Sabauni representatives participated in the international conference

The representatives of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University participated in the annual conference of the "Catholic Universities Partnership (CUP),” which was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the partnership. The theme of this year's conference was "From Friendship to Institutional Development: 20 Years of Catholic University Partnership" and was held at the Catholic University of Croatia in Zagreb.

The conference took place on May 9–11 and was held in the format of a round table and panel discussion, where the participants evaluated the twenty-year activity of the CUP. The representatives of partner universities talked about the challenges facing Eastern and Central Europe and the perspectives of the universities; they discussed ways to overcome the crises in the institutions and ways to better utilize the unused potential of the partnership. There was a separate student panel, where students from partner universities talked about the prospects of cooperation in the direction of students.

"Students were given the opportunity to express their needs, challenges, and perspectives. In my talk, I focused on the importance of exchange programs, workshops, and international conferences, where the involvement of students along with professors is very important. I think that it is these diverse visions and the sharing of ideas that make young people, our next generation, think more about various topical issues, increase motivation, and give them the opportunity to see the current events with different eyes and be more involved." - Albina Agapishvili.

"It was a great honor for me to participate in the international conference of the Catholic University Partnership, which gave me great experience. I met professors from leading universities in Europe and America, with whom I talked about a number of topical issues, both from the perspective of a student and a Georgian. My report was about student challenges, and within the framework, I focused not only on close cooperation with CUP member universities but also on the mission set by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University to be an outstanding European, Catholic, and democratic values university, which I think it clearly fulfills." - Elene Sidamonidze.

The conference was attended by Prof. Vaja Vardidze, the chairman of the advisory board at Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University; Albina Agapishvili, an MA student of public administration; and Elene Sidamonidze, an MA student of law.

The Catholic Universities Partnership (CUP) was founded in 2004 by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame (USA) and aims to help and support Catholic universities in Eastern Europe. Within the framework of the partnership, annual meetings and conferences of the partner universities are held, which are dedicated to various topical issues. Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University hosted the CUP conference in May 2022.

With the support of the Nanovic Institute of European Studies, the administrative and academic staff of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University have the opportunity to participate in a two-week leadership training program organized by the Nanovic Institute with full funding. In addition, Sabauni professors benefit from a one-month research grant at the same university every year.