Impressions from the Catholic University of Linz, Austria
Lusine Hambardzumyan’s impressions upon return from the above-mentioned institution after a one-week lecturing entitled “Armenian Caricature in the 1920s” planned through April 24-28, 2023
“The week-long visit to the Catholic University of Linz in the north of Austria was full of various adventures and impressions.
Such exchange programmes provide an opportunity to get to know the educational programmes and methods of another institution from the inside. Although it cannot be said that we are not clearly aware of the shortcomings of our educational system, but within such an experience it is possible to take the good aspects and try to upgrade them into the system without major changes.
First of all, I was pleased with the existence of a definite agenda, where apart from the actual lecture, meetings with professors were also meant to exchange materials or to attend a museum or event.The agenda also included free time to explore the city on your own. Such an agenda was drawn up by the host chair, taking into account the interests of the guestlecturer.
In addition to the actual lecture, a small introductory meeting was held with the local staff to get to know each other in a more informal atmosphere. The lecture was mainly aimed at professionals rather than students, which I think is an opportunity for the lecturer to observe the opinions of other professionals about the research and to notice the gaps. This gives us an opportunity to rethink the perception of such visits while hosting the guests.
Student engagement was provided in a more free format in the form of visits to museums or events”.
International Relations department