Kent and the Belarusian State University launch Erasmus+ collaboration

The University of Kent was delighted to welcome a delegation from Belarusian State University (BSU), Belarus to its Canterbury campus. Led from Kent by Professor Elena Korosteleva, Deputy Head of School for Internationalisation and the University’s International Partnerships Office, this is the first large-scale mobility and cooperation programme between Higher Education Institutions in the UK and Belarus.

The BSU delegation was led by Professor Siarhei Khodzin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at BSU, and included senior members of BSU from the faculties of Law, History and Biology. The visit marks the launch of an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project to support bilateral student and staff mobility between Belarusian State University and Kent.

BSU is the oldest and largest university in Belarus with strong research capacity: as well as the development of academic collaboration strategies, it is envisaged that the project will stimulate international research cooperation and joint funding bids. Alongside the planned project activity, a group of undergraduate students from the School of Politics & International Relations will visit BSU in April, supported by Faculty Internationalisation Funding. Further staff and student exchanges are already planned for Autumn 2017.

During the week-long stay, the BSU delegation met with Heads of Schools, and Professional Services as well senior members of the University’s management team.  Extending network opportunities and the sharing of expertise, the visit culminated in participation in Kent’s first International Partners Week, organised by International Partnerships; allowing BSU colleagues to meet with Kent’s partners from around the world.

Professor Elena Korosteleva, Deputy Head of Politics and International Relations, and academic project coordinator said: ‘We are delighted to have this unique opportunity to establish cooperation with a top University in the eastern region, which offers unrivaled knowledge and research expertise across a wide range of disciplines and subjects. We look forward to developing staff and student exchange, and expanding our research collaboration with the eastern neighbourhood.’