in which centuries-old academic tradition meets modernity.
In his welcome address, the JU Vice-Rector Prof. Kistryn stressed that the Jagiellonian University – the oldest and one of the leading higher education institutions on Poland - is the best place for such meeting. Discussing the idea of the conference, he contended that the development of higher education is a key factor in building a modern knowledge-based society.
The first day of the conference is devoted to the state of existing cooperation in higher education between the EU and Central Asia and to internationalisation strategies. The sessions on the second day will be focused on specific aspects of cooperation in higher education and its linkage to labour market needs. Site visits to link presentations with good practice from the Jagiellonian University will take place on the third day of the conference.
