Representatives of numerous world universities attended the event. They were introduced to the history of this Spanish city by local students.

Our English language lecturers Branka Šuput and Svea Kršul participated in the 10th International Week at the University of Vigo in Spain, which was held as part of the Erasmus+ Program for teaching staff mobility.

As the program took place on the campus in Ourense, along with professors from Germany, Latvia, and Portugal, on the first day our lecturers had the opportunity to get to know thit old Galician town under the expert guidance of local students. The sightseeing was organized and designed as a group competition called "Ourense Challenge" - each group of lecturers had the task of visiting ten places in the city, answering the questions, and confirming the answers with selfies on Instagram. In this interesting way, they were introduced to the history and sights of Ourense and had a lot of fun. The winners received hoodies with the X International Week logo.

Spanish and German students from the University of Bremerhaven participated in the lectures and workshops held by professors from the participating institutions.

For the international academic group, our lecturers held interactive workshops on the topics of tour guide language and academic writing skills, while lecturers from India, Turkey, and the United States gave their lectures online, as did professors from Finland and Romania. They held an intercultural workshop on the GLOBDIVES international project, on global citizenship and diversity management in higher education.

In the informal part of the program, professors got to know part of the cultural and historical heritage of Ourense. On a sustainable donkey farm, they learned how these animals are fed on low forest vegetation and thus protect forests from fires, how scented soaps are made from their milk, and how they are used in the therapy of sensitive social groups. This was followed by a visit to the Santo Estevo monastery, which has been completely restored and turned into a state-owned luxury hotel (Parador). There are such hotels all over Spain and they have proven to be a good combination of preserving historic buildings and successful business.

The participants concluded that such projects are a great way to connect within the global academic community, which was confirmed by one German student who, when asked if he felt like a global citizen, answered: "Now I feel like one".

Equally positive impressions had our lecturers.

Communication Department

Photographs:

Date of publication: July 5, 2022