On 25 – 26 February 2016, the International Office of the Faculty of Arts organised a meeting of the emerging European Liberal Arts Network (ELAN). The network connects eleven major European universities, including University of Bristol, Universität Heidelberg, Uppsala universitet, and other partners from Beligum, Ireland, and Italy.
Doc. Mirjam Friedová, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and doc. Eva Voldřichová Beránková, Vice Dean for International Relations, welcomed the representatives of the universities. During the two-day meeting, possibilities of cooperation in the ELAN network were the main topic of discussion. The results of the Prague meeting shall lead, after two years of preparatory work, to a contract establishing the network. Starting with the next academic year, membership in the network shall become part of the Erasmus offer of all the universities involved.
The aim of ELAN is to offer highly motivated students opportunities to make their Erasmus+ stay abroad part of a long-term individual project in the humanities – the historical liberal arts. Apart from studying through the medium of a foreign language, the process of gaining an ELAN alumnus certificate, should involve, for example, participation in an international summer school, conference, or a training programme abroad. The Faculty’s participation in this network is another opportunity to develop international relations and contacts, and to encourage students to gain more international experience.
