From June 27 to July 1, 2022, within the framework of the Harmony Erasmus+ project «Internationalization and borderless cooperation between European and Asian countries» with the support of the European Union, in order to support modernization, accessibility and internationalization of universities in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam, supported by European universities from Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain, the delegation of the University of Danang (UD) led by Assoc.Prof.Dr. Le Thanh Bac - Vice President of UD as Head of the delegation with representatives of the Harmony Project Management Board of UD: MA. Ho Long Ngoc – Vice Director of Department of International Cooperation and the officer in charge had a working trip to Varna University of Management, Bulgaria to participate in events to continue implementing Harmony project activities in 2022-2023. This was an event organized for members in Network of Erasmus+ Harmony Project including: The University of Danang; Quang Binh University; Varna University of Management (Bulgaria); Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania); European Policy Development and Research Institute (EPDRI); Daffodil International University (Bangladesh); University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; University of Hyderabad (India), Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (India); Vellore Institute of Technology under the coordination of the University of Zaragoza (Spain).

At the event, the project coordinators of the member universities of the HARMONY project, the leading representatives of the Delegation of the European Union and scientists from the 11 project member universities had meetings for discussion session, experience sharing, etc. The Rector at Varna University of Management, Bulgaria, Professor Todor Radev, gave the opening speech at the event, shared and appreciated the meaning of the Harmony project which facilitated for universities to establish internationalization strategies in training, research and exchange, targeting the main subjects of the project are researchers, lecturers, students and staff...

During the meeting sessions, the UD's  representatives had reports on the implementation of the Harmony project in 2021-2022 at UD and discussed with representatives of the project coordinator, University of Zaragora, Spain to implement upcoming work packages according to the project progress, including the establishment of the International Student Exchange Corner at UD "Friends Teahouse" with the aim of improving the quality of support services for international students. As described in the Harmony’s work packages, Friends Teahouse is expected to be a multi-cultural hub and social space where students from different cultural backgrounds will meet, co-create and learn from one another. This can help to attract more international students. Under framework of HARMONY project, “a Digital Storytelling Competition”…will be held with special  prizes for students. That is  opportunities to join in Student Boot Campat Varna University of Management, Bulgaria. The expected the contest will be held in the fourth quarter of 2022; International Student Camp in July 2023. Staging a Digital Storytelling Contest is a significant part of the project to integrate an intercultural awareness and cultural diversity (IACD) sensitivity programme on campus. This digital storytelling is a way of sharing students’ IACD stories publicly through various multimedia and channels.

On this occasion, the UD’s delegation discussed and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with universities participating in the project: Varna University of Management, Bulgaria and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies – NMIMS, India. Inter-institutional Agreements on Cooperation signed is among project’s workpackages relating to dissemination. Immediately after the signing sessions, the UD’s delegation and its partners had specific meetings to identify cooperation areas to put into practice in the near future: exchanging of students and lecturers; 3+1 and 2+2 training programs; associate degree programs; participating in publishing research papers in international scientific journals, etc.

Some information about the newly signed partners:

1/ Varna University of Management, Bulgaria (VUM) was founded in 1999 with about 800 students, more than 25% of whom are international and come from more than 40 countries around the world. VUM offers undergraduate and master's degrees in social sciences and International Business and Management, Business Administration, Software Engineering, Business Information Systems and Tourism and Hospitality. In Bulgaria, VUM is the biggest beneficiary of the Erasmus + International Credit Mobility (ICM) program. VUM's longstanding efforts and commitment to the extensive internationalization of the university's curriculum, campus and community have also been recognized and endorsed internationally. U-Multirank has ranked VUM among the 25 best performing universities worldwide for international student exchange in 2019 for the third year in a row.

2/ Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies - NMIMS, India, has more than 17,000 students and about 750 full-time faculty members, 10 faculty members have Fulbright Fellowships and Humboldt International Fellowships for post-doctoral researchers. With goals aimed at academic quality, research focus, top faculty, NMIMS has become one of India’s excellent leading institutions of research.

News – UD-Department of International Cooperation

For more information: Refering to the article about this event on the website of Varna University of Management, Bulgaria: https://vum.bg/representatives-of-7-asian-and-3-european-universities-visit-the-vum/