For the eighth consecutive year, representatives of seven Western Balkans partner universities gathered at the University of Szeged to take part in the first session of the Scientific Board of the Western Balkans Competence Center, part of SZTE’s Cluster for Humanities and Social Sciences within the Center of Excellence for Interdisciplinary Research, Development, and Innovation (IKIKK). This key meeting focused on strengthening educational cooperation and fostering joint research planning.
Building on years of ongoing cooperation, a committed team of professionals gathered in Szeged on June 2, made up of research and teaching staff from partner institutions in Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Novi Sad, and Tirana. Now forming a strong collaborative network, they participated in a full-day meeting with their counterparts at the University of Szeged. The SZTE team, consisting of lecturers from the Faculties of Law and Political Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Economics, is committed to addressing the specific challenges facing the Western Balkans in the field of social sciences.
The participants were welcomed by Prof. Dr. Zoltán Kónya, Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs and Innovation at the University of Szeged, who emphasized the vital role of research and development at the university and underscored the notable achievements of the social sciences in this area. He also stressed the importance of international collaboration in both fostering excellence and enhancing institutional visibility. Following the Vice-Rector’s address, Prof. Dr. József Hajdú, Head of the Western Balkans Competence Center, extended a warm welcome to the participants, most of whom were returning to Szeged for the third time or more. He likened the thriving cooperation to a snowball rolling downhill – an image suggesting that this promising partnership is steadily gaining momentum.
Researchers collaborating on shared topics at the partner institutions and the University of Szeged emphasized that their cooperation has now developed into a smoothly functioning professional network. Members remain in regular contact, and the research initiated last year is progressing successfully, with findings already published in the BLESS e-journal, which was launched at the end of last year. Two additional issues are planned for publication this year: the first will feature a selection of research articles, while the second will include papers presented at the upcoming autumn conference.
The meeting in Szeged focused on establishing a second, educational pillar to complement the existing research framework. Paired researchers held detailed discussions on how they could collaboratively design and deliver courses in their shared areas of interest, with particular attention to enhancing educational content and learning objectives. The development of these online courses is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, with the first courses available to students at the participating universities starting from the spring semester of the next academic year. In the long term, these courses have the potential to form the basis of a Western Balkans specialization program, serving as an interdisciplinary program within the social sciences.
Following the June 2 session in Szeged, the successful collaboration will continue with the second Western Balkans Academic Conference, scheduled for October 13.
Source: SZTEInfo
