For the first time, the senior international relation officers of 17 Kircher universities and centres met online on April 26th. The event is part of a series of online meetings to facilitate networking, and explain the network´s Strategic Plan and projects to the international officers. The meeting was expected to be held last March at the Loyola University Andalusia in Seville, Spain. However, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the in-person meeting was cancelled.
The President and the Executive Secretary of the Kircher Network (Philip Geister, SJ., and Susana Di Trolio, respectively) stressed the key role the international relations officers have to play in increasing academic collaboration and student and faculty mobility among the member institutions. A strategic priority for the network.
The senior officers of the University of Saint Joseph (Lebanon), Lumen Vitae (Belgium), Pontifical Comillas University (Spain), Centre Sévres (France) and the Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Studies –Zagreb – University of Zagreb (Croatia) presented their institutions and their internationalization programs. The upcoming online meeting would be the opportunity for the other universities and centres to present themselves. It will also be a chance to discuss the Report on Collaboration among the Kircher Institutions, discuss other possible new projects and start planning for the in-person Conference in Seville.
We hope that, with the vaccination processes, the pandemic will continue to be brought under control and we can resume planning for the in-person meeting in Seville.
