On May 28-31, 2024, the international education fair NAFSA (Association of International Educators) took place in New Orleans, USA and the University of Economics in Bratislava was also present at the event. On behalf of the University of Economics in Bratislava, Tomáš Ondruška, Vice-Dean for International Relations from the Faculty of Economics and Finance, Miroslava Darnadiová, Head of the Center for International Relations and Diana Mydliarová, Coordinator of the Center for study programs in foreign languages, participated at the fair.
Tomáš Ondruška evaluated participation at the event: "The intensive days we spent at the conference networking, discussing and establishing cooperation with universities, especially from the region of North and Latin America, will contribute to the strengthening of internationalization, which is one of EUBA's strategic priorities. Above all, I positively perceive the great interest in cooperation on the part of foreign universities, also with regard to the international AACSB accreditation, which opens up wide possibilities for EUBA for establishing and deepening cooperation with high-quality universities beyond the scope of student or teacher exchanges, but also through joint research projects, double degree programs and sharing best practices and experiences."
More than 6,000 delegates from all over the world took part on the event, while Slovakia was represented by 17 universities and a delegation from the The Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic. The presentation of the University of Economics in Bratislava was part of the project "Promotion of Slovak higher education and science abroad" in accordance with the national program document: Strategy for the Internationalization of Higher Education until 2030 and the Recovery Plan, Component 10, Investment 4. As Tomáš Drucker, Minister of Education said, "International participation of the best that we have at home, is extremely important to us. Our universities have countless talents in their ranks, who have often made their mark among the world's best. And it is precisely such stories and achievements of university teachers that we must present not only at home, but also in the world. International fairs are one of the platforms where we can show the world Slovakia's enormous potential". The participation of representatives of Slovak universities at the conference was also highlighted by the ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Washington, Radovan Javorčík, who added: "I am not the only ambassador here today, but as I look at all the representatives of universities, I see ambassadors of Slovakia in front of me. You all represent our country and give it a good name."
It was the most diverse and comprehensive international education conference and education exhibition focused on resilience, recovery and community. The workshops were focused on resilience and environmental sustainability competencies in international education, artificial intelligence and new emerging technologies, or skills and competencies for professional growth and leadership.
NAFSA is the world's largest association dedicated to international education and mobility programs, and thus has created a space for creating institutional partnerships. EUBA delegates attended bilateral meetings with the aim of establishing further cooperation with universities from countries such as the USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile or Switzerland. At the same time, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, which was attended by Minister of Education Tomáš Drucker, State Secretary Róbert Zsembera, Slovak Ambassador to the USA Radovan Javorčík, Tomáš Ondruška representing EUBA and representatives of two other Slovak universities. The Faculty of Economic Informatics of the University of Economics in Bratislava has been cooperating with this American university for more than two years, by sending students and teachers to a summer school organized by the partner university.
In conclusion, Miroslava Darnadiová added: "Participation at the international conference NAFSA 2024 is beneficial not only because of the visibility of the University of Economics in Bratislava in abroad, but also because of several valuable results in the form of establishing and extending cooperation not only with American universities. We used the event also for personal meetings with strategic partners within the Erasmus+ program."
Source: Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic
