The Republic of Latvia and
Northumbria University hope to forge new partnerships following a visit by the
country’s ambassador to city campus.
Ms Baiba Braze, the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, met with Northumbria
staff during a working lunch to discuss potential collaborations with leading
Latvian businesses and universities. She was welcomed by Professor Jon Reast,
Northumbria’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) and Rob Carthy, Director of
International Development, alongside colleagues from a number of academic
departments including Computer and Information Sciences.
Rob said: “Northumbria
University was delighted to host the Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia, Ms
Baiba Braze at our campus here in Newcastle.
“This marks the next step in
a developing relationship between Northumbria University and the Republic of
Latvia, with students here on campus, and the opportunities for the creation of
a computer science collaboration with key Latvian institutions. It also marks a clear commitment from
Northumbria University to maintaining its engagement with Europe, through
partnership, collaboration and mobility.”
The lunch meeting was
followed by a tour of Northumbria’s new £7m Computer and Information Sciences
building at city campus. This state-of-the-art facility will be home to more
than 1,000 students and 85 staff and is due to open later this year (see a time lapse video of its development below).
Ms Braze said it was more
important than ever that the Republic of Latvia and UK institutions work
closely together to maintain and build successful partnerships and
collaborations.
“Latvia and the UK are one
of the closest and most likeminded partners in the EU and NATO,” she said.
“There are about 100,000
Latvians living in the UK; contributing to the country’s growth, and relations
between our peoples go back to pre-Hanseatic times. To maintain this
relationship in the future it is necessary to further develop cooperation
between institutions and businesses.
“Newcastle is famous for its
universities and their quality and there is a great potential in developing
bilateral links with Latvian universities, which will be particularly important
after Brexit.
“Having met with Professor
Jon Reast, Northumbria’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for International, and Rob Carthy,
Director of International Development at the University, we agreed on a work
plan both in research and education fields to create partnerships between
Northumbria and Latvian institutions.”
To find out more about
Northumbria’s international partnerships and collaborations go to: www.northumbria.ac.uk/international
Computer and Information Science Building - Timelapse from Northumbria University on Vimeo.
