With the aim to support the creation of socio-economic incentives for returning migrants and their communities, to boost the employability of young people, a new project has been launched in the Kolda region. The project is financed by the Czech Republic through its Ministry of the Interior for a period of 18 months (November 2023- April 2025). IOM believes that tackling the adverse factors behind these irregular movements, notably through the creation of economic opportunities and productive, sustainable employment, contributes to the long-term solution.

Patrick Van Damme, Dean of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (FTZ), recently concluded a productive visit to Uzbekistan, specifically engaging with the University of Digital Economics and Agrotechnology in Tashkent. This visit was financed under the ERASMUS+ KA171 call 2022 and came in response to an invitation from Dr. Muhtor Nasirov, the head of internationalisation at Samarkand State University.

Dr. Samnang Nguon of Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia participated in a 10-day Staff Mobility for Training at Laboratory of Ethonobotany and Ethonopharmacolgoy (LEE) led by Prof. Ing. Ladislav Kokoška of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (FTZ) at CZU Prague. During the mobility, he familiarized himself with the team’s expertise, laboratory facilities, and experimental design for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and GC-MS analysis. He received specialized training on the vapored-phase antibacterial activities of essential oils from tropical plant extracts and engaged in discussions about the analysis and interpretation of GC-MS results. Additionally, he assisted a Master’s student with research on antimicrobial susceptibility testing of essential oils in vapor phase, collaborated with researchers and PhD students at the laboratory, participated in departmental defense for a PhD dissertation, and discussed potential future collaborations with faculty members and researchers.

On Thursday, 30 May 2024, the IROICA (International Relations Officers' Network of the Association for European Life Science Universities) hosted a webinar titled "Universities and Mobility in the Time of Global Polycrises”. The event focused on the challenges and opportunities that universities face in maintaining academic mobility amidst global crises such as climate change, pandemics, political instability, and economic disruptions. The webinar featured expert speakers who discussed strategies for fostering international collaboration, supporting student and staff mobility, and ensuring resilience in higher education institutions. The participants explored how universities can adapt to rapidly changing global circumstances while continuing to promote international exchange and cooperation.

Prof. Michal Lošťák, Vice-Rector for International Relations, Head of Department of Humanities, CZU Prague, shared thoughts on "Universities in the Time of Global Polycrises" and “In what sense are current crises the opportunity window for changing paradigms in internationalisation at life-science universities?".

Dr. Petra Chaloupková, Vice Dean for International Relations, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, CZU Prague focused on "Practical and Ethical Aspects of Mobility in the Time of Global Polycrises" and shared practical experience with international mobilities at FTA. She also promoted the outputs of the project Multiclass: Multicultural classrooms: Inclusive Learning and Teaching in Higher education.  

"Thanks to our extensive experience in implementing projects in various countries around the world, e.g. Cambodia, Georgia, Ethiopia, Syria, Ukraine, Zambia, in cooperation with an expert in staff safety during foreign trips, we have developed rules and procedures for the trips of FTZ students and staff and established a safety team for foreign mobility," she said.

This insightful session provided valuable perspectives and practical solutions for higher education professionals navigating the complexities of global polycrises.

Patrick Van Damme is not only one of the leading experts on tropical agriculture and ethnobotany, but he is also one of the few foreign scientists to head a Czech academic institution, as Dean of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences where his mandate started in April 2021. During his time at Ghent University, he and his then-assistant Emiel were asked by the well-known Belgian artist Eric van Hove to collaborate on the decoration of the garden of the new Belgian embassy in Morocco.  

Join us for an Unforgettable Learning Journey in?southeast Asia. The Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences announces Summer School 2024 in Cambodia, centered around the captivating theme: "Agro-food Systems Towards Green Technologies and Self-Sufficiency."