International consortium of Catholic universities expands on collaboration

On the occasion of a joint workshop of the “Catholic Consortium for International Higher Education Collaboration”, of which the KU is a founding member, the representatives of universities from 13 countries exchanged views on perspectives for new partnerships and collaborations. The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. hosted the conference. The primary goal of the consortium, which was founded in 2017, is to develop joint projects, establish a continuous exchange, and work on joint study programs.

At the most recent meeting, participants amongst others discussed the option of establishing a joint digital ‘Studium Generale’ learning offer which would enable students of all member universities to access a platform pooling learning contents of the other international universities. Furthermore, this summer, the KU hosts a Migration Studies Summer Academy together with the Catholic University of America in the context of the consortium’s work. At the meeting in Washington, the consortium also officially welcomed two new associated members which were accepted upon request: Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Spain) and Universidad Católica de Salta (Argentina). With the KU, the Australian Catholic University (ACU), the Catholic University of America (CUA), the Chilean Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and the South Korean Sogang University, the consortium now comprises seven member universities.

On the occasion of the KU’s delegation visit to Washington led by Prof. Dr. Klaus Stüwe (KU vice president for international affairs and profile development), the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt was honored as a long-standing member of the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP). The program gives KU students the opportunity of spending study time abroad. They can choose from over 130 US universities and colleges. US students, on the other hand, get the chance to enroll at the KU. The KU has been a member of ISEP for 35 years, which makes the institution one of the first German universities that has become a member of the network back then.