Representatives of universities from all around the world met in Carolinum, the heart of the oldest university in central Europe, on Tuesday 16th September 2014. The Rector of Charles University, Professor Tomáš Zima, invited the representatives of CU partner universities for a gathering on the eve of the 26th annual international educational conference EAIE (European Association for International Education), which was held in Prague this year.
Prof. Tomáš Zima, stated that “…it is my great honour to welcome you here by the occasion of the 26th annual conference of the European Association for International Education which takes place in Prague this time. This conference is a unique opportunity of meeting of representatives and employees of international offices of the universities from the whole world, enhancing the cooperation in the field of international relations and collaboration of the higher education institutions. I have decided to use this occasion to invite you to Carolinum, so that we could share and hand down our experience and in the same time to thank you all for the great collaboration we have and which I very much appreciate.” During his speech, the Rector also introduced Charles University to the audience and simultaneously invited the assembled guests for the prepared celebrations of the 700th anniversary, which would mark the birth of Charles IV – the founder of Charles University, in 2016.
Following on from Prof. Zima’s speech, Professor Bernhard Eitel of the University of Heidelberg, was asked to deliver the second speech of the evening, as representative of the International partners of Charles University. During his speech he showed how traditional universities, such as his home university or Charles University in Prague, were international educational centres of Europe already in the time of their foundation, and stressed the importance of up keeping their image of internationalisation today. In his opinion, this is the only way in which they can continue to flourish in areas such as research and science.
Professor Eitel spoke about his university’s successful cooperation with Charles University in Prague and reminded us that next year will mark the 25 year milestone of the cooperational agreement bounding both universities. In the frame of this contract, CU and University of Heidelberg have been continuously exchanging both students as well as academics.
The festival evening continued in a less formal way. First, the guests had the opportunity to attend a concert of the ensemble Piccola Orchestra of the conductor Marek Valášek. Following the concert, all were invited to the reception halls of the Carolinum to further discuss the possibilities of the deepening of our continuous cooperation.
