On 17-20 September 2024, the picturesque French city of Toulouse hosted the largest international educational exhibition and conference called “European Association of International Education 2024”. It gathered more than 7,000 participants from almost 100 countries.

SumDU was represented Tetyana MAYBORODA (deputy head of the International Affairs Department). She joined other participants of the Ukrainian stand “Ukrainian Higher Educational Institutions”, including the Ukrainian State Center for International Education and the Erasmus+ Ukrainian National Office.

The EAIE 2024 conference is a unique platform for partnerships, networking, education, training, exchange of experience and ideas in international educational cooperation. The program included plenary training sessions, B2B events for potential acquaintances, strategic meetings of partners. The SumDU representative conducted negotiations in Toulouse. It concerned academic mobility for students and teachers, COIL programs, joint grant applications, etc. Meetings were held with academic communities from Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada. As a result, prospects for new educational cooperation were established.

Simultaneously, the event “Internationalization of European University Alliances: New Frontiers” was held. It was organized by the University of Toulouse and the Occitan Region at the Toulouse City Hall. The strategic importance of alliances of European universities outside the EU was negotiated. Discussions focused on building strong links between universities and stakeholders around the world. Special attention was paid to two key regions: Ukraine and Africa.

During the panel discussion on Ukraine and its role in development of European alliances, participants explored possibilities of cooperation with Ukrainian partners in conditions of the ongoing war and the post-war recovery.

“Participation in the EAIE conference is a valuable experience. It provides opportunities to expand education for each participant and SumDU in particular. This is the first time we took part in the work of the Ukrainian stand. There were sessions on current topics of international education, search for new trends, discussion of acute issues of international management. Besides, the event gave a sense of the incredible support from our international partners, alliances and representatives of the European Commission. I would like to thank for providing a free stand for the delegation of Ukrainian universities. I appreciate the DAAD and the Leibniz University of Hannover for financing my participation as a SumDU representative within the project “Management of Internationalization: German-Ukrainian Cooperation”, – shared Tatyana MAYBORODA her impressions.