BIU’s International Partner Week is an opportunity for the university’s European partners to meet their counterparts from BIU, get to know more about the faculties, departments, programs, and research, and strengthen ties between Israel and the partner countries. They also had time to visit Jerusalem and take in the sights.
Universities represented included the University of Kassel, Germany; the University of Innsbruck, Austria; Ede Christian University, The Netherlands; Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland; University St Kliment Ohridski Bitola, North Macedonia; and Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic.
Touring Bar-Ilan University’s campus with representatives from the International School
During the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between North Macedonia’s University St Kliment Ohridski Bitola (UKLO) and Bar-Ilan in the presence of Maciej Kaczorowski, Acting Ambassador and Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the Republic of North Macedonia to Israel. The agreement was signed by Dr. Igor Nedelkovski, UKLO’s Rector, and Prof. Moshe Lewenstein, BIU’s Deputy President. Read more about it here.
Delegates Share their Experience
After speaking to the delegates from the different universities, it was clear they were all happy to attend Partner Week, not only to encourage students to consider their universities and countries as exchange options, but also to reconnect and re-establish ties with BIU. Many hadn’t been back to Israel since before the pandemic.
University of Innsbruck, Austria
“Bar-Ilan University has been our partner since the Erasmus+ international program started in 2016,” said Dr. Marion Wieser, Coordinator of the Austria-Israel Academic Network Innsbruck (AIANI) at the University of Innsbruck. “It’s a broad partnership that includes faculty exchange, student exchange, joint PhD students, and more in all departments and programs.
“I think Bar-Ilan has a lot to offer to us and we to Bar-Ilan. Both universities are spread out very wide in the research area and we are looking to find the right matchings for research projects. I am very hopeful that we will make this partnership grow in the future,” she said.
Visiting the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) in Jerusalem
One exciting program between the two universities is a joint PhD. Currently, an Austrian student is at BIU doing a joint PhD in Political Studies. This student will receive certification from both the University of Innsbruck and Bar-Ilan University. Read more about BIU’s joint PhD research program here.
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
“Our collaboration with Bar-Ilan University has been going on for quite a few years now and recently, it became more active,” said Dr. Aranka Ignasiak-Szulc, Vice-Dean for International Relations and Development and Assistant Professor, Department of Economic Policy and Regional Studies.
“We have various partnerships in different areas including Philosophy and Social Sciences, Archaeology and Biblical Studies, and Economic Sciences and Management, which I represent, and we plan to include more soon. I really hope that the future will be a good one for all of us,” she said.
Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic
“We have quite a long cooperation with Bar-Ilan University, more than 10 years already, I think,” said Tereza Šmídová, MoU and IIA Coordinator for Mendel University. “One of the main areas is with the Faculty of AgriSciences, but we also have an agreement regarding Erasmus+ Credit Mobility. We have two students studying at Bar-Ilan at the moment and we would like to see more of them coming here and more students coming to Mendel University from Bar-Ilan.
“We would also like to have a Memorandum of Understanding set up between our two universities. A bilateral agreement will enable us to do so much more with student mobility, joint research activities, and teaching opportunities, as well as other endeavors,” she said.
Christian University of Ede, Netherlands
“Bar-Ilan University and Christian University of Ede applied successfully for Erasmus+ funding in 2019 and started their Erasmus+ cooperation by sending three CHE students to BIU that year,” said Femmy Prins from CHE’s International Office. “Soon after this first exchange, COVID-19 happened and made it difficult to exchange staff and students.
“However, in 2021, staff members from BIU were able to attend CHE’s Partner Weeks and, from that moment on, our cooperation took off. Sending staff to teach and do research and visiting each other during Partner Weeks like this one, triggered more cooperation between different departments. This past semester, we had nine CHE students studying at BIU, while two BIU students joined CHE.
“We are very thankful to Bar-Ilan University for being our Erasmus+ partner. Bar-Ilan is an important partner to many of our academic departments and we look forward to further expanding our cooperation,” he said.
Bar-Ilan University has two partner weeks planned for the next quarter. They will take place from May 7 to 12, 2023, and June 11 to 16, 2023. Everyone is invited. If you would like to join us, please email Daniel Schuval, Senior Advisor of Internationalization, BIU International School, [email protected], for more information or register here.