Thanks to Erasmus+ funds for Staff Mobility and training, our own Tiuana Grlj had the opportunity to visit the University of the Aegean. Our colleague from EMUNI’s financial department was in the University’s Lesvos campus between 15 and 18 March 2022. There, she established relations with faculty and staff members and sought opportunities for further cooperation.
Tiuana’s mission was to explore avenues for cooperation between EMUNI and the University of the Aegean. With EMUNI’s openness towards possible new partners, this visit probed the possibility to work closely with the University of the Aegean on education, research and projects.
With this objective, Tiuana met with Dr Sevastos Christofidis, Head of the Directorate of Development; Dr. Dimitrios Papageorgiou, Vice-Rector of Administrative Affairs as well as with Dr Thomas Tscheulin, Researcher from the Department of Geography and Ms Maria Vasiliou, Deputy Head of the Department of Public Relations and Events. Moreover, our colleague had the chance to illustrate to Dr Ourania Tzoraki from the Marine Science department, some of EMUNI’s activities in the field of Sustainable Blue Economy. This field of interdisciplinary studies earned EMUNI the status of Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. Thus, the meeting was crucial in finding common ground for future cooperation.
Overall, our colleague reported that the Mobility training had many positive impacts. Namely, she was able to learn and share best practices. She expanded her network and, consequently, EMUNI’s, in addition to developing the potential for future partnerships with her host institution.
Tiuana also acted promptly as a matchmaker. In fact, upon learning that the University of the Aegean’s Project Manager, Dr Christofidis, would soon visit Slovenia, she swiftly organised a meeting with EMUNI’s President. This way, Tiuana seized the opportunity to reciprocate the hospitality she received in Lesvos.
As it is customary on these occasions, Tiuana toured the University’s premises, including the classrooms and laboratories. Furthermore, she explored the Island’s cultural heritage by visiting the local museum and fortress.
The visit to the island was also a chance to learn more about a sadder reason for Lesvos’ notoriety. The island is in fact infamous for being the site of several overcrowded and unsanitary refugee camps, including the one in Moria, which tragically burned down in 2020.
Among the promising leads for future partnership and cooperation, this visit provided a reminder of one of the many unsolved issues that afflict the Mediterranean as a common political space. One that EMUNI contributes to solving precisely through the kind of cooperation that originate from these Erasmus+ mobilities.