Representatives of VUAS are going to the COLORS kick off event in Paderborn
March 14, 2024
University alliance led by Paderborn University plans international campus: sites in nine European countries
Kick-off on 18 March
Register at your local university and then do international courses in various countries: the vision of a European campus is gradually becoming a reality. Since the beginning of the year, the European Commission has provided the COLOURS university alliance with a total of 14 million euros of funding, as one of a total of 50 initiatives. Under Paderborn University’s leadership, this alliance brings together nine international universities with around 126,000 students and 12,300 employees. The aim is to strengthen cooperation for the long term, increase international visibility, and promote student and researcher mobility within Europe. This also includes designing joint courses of study. What makes this special is that students are able to play an active role. Various representatives are coming to Paderborn for the kick-off event on Monday 18 March.
‘COLOURS’ stands for ‘COLlaborative innOvative sUstainable Regional univerSities’. The name says it all: the core topics of ‘open innovation’, ‘challenge-based teaching’ and ‘impact-driven research’ are linked with regional ‘smart specialisation objectives’. In other words, the initiative is seeking to get the ball rolling for social and technological initiatives for citizens across Europe and promote strategic cooperation. This may for example include new physical and virtual mobility programmes, or creating joint courses of study. ‘Students must play a particularly major role in developing these services, to actively help shape the concept of an inter-university campus’, explains Professor Torsten Meier, Vice-President for International Relations at Paderborn University. Another aim is to translate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into specific measures for research, teaching and technology transfer. To achieve this, the partners are developing practical models that will help their education systems serve as catalysts for environmental, digital and social change in Europe. The universities’ collaboration is being supported by 55 associate partners, who are working as disseminators within regional innovation networks.
Alongside Paderborn University as the coordinating institution, the alliance also includes Le Mans University (France), the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the University of Ferrara (Italy), Kristianstad University (Sweden), Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa (Poland), Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek (Croatia), Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (Latvia) and the University St. Kliment Ohridski Bitola (Northern Macedonia). Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University (Ukraine) is an associate partner of the alliance.
The opening ceremony is taking place on Monday 18 March from 4 to 6 p.m. in Paderborn University’s lecture hall G. Afterwards, all interested parties are invited to a reception in the ‘Forum’ cafeteria as part of a ‘COLOURS Market Square’, offering an opportunity to find out more about the partner universities and regions and to talk to the partners directly. You must register in advance to attend.
Further information and registration can be found on the event website: go.upb.de/COLOURS_Kick_Off.
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On 18 May, the first EDI (Equality, Diversity, Inclusion) seminar, implemented within the COLOURS project, was successfully held at the café “Panorāma.” The aim of the seminar was to promote understanding of equality, diversity, and inclusion, as well as to strengthen cooperation between different groups of society. The seminar brought together 53 participants, including local students, international students, Erasmus+ students, administrative and academic staff, as well as members of the wider community. The event also attracted a broad range of participants: volunteers from the “Youth House,” city residents, secondary school students, participants of the Lifelong Learning Centre (MIC) alumni courses, and a guest lecturer from the University of Brittany in France. This diversity of participants ensured the practical implementation of the Quadruple helix principle, fostering collaboration between academia, industry, society, and the youth sector. The seminar was led by students Līva Slesare, Amanda Gintere, and Tillija Naumann, demonstrating the active involvement and leadership of young people in building an inclusive education and society. All seminar participants received a COLOURS virtual badge, serving as proof of the knowledge and skills acquired, and can be used for personal and professional development, including on LinkedIn profiles. It is planned that starting from autumn 2026, this training seminar will also be offered in an online format in both Latvian and English. This will make it accessible to a wider audience. Everyone – students, staff, and city residents alike – will have the opportunity to participate, gain knowledge about EDI, and receive the COLOURS badge. This initiative is seen both as an opportunity and a responsibility –to jointly build a more inclusive, open, and understanding society.
Ventspils University of Applied Sciences has officially adopted the COLOURS Alliance EDI Policy – a shared framework for equality, diversity and inclusion. The policy will now be adapted and implemented within the university’s operations. The aim is to strengthen inclusion across education, research, and everyday practices. The policy can therefore be seen as both a pedagogical and strategic implementation tool to prevent discrimination, increase understanding of differences, and equip students and staff to perform at their best in diverse teams. EDI stands for equality, diversity and inclusion. The training in EDI is designed to strengthen interpersonal relationships, raise awareness of the value of diversity in innovation, creativity and knowledge development, and encourage reflection on one’s own position and approach to others. The implementation of the policy contributes to the development of generic competences and critical thinking among both students and staff. This EDI policy is part of a much larger context, as we are one of nine higher education institutions in Europe adopting the same framework. EDI as a driver for an inclusive society The policy also emphasizes the importance of collaboration through the Quadruple Helix model, where universities, industry, the public sector, and civil society work together. The goal is not only to develop knowledge within EDI, but also to disseminate it and create societal impact. The policy marks the starting point for new initiatives and serves as a bridge to society. EDI strengthens the quality of education and research and is an important tool for both current operations and future needs. Signed policy is available HERE
On Tuesday, May 19th, second year students of the bachelor’s study programme “Translation and Language Technologies” participated in a lecture lead by guest lecturer Aurélie Le Melinaidre from the Southern Brittany University in France. She tested the students’ knowledge of various English idioms, encouraged creativity by asking them to rewrite a text fragment as differently as they could, and was pleasantly surprised by the students’ excellent knowledge of English. Students also learned about the guest lecturer’s experience teaching English in different countries. Guest lectures held on May 20th and 21st were led by guest lecturer Karolina Siwek from Jan Dlugosz University in Poland. The guest lecturer, met through the COLOURS network, gave four interconnected lectures about different translation aspects for the second- and third-year students of the bachelor’s study programme “Translation and Language Technologies”. Karolina Siwek firstly introduced the students to the history of translation, compared what the profession of a translator was like in the 19th and 20th centuries and what it is like today, highlighting the aspects that have remained the same and those that have changed. During Wednesday’s lecture, students had the opportunity to engage in a discussion and compare the nature of the profession, not only from a historical perspective, but also in terms of the current state of the translation industry in Poland and Latvia. During the lecture about the differences between literary and specialised translators, the guest lecturer compared the translator’s visibility in their work, various potential risks during translation, and the necessary skills, as well as discussed about the prestige and income of the profession. Particular attention was paid to hybrid competencies, which play a significant role in the modern translation profession. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a series of related lectures took place about ISO standards and their impact on the daily work of translators, covering both the positive and negative aspects. The guest lecturer also discussed possible emotions of a translator, their causes, and how to manage them, emphasizing, above all, that emotional regulation is a core professional skill for translators. The guest lecturer shared several stories about her experiences, describing how she handled specific situations and what she learned from them, giving the students a realistic insight into the profession of translation and offering useful advice. Prepared by Sanija Zundovska and Sindija Plotniece from the study programme “Translation and Language Technologies”
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