In addition to 16 participants from Georgia and eight from Armenia, alumnae and alumni from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and the Republic of Moldova were also represented. After a welcome address by the Chairman of the Georgian Alumni Association,Prof Dr Vaja Vardidze, and the Head of the KAAD Eastern Europe Department, Markus Leimbach, the conference was opened.
First, Professor Peter Varga from Eötvös Loránd University Budapest presented the political situation in Hungary. Hungary reacts sensitively to external influences, insists on its sovereignty and independence and hence, repeatedly comes into conflict with the EU. The situation of universities in Hungary is currently characterised by their transformation from state universities into foundations – supposedly to create more independence. The opposite is the case, however: as the boards of trustees are appointed by politicians, the influence of the state is increasing as the boards of trustees have great sway over the appointment of professors. The allocation depends not only on the academic qualifications of the applicant but also on his or her political stance.
In her presentation, the Armenian German scholar Prof Dr Yelena Etaryan (Yerevan State V. Bryusov University of Languages and Social Sciences) addressed university development in her country. Against the background of her experiences from her MBA programme in Speyer, she stated that university development in Armenia should focus on educationally disadvantaged groups, STEM subjects (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology) and foreign languages and that teaching should pay more attention to developing students' independence and critical thinking. Concerning university funding, she highlighted the problem that state funding is dependent on the number of students, which is why poorer students are often included to maintain the flow of funding.
Dr Oxana Chira, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at the Alecu Russo State University of Bălți in Moldova, presented the structure of university education in the Republic of Moldova. With a population of around four million, there are 55,000 students, 58 per cent of whom are women. Many degree programmes are now also offered in English and Russian, with Russian being the second official language in the Republic of Moldova. International students mainly come from Ukraine and China. Students come from China due to the low cost of living.
In his presentation, Professor Cezary Koscielniak from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan argued that artificial intelligence is a challenge and a threat to traditional university teaching. He explained that AI leads to a mediatisation of teaching, but that texts are the basis of this, as according to Martin Heidegger, humans are linguistic beings. Without texts, conversations and thoughts would have no sustainability, but AI would lead to more visualisation. For Poland, he also mentioned that the humanities are losing importance, as they are seen as less important for the development of society and the economy.
Georgian lawyer Dr Sergej Jorbenadze took up a similar topic by talking about the legal implications of the use of ChatGPT in copyright law. Using a poem written by ChatGPT, he demonstrated the recognition process at the patent office.
Dr Siranush Papoyan addressed a completely different topic. The Armenian presented the development of the fictitious radio station ‘Radio Yerevan’, which was created as a reaction to Soviet rule. The ‘Radio Yerevan jokes and their dissemination created limited cultural, political and personal freedom. The jokes spread far beyond the Soviet sphere of influence.
The Slovakian Germanists Dr Stanislawa Galowa and Dr Irena Grezowa reported on innovations at the Slovakian Agricultural University of Nitra. Its rector – a landscape gardener – greened the university, and new areas of research were introduced, including, for example, research into alternative foods such as edible flowers or lime fruit as a substitute for cocoa beans or insects as a source of protein. New teaching methods were also introduced in German language teaching and a video-supported language course was developed to achieve better results and greater acceptance of the language courses among students.
Professor Levan Tsagareli from Ilia State University in Tbilisi also addressed the changes in teaching. He pointed out that the role of the teacher is changing in such a way that the lecturer is to be a facilitator, i.e. a supporter of the learner. Furthermore, he added that learning is becoming increasingly important, meaning that more participative and digital elements need to be used in teaching. He argued in favour of using supplementary methods such as deep learning, blended learning, social media and digital tools alongside traditional teaching. Students should be encouraged to learn independently and then this should be put up for discussion in the classroom. Above all, he appealed to teachers to be ready for change.
Dr Nino Gogelia also showed how digital elements (such as Deepl Write) can be used in university language teaching as supportive learning methods, e.g. on language learning platforms.
Georgian politics professorsDr Tina Dolidze and Dr Irina Darchia addressed the challenges of the upcoming elections and the necessary political upheavals in Georgia. They insisted that universities should be kept out of political control. To improve educational opportunities, they called for support for students in the form of scholarships and student residences as well as increased support for educationally disadvantaged groups. Doctorates, in particular, they urged, need changes and an adaptation of doctoral regulations. In Georgia, universities receive funding for Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes, but not for doctoral projects. These are currently funded by foreign donors, such as the German Academic Exchange Service or the Volkswagen Foundation. However, to strengthen and incentivise doctoral studies in Georgia, the state must provide financial support.
The conference clearly showed that the challenges lie primarily in the institutional area. In addition to the increased use of new (digital) teaching methods, the development from traditional frontal teaching to participative methods to strengthen the participation and independence of students is becoming increasingly clear in Central and Eastern European countries.
The conference also enabled KAAD alumni to develop their networking activities further, which have borne fruit in the form of several cooperation agreements between German studies departments at universities in Armenia and Hungary.
