On March 20^th 2023, FMB welcomed a foreign visit of academics and students from the Haute École Charlemagne in Liège. The meeting was initiated by Belgian students studying "Tourism", who contacted Mgr. Monika Pastirová from the Department of the international relations of the faculty. As part of their studies at the bachelor's degree, in the second year students organize a foreign excursion.

Based on the task of the teacher Jean-François Schepers and his colleagues Rosa Calvo and Maud Dehousse, Slovakia was chosen this year as a country with rich potential, but relatively little discovered in terms of active foreign tourism. The task of the students within the aforementioned excursion was to design an interesting itinerary, provide transportation, obtain as many financial resources as possible through sponsorship donations and successfully complete the entire trip (lasting 5 days in the specified country). The students performed this task excellently and put together a diverse and attractive program. They filled it with activities related to cultural, historical or natural potential, as well as a meeting with an institution with a very similar study portfolio. On the initiative of student Sarah Goblet and the information she found about FMB and the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, which she and her colleagues found available on the Internet, a meeting was organized at FMB. A lecture about Slovakia, the faculty and a guided tour of the city by doc. PhDr. Daniela Matušíková, PhD. preceded by a welcome by the vice-dean for foreign relations and all members of the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management. Subsequently, the dominant interest was to conduct a dialogue with the domestic students of the Bachelor's degree in the study program Tourism, Hospitality and Spa Industry. In mutual communication, they were interested in the structure of subjects focused on tourism, the number of foreign languages taught, field trips, or professional practice. From the point of view of spending free time, their questions were directed to information about the possibilities of how to effectively combine university studies with student life in the city and in the region. They were particularly attracted by the possibility of Slovak students traveling within the country for free.

With the first day spent in Prešov and at the University of Prešov, they started their journey around Slovakia. With positive emotions, they then moved to Ružomberok and from there they made a hiking trip to the Unesco monument reserve Vlkolínec. The next day they toured the Bojnice Castle and at the end of the trip they spent a day in the capital Bratislava.           

Based on a cordial meeting rich in interesting findings about real similarities in many areas, the Belgian partners also initiated the signing of a bilateral agreement in the Erasmus+ scheme for the implementation of student and teacher mobility at these partner institutions.

We hope to see them back to Prešov soon.

doc. PhDr. Daniela Matušíková, PhD.