Workshop brings universities closer together
Twelve representatives of the University of Bayreuth, the University of Bordeaux-Montaigne and the University of Lomé met to deepen cooperation in a workshop. The aim was to prepare a project to be submitted to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The exchange of current research was on the agenda at the strategic workshop from 14 to 16 October 2021, as was the preparation of the GIZ project that is to take place in Lomé in 2022. The workshop was the first step in the cooperation. The next one is to take place within a year, then at a counter-event in Bordeaux. The aim is to continue the exchange there and to find new ways of working together, especially in the context of developing an international network of experts in participatory communication. While the GIZ project will initially focus on the higher education sector, this new network of partners could expand the scope of the research to other sectors and non-academic partners.
Another important part of the workshop was the doctoral training. It was initiated in the first phase by the active participation of four PhD students who will take part in the project with GIZ. For some of them, this first experience in Bayreuth was very positive and has created the desire to return as a postdoc.
The workshop was supported by the Bayreuth Humboldt Centre's Strategic Scientific Workshop programme and by the University of Bayreuth's international relations through its liaison office in Bordeaux. The latter in particular facilitated networking between researchers from Bayreuth and Bordeaux-Montaigne and assisted the project leaders in applying for funding.