Adventist University of France – Collonges Hosts First Inter-European Division Higher Education Council

On June 20–22, 2023, the Adventist University of France – Collonges hosted the first Inter-European Division (EUD) Higher Education Council, with the participation of rectors, presidents, and administrative directors of EUD higher education institutions.

The meeting, initiated and organized by the EUD Education department, had Dr. Lisa Beardsley-Hardy, director of Education at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, as the special guest onsite, while the other lecturers joined the program online.

The meeting agenda included training seminars “‘I will go’” in Higher Education” and “Made in His Image: The Task of Redemptive Education,” by Beardsley-Hardy; “Leadership and Holiness,” by Marius Munteanu; “Higher Education Network,” by Gordon Bietz, NAD associate director for Higher Education; “Education Resources: Creation Sabbath, Faith & Science Grants, GRI RC,” by Noemi Duran, director of the Geological Research Institute (GRI) EUD branch; “EU [European Union] Funds for Education,” by Eliza Spătărelu, departmental director of Adventus University (Cernica, Romania); “Business Development for an Adventist Campus,” by Ben Thomas, director of Technology Operations and Strategy for the South Pacific Division (SPD); and “Youth Alive,” by Katia Reinert, GC Health Ministries associate director.

The agenda also provided a valuable time of learning and sharing the realities and challenges the EUD universities face. The presentation of each university created an opportunity to enrich the participants’ experience, share ideas for more effective work at all levels, and pray together for the sensitive issues.

Participants also enjoyed a campus tour and the unique natural setting of the Collonges premises and had the opportunity to discuss plans for future collaborations between their institutions.

Of particular interest were the prospects for the development of joint projects under the EU’s Erasmus+ Programme, which Adventus University has been running for over a year. The program has facilitated short-term mobility for students and teachers in several countries of the world, including Spain, Austria, Turkey, Czechia, France, Peru, Germany, Hungary, and Portugal.

The participants of the EUD Higher Education Council agreed to continue discussions to develop the collaborations initiated on this occasion, with the follow-up meeting being held online recently, at the end of July.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-European Division website.