Cooperation between Slovakia and Georgia gets underway
From 22nd to 27th April 2019, Prof. Joseph Salukvadze and MSc. Salome Kobaize from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia visited the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Constantine the Philosopher University (UKF) Nitra.
Prof. Salukvadze is an internationally acclaimed expert in human geography and planning; Ms Kobaize is a PhD student with valuable experience in nature and landscape conservation in Georgia.
Cooperation and international projects between the universities were firstly discussed at a meeting involving Doc. Miroslav Tvrdoň, PhD. and Mr Pavel Vizdal, the Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tbilisi. The visit took place within the international development cooperation sphere of the Slovak Republic. Its main goal is to share experience and expertise in the field of ecology, environmental sciences and regional development between Slovakia and Georgia.
During their stay, the distinguished guests visited two workplaces at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and they participated in the 18th international symposium on issues in landscape ecology research "Landscape Diversity and Biodiversity" in Smolenice. Prof. Salukvadze chaired one of the sections and lectured on "Urban Landscape Transformation: Market versus Planning in Tbilisi".
The guests were hosted by the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Members of the Department, namely Prof. Petrovič, Doc. Mederly, and MSc. Vaňo, also a representative of the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dr. Halada, and the Georgian guests participated in joint meetings discussing their research topics, i.e. transformation of post-communist society and the impact of the process on country, environment and society. The guests – who are geographers – also visited the Department of Geography and Regional Development. They were welcomed by the head of the Department Prof. Boltižiar. Subsequently, they discussed opportunities for future cooperation.
The guests from Georgia were welcomed by the Vice-Rector for International Relations, Dr. Martina Pavlikova, the Dean of Faculty of Natural Sciences, Prof. František Petrovič, and the author of the project, Doc. Peter Mederly.
The visit from Georgia represents the first initiative towards developing cooperation between UKF and Ivan Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Furthermore, a bilateral agreement between the universities and an ERASMUS + program agreement were both signed at the official meeting.
Our thanks for cooperation and assistance goes to Mr Pavel Vizdal, the Head of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Georgia.
Text: Peter Mederly, FPV – Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Martin Boltižiar, FPV – Department of Geography and Regional Development
