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V4 Joint Special Course


V4 Joint Special Course as a new brand

IVF Visegrad Grant No.22220017


The Visegrad Cooperation celebrated its 30th anniversary of its foundation in 2021. This cooperation tough not an institutional regional integration in a traditional sense, it always meant to be a good platform to find and synergize the common interest of the four countries and to synchronize our efforts on the European and global level. Students in Higher Education and the wide range of the popularity of the V4 have poor knowledge on this region, its historic importance and the opportunities it could offer to the citizens in many fields. Last year Budapest Metropolitan University (METU) implemented a V4 Grant project called V4 Summer School as a new brand in cooperation with three V4 universities from the three other V4 countries (Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica, Metropolitan University Prague; Maria Curie-Sklodowska University of Lublin). Built on the previous project we would like to follow up and we intend to deeper the cooperation. 

The aim of the project is to promote the significance and historic importance of the V4 cooperation, and also highlight the common knowledge to teach the younger generation. The project will facilitate the development on institutional level offering a model for other HEIs in the region. It can also strengthen the regional identity which is today probably more important than ever. Our university students will have a deeper knowledge and learn in a joint community with the same aim. The common experience, the deepen knowledge of this region and regional issues, problems, challenges, the acquired skills will be incorporated in a joint knowledge base which can be used by any learning community in the region. The Joint Special Course (JSC) will be an elective study in each partner HEI as an integral part of the study of the respective university. Students will be part of a common programme from each HEI join the joint part of the courses, then pass a final exam with their well-developed thesis and in the end of the programme a joint final competition/conference will be organised in order to compare their knowledge, competence, learning progress, etc.

The novelty in the project is the method of continuation and pursuit of sustainability. This is not a one-off idea and the Metropolitan University together with the partners thinks in long-term and not in individual projects. This project is only a brick in a larger architecture, though it is an important one.

The previous project which this built on was essential to measure the real attractiveness of joint thinking (also with students) about the V4 and now the goal is to have the same course (meaning same content, same requirements and same students) integrated in the existing frames of our programs. The joint course will give the opportunity of the students to (in fact) visit all the Visegrad countries during the course by listening the lectures of the lecturers from all the countries. With the design of the course it was important that we found the synergies in out universities’ programs and we prepared a joint syllabus. With this project we want to establish a new brand with this new JSC following the last year’s new brand with the joint summer school. We will use the established and proven logo and another successful elements of the previous project.


Project outputs:

  • New Joint Special Course (JSC) on V4 issues: introducing the JSC based on the Partners’ existing Regional Studies elective study course as an example. A series of online courses organised, 4 by METU and 2-2 by partners, overall 10 lessons attended by the partners’ HEI students.
  • Final essay: the elective course will end with a final essay elaborated by every student take part in the course and they should be graded.
  • Introductory event: an introductory event will be held in Budapest on the 8th of December as a conference on the topic of introducing a new Joint Special Course on V4. You may find the agenda of the event HERE.
  • Final event: a conference will be held in Prague on the 24th of March. Each partner should apply their own examination requirements including thematic essays in line with the regulations of the respective university. You may find the agenda of the event HERE
  • Final publication: In the end of the V4 Joint Special Course project, a final publication is shared as a closing intellectual product of participants. The following electronic publication collects the best researches and ideas of those students and professionals, who have been actively participating in the V4 Joint Special Course for two semesters. The e-book is available in an online platform and can be referenced and distributed due to its official identification number. The essays of the book were mostly introduced during the V4 Joint Special Course in Prague, April 2023, but further researches of the project were also embedded in the e-book. This final publication - as a milestone document - represents well the forward-looking and fruitful cooperation of V4 universities (Budapest Metropolitan University, Budapest, Hungary; Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland; Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia; Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic), which hopefully will be developing via further enriching projects.


Project duration:24/10/2022 – 31/05/2023

Grant: 17 900 EUR

Project partners:



The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.


  • V4 Joint Special Course supervisor: Dr. Péter Rada 
  • Contact person: Zsófia Hajdu
  • E-mail address: project@metropolitan.hu
  • Phone: +36-20-357-5579


The Past, Present and Future of Visegrad Cooperation_DRAFT_20230705