SHARING EXPERIENCES AND MAPPING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COOPERATION

The group from January Evangelista Purkyne University in Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic, which counts six faculty members and twelve students, came to Volda by bus on Tuesday and will be here until Saturday. The schedule for their stay involves interaction with faculty and students at Volda University College (VUC), in addition to meetings with relevant municipal officers in Volda.

LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER

The exchange of experiences will be a focus in the meetings with VUC students and staff. Professor Nathalie Homlong at the Institute for Planning, Administration and Social Science (IPAS) has been responsible for the programme.

– The university this group comes from in the Czech Republic offer study programmes similar to the one we have at IPAS. They have sought founding from the EEA-programme and use these funds to visit VUC to learn more about our approach to education and research in the field of regional development, says Homlong.

The University of Usti Nad Labem is, similar to VUC, not located in a large city. Yet, even though there is a commonality in the rural surroundings of our institutions, the academic activity differs between the two universities. Thus, learning from the strengths of the other will be a central aim for the visit.

– For us it is very important to learn more about the challenges faced in the EU-countries and to be able to include this in our education here in Volda. For example, maintaining population in rural communities is an even more difficult problem in many European countries than in Norway. In Norway, we have a model that helps development and economic growth in rural areas, and this is not common in other European countries, says Bjørn Gunnar Tafjord, senior adviser at the Faculty of Social Studies and History at VUC.

STUDENTS COLLABORATION

During their time at VUC, the Czech visitors will discuss research and education. Friday, the group will meet with the mayor of Volda, former professor at VUC, Jørgen Amdam, to get a presentation on the local planning and administration processes in the municipality. In addition, the Sunnmøre Kulturnæringshage (the local Innovation Incubator) and the Volda Chamber of Commerce will present their activities.

The Czech students will also interact with VUC students from the study programme in Public Planning and Administration. Together, the students will go to the village of Sæbø to learn more about rural development and government in Norway.

– We hope that our guests will acquire a good overview of the regional development and administration in Norway so that they can bring home new perspectives and ideas. In addition, we are looking for opportunities for future cooperation in both education and research, says Homlong and Tafjord.