From November 27th to December 1st, 2023, 8 institutes at the University of Graz welcomed 29 participants from 15 different countries and 21 different universities to the Graz University Erasmus Staff (GUEST) Week, a staff training course for employees of international partner institutions. The event was held for the ninth time and was organized by the Office of International Relations.
The focus of the meeting was networking with each other. A Part of the content, of the program, was also supported by the Arqus Coordinators at the University of Graz. In an interactive session, in form of a roundtable, the Arqus Coordinators presented the Arqus European University Alliance.
During their stay, the individual guests were able to talk about what they do at their university and what they like about the University of Graz. Anne Bourgoin from Lyon 1 University gave an interview:
- Which university do you come from and what is your job there?
France, Lyon 1. I’m a project manager in the Human Resources department.
- Why did you choose to come to the University of Graz for your staff training? What do you expect from the GUEST Week?
The staff week program was exactly what I expected because I actually work on Digitalization and HR projects. The GUEST Week is a way to share different thinking ways and to find new ideas that can help my projects.
- What do you find particularly interesting about the University of Graz?
The University of Graz is very old but also very modern. It’s a major partner of the Arqus Alliance.
- What do you find different here compared to your home university?
The building is changed of time. This is not the case of mine, who is ‘only’ 50 years old.
- Would you recommend a staff training to other colleagues and if so, why?
Yes, absolutely. It’s a good way to practice another language (here, German and English) and to confront your own practices with some colleagues that have a very different reality.
In the course of the GUEST Week, visitors from Vilnius University had also the chance, to visit the local Research Management and Service Center, to exchange on the topic of “Project Finance Management”, especially in the context of European funding projects.