The Euro-Mediterranean University´s (EMUNI) Polona Oblak, Italian/French Professor and Strategic Partnerships Coordinator, and Karen Gladović, Academic Affairs Coordinator, had the pleasure of spending five days at the University of Napoli L´Orientale in Italy from 25 – 30 April on an Erasmus+ teaching mobility.
Left to right: Polona Oblak and Karen Gladović
Polona´s teaching mobility focused on the French language and she was warmly received and supported by the institution´s French department, which provided her with assistance in visiting the Centre for Berber Language, the Mediterranean Cultural Studies Centre and in arranging a meeting with the Head of the Department of Slovenian language.
Karen, who is also a PhD candidate in Management at the University of Primorska in Slovenia and whose research area is Corporate Governance, Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer, delivered lectures on ´Intellectual property rights for researchers – a theoretical framework´ and ´Intellectual property rights for researchers – practical examples.´
From a cultural point of view, Polona and Karen were able to visit the city of Napoli and Capri, where they enjoyed the local cuisine, went sightseeing, and mixed with locals to become better acquainted with the culture of Southern Italy. It was also the perfect chance for both to practise their Italian! In Piran, Slovenia, where EMUNI is located, Italian is the official second language.
This mobility also gave Polona and Karen the opportunity to share expertise and experience in a new teaching environment while connecting with peers and other departments at the University of Napoli L’Orientale. Their week in Italy had a very positive impact, because in professional terms, the mobility enabled them to: learn new teaching practices, expand EMUNI´s network through new connections and potentials partners, and enhance EMUNI´s capacity to cooperate at regional level thanks to the signing of a new Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) with the University of Napoli L’Orientale through which it was agreed there would be future collaboration on potential projects.
The mobility will have an impact at regional level, because as well as contributing to an active international cooperation policy within the Mediterranean region through the potential co-organisation of conferences, workshops and round tables, the recent collaboration with the institution also paves the way for further exchange visits between staff and students for mobilities and internships.