The Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI) was delighted to send Assistant Professor Lidija Nikočević, who teaches Intercultural Negotiations on the EMUNI Masters programme Intercultural Business Communication (IBC), from 8-12 May, 2023 through an Erasmus+ staff training mobility to Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco.
Prof. Nikočević took part in a number of pedagogical and cultural activities including: delivering lectures on anthropology, which were well attended and followed by relevant discussion; engaging with other lecturers at the host institution; learning about the Moroccan study system; visiting the Job & Internship Fair at the University, where she was able to receive a bigger picture of studying at Al Akhawayn University; getting to know students from Morocco and from abroad; and finally, learning about Ifrane and Morocco, which was an important part of understanding the cultural context.
Prof. Nikočević felt this mobility was a fantastic experience on a personal level as she gained a deeper insight into the specific and unique system of studying in Morocco and began to understand the wider framework of higher education in the host country. Lecturers at Al Akhawayn also shared with her information about other researchers that have been working on similar issues while students were interested and engaged in her work. Given that EMUNI welcomes students from the Southern Mediterranean area, a week spent in Morocco as a lecturer provided Prof. Nikočević with a broader understanding of the culture of the area where her own students come from.
This particular mobility will have a concrete impact at inter-institutional and regional level, since Prof. Nikočević plans to connect with other researchers working on Moroccan anthropological themes and develop further collaboration. Her lectures on migration also initiated conversations about the necessity of a common Mediterranean approach to this theme that is of vital interest to the Mediterranean area and indeed, Europe. She was also provided with important inputs that she plans to include in her research and share with the colleagues she currently works with. Additionally, Prof. Nikočević noted certain aspects of the organisation of study at Al Akhawayn University are worth emulating and wants to highlight how best practices need to be shared more openly between institutions in general.