International Cooperations
In its founding documents, European University Viadrina was dedicated to not only being distinguished specifically because of its international focus--especially in cultivating excellent German-Polish relations--but also through exchanges with Central Europe and by advancing a pan-European consciousness. These founding documents laid a systematic and geographic foundation for the university's profile, according to which--in addition to its multidisciplinarity--has developed itself through the years. Because it was a region of focus for the former alma mater Viadrina, Scandinavia was also initially considered to be a particular focus of Viadrina, geographically speaking. Scandinavia has become an important research partner because of its interest in Viadrina's cause; however, the main focus of our educational profile remains concerned with Poland, East Central Europe, and the EU--and all the more so as the universities in Greifswald and Rostock have focused their attention on the Baltic and Scandinavian regions.
During Viadrina's tenth anniversary celebrations in 2001, the university held a workshop in which the exact interpretation and meaning of internationalization was discussed; the goals and aims of an international focus were also debated. The competitive ability of Europe in the world market was cited as the explicit goal and rationale of the so-called Bologna Process on the topic of internationalization of the EU's post-secondary educational institutions. Furthermore, the report presented the science of research and instruction only in relation to economic prosperity. This single approach to the rationale and specification of internationalization was by no means all-inclusive; therefore, additional aims and consequences of internationalization were discussed at the workshop.