March 4th, Mykolas Romeris University Rector Prof. Inga Žalėnienė met with France's Ambassador Alix Everard to discuss aid for Ukrainian students and academic community initiatives as well as possibilities for bilateral academic exchanges.
"Today the solidarity of the global academic community is especially important," said Rector Žalėnienė. "Our joint goal - is to help Ukraine, which is experiencing aggression. We value our time-tested successful partnership with France's universities. The French Embassy and the French Institute in Lithuania have contributed so much to this effort," said Rector Žalėnienė.
According to the Rector, academic exchanges, based on the common values of a free democratic society, help our researchers to solve new relevant social, legal and economic problems, provide students with a quality education and a broad education that widens their horizons helping them acquire the skills to cooperate and act in solidarity in the international arena.
French universities are among the oldest partners of Mykolas Romeris University. MRU is successfully implementing three bilateral cooperation agreements and twenty-six exchange agreements, as well as one cotuttele (double doctorate) agreement with French universities. This semester, there are 15 exchange students and 20 degree-seeking French nationals that are studying at MRU.
A joint programme with Savoie Mont Blanc University is being implemented along with a double diploma programme with Bordeaux University, and a new Erasmus Mundus joint Master's with Lille University. Both sides participate in joint research programmes and projects. Each year visiting lecturers from France come to MRU and MRU lecturers travel to France to lecture and participate in traineeships. In addition, there are staff exchanges.
The University has a Francophone Center which brings together the Francophone community and fosters French language and propagates French culture. Currently plans are underway to organise Francophone Week events at the University. In cooperation with the French Cultural Institute, academic coordinator of activities of this center is Institute of Humanities Lecturer dr. Arnaud Jean Noel Joseph Parent. He organizes French film evenings, conversations, meetings with Lithuanian and foreign writers and cultural figures. Each semester, the Center welcomes an intern who offers free French language courses to MRU students and staff. The intern helps to organize events on French culture, traditions and individual regions. During 2022 there is a student from the University of Tours interning there who teaches French.
Others taking part to discuss bilateral cooperation perspectives included: French Institute in Lithuania Director Thomas Buffin, Lecturer Dr. Arnaud Jean Noel Joseph Parent, MRU International Center Head Audra Dargytė-Burokienė, and International Relations and Communications Adviser to the Rector Violeta Gaižauskaitė
