International workshop organised by the IKIKK’s Competence Centre of the Western Balkans

One of the goals of the Competence Centre is to establish an international consortium that reaches across borders – said Prof. Dr. József Hajdú, the scientific supervisor of the Centre. The representatives of the potential consortium members, the University of American College Skopje, the University of Novi Sad, the University of Belgrade, the University of Tirana, the University of Sarajevo, the University of Montenegro, met at an international workshop on the 6th October 2023 in the Main building of the University of Szeged at Dugonics Square.

The event was opened by Prof. Dr. Zoltán Kónya, Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation of the University of Szeged and Head of the Centre of Excellence. In his opening address, he introduced the host institution and thanked the participants for their presence, as the discussions will be of great benefit in the future.

The first step of the cooperation between the universities was an online meeting in June, followed by a face-to-face meeting in Szeged. During the operational meeting, the internal institutional statutes and joint future plans were discussed, including the launch of joint courses, joint research with prospective consortium partners involving professors and PhD students, and the launch of an e-journal, all of which are constantly adapted to the social issues of the Western Balkans. Dr Gyula Nagy, Director General of the Klebelsberg Library of the University of Szeged, shared some practical pieces of advice on the latter.

Prof. Dr. József Hajdú also announced that three Faculties of the University of Szeged are to be involved in the joint research. The Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Economics.

The results of the research are hopefully to be presented at the first conference in December.

Text and photo: Anna Bobkó