On 20 October, representatives of 12 Polish and 10 Spanish universities met in Warsaw University of Technology’s main building to discuss international cooperation and support for academic mobility.

This was the first event of its kind held during the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, organised by the Spanish Agency for the Internationalisation of Education (SEPIE) and the National Agency for Academic Exchange. During the meeting, both institutions presented their roles in the field of internationalisation and strengthening bilateral cooperation.

The meeting was opened by prof. dr hab. arch. Jan Słyk, Vice-Chancellor for Studies at Warsaw University of Technology, José Aurelio Llaneza Villanueva, Director of the Spanish Higher Education Internationalisation Office, and Dr Dawid Kostecki, Director of the National Academic Exchange Agency. In their opening speeches, they emphasised the desire to further strengthen cooperation between Poland and Spain in enhancing academic mobility, student exchange and the exchange of experiences and ideas in joint research. It was not only the activities of NAWA and SEPIE in funding scientific projects that came to the fore, but also the broad and intensive cooperation between universities within the framework of European alliances, including initiatives such as Solidarity with Ukraine - European Universities, initiated by NAWA.

During the session on good practices and achievements in cooperation to date, participants were learned about the solutions of the University of Oviedo and the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Attention was particularly drawn to the universities' participation in European alliances and involvement in the Erasmus Without Papers initiative. The important role and contribution of Polish universities in the implementation of joint educational and scientific projects was underlined.

The last session took the form of short table talks during which participants from both countries exchanged experiences and proposals for initiatives on joint scientific projects, short and long-term academic exchange programmes, short educational forms such as language or cultural workshops and courses, and exchanges of academic staff. During the meeting, participants expressed their interest in participating in similar events concerning cooperation with Germany, the UK and Italy, as well as their wish to organise a meeting for medical universities.