KUL is the initiator and leader of the Three Seas Universities Network

KUL is the initiator and leader of The Three Seas University Network, which is to build the foundations for a lasting and stable partnership among universities from 12 countries of the Three Seas Initiative. The document inaugurating the Three Seas Universities Network will be signed on May 16 during the Three Seas Local Government Congress in Lublin. A scientific conference is also planned as part of the MEiN project "Excellent Science" entitled "The Three Seas Universities Network in the Face of the Contemporary Challenges of Science and the Region".

The Three Seas Universities Network, to which KUL as its initiator invited universities from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary, is to be a tool for establishing and maintaining regular contacts as well as undertaking joint research and implementing innovations in the area of quality of education. Integration of the academic environment of 12 countries of the Three Seas Initiative is to take place, among other things, through cooperation in the commercialization of knowledge and the exchange of teaching and research experience.

According to the vice-rector for students, doctoral students and development, Dr. habil. Beata Piskorska, prof. KUL: "The undertaking by KUL of the ambitious task of creating scientific and research cooperation among universities from 12 countries of the Three Seas Initiative, called the Three Seas Universities Network, is associated with the need to undertake a broader academic and institutional debate involving research centers from these countries.”

She also reminded the audience that the discussion of the university rectors and researchers on this topic, initiated by MEiN, took place last year at the Three Seas Regions Congress. In addition, she said: "The creation of the Three Seas Universities Network is the answer to this discussion.”

The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin - as emphasized by the vice-rector of the Catholic University of Lublin - declared the role of the initiator, but above all the leader of the Network on the side of Poland and Lublin. Explaining further, she said: "This is an important initiative that can effectively contribute to the internationalization of scientific cooperation by: creating an internal system for the exchange of researchers and students, joint implementation of international conferences, summer schools, joint preparation of international projects, cooperation with the socio-economic environment.”

An important element of the project - as pointed out by Prof. Piskorska - is also to create a common scientific and cultural identity of the region, to emphasize their subjectivity against the background of other educational and scientific projects in Europe, while maintaining national distinctiveness.

The inauguration of the Network will take place during the Three Seas Local Government Congress, which will be held on May 16-17 at the Center for the Meeting of Cultures (CSK) and the Lublin Conference Center (LCK). On this occasion, KUL, which is the substantial partner of the event in the area of science, is organizing, at the LCK, a scientific conference "The Three Seas Universities Network in the face of the contemporary challenges of science and the region." It will be the first in a series of international conferences of the Three Seas Universities Network, which is to become part of the series of political and economic events implemented by Poland under the framework of the Three Seas Initiative and be an opportunity to promote the achievements of the Polish scientific community.

During the conference, representatives of the member universities of the Three Seas Universities Network will speak. Others to have the floor include the scientists and representatives of academic circles dealing with the issues of cooperation in the Three Seas region. The inaugural lecture "Countries of the Three Seas in the face of the challenges of modern times" will be delivered by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paweł Jabłoński. Participants at the conference will discuss relevant topics such as cooperation of universities for the development of the Three Seas macroregion, the Three Seas Universities Network as an instrument of research cooperation, security of Central and Eastern Europe, the role of the Three Seas countries in supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine, digital transformation and cyber security, the geopolitical significance of the Three Seas Initiative and the role of diplomacy of three Seas countries.

Scientific researcher at KUL Dr. habil. Marcin Szewczak, prof. KUL, who is the chairman of the Program Council of the Three Seas Local Government Congress, pointed out that the emerging Network will be an important instrument for developing international cooperation in the area of the Three Seas Initiative. Thanks to the Network, our University will gain wider opportunities for scientific and research cooperation, manifesting primarily in the actualization of joint projects, the creation of international research teams, the preparation of scientific publications and the organization of conferences. Prof. Szewczak, who works daily at the Institute of Law at KUL, further gave the assurance that the process of internationalization of the university will be significantly increased, as well as the process of mutual international exchange of academic staff and students.

The scientist said: "It is our earnest desire that the newly established Network be institutionalized by the creation of a research center actively applying for grants and projects. At the same time, KUL is actively involved in the development of the Three Seas Regions Network, thanks to which university cooperation will be extended to the local government and economic sectors.” He also argued that the Network will strengthen the regional component of the Three Seas Initiative development, thanks to the cooperation of universities with regions that actively operate within the Three Seas Regions Network.

Summing up, Prof. Szewczak said that "the goal of our University is to strive for the best preparation of staff - students, doctoral students and research scientists - for the development of the Three Seas Initiative.”