University Partnerships Management in Times of Pandemics – Mission (Im)Possible

Background. The main challenges, faced by the international departments of the European universities during the COVID-19 pandemic, result from the need for fast adaptation, entirely online interaction with national and international partners, the huge amount of work, the absence of established guidelines and information about the procedures for acting under the unknown circumstances. During the coronavirus crisis the university international departments adopted a key role of communication centres with the world outside and turned into hubs for information exchange. Aim. This article aims to present and analyse the communication at the beginning of the COVID – 19 pandemic between the academic partners of the Medical University of Varna at international level with a focus on the partners under „Erasmus+“ programme in the period March – September 2020. There are four main accents of the study: 1) information about the current conditions in the countries, from which the international partners come, about the stage and the course of the disease, the changes in the training process and the state of the mobility; 2) contact with the universities with which activities are planned in the framework of bilateral agreements for academic cooperation; 3) participation in online international events; and 4) training and exchange of good practices for university partnerships and mobility management in times of COVID-19. Material and methods. Based on written documantation, electronic and virtual communication as well as the reports and observations of the officers working at the Department of International Relations and the team of the „Erasmus+“ programme, an analysis was performed of the communication during the pandemic and the impact of the social distancing on the international partnerships of the Medical University of Varna, the changes in the channels used for communication and the overall process of communication and operational activities. Results. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the summer internships and practices which became traditional for the last seven years with partner medical universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg (Russia) and Kharkiv (Ukraine) had to be cancelled. Two new agreements for academic cooperation were signed and one was resumed. Two international events were organized by Varna Medical University, in which the teams of the Department of International Relations and „Erasmus+“ programme took an active part. For the studied period of six months in the field of international cooperation, the Medical University participated in twenty online trainings, virtual meetings and conferences, organized by partner organisations, whose member Varna Medical University is. Some of them include the European University Association, the Black Sea Universities Network, the European Health Management Association and the World Health Organisation. Conclusions. The communication with the European partners proved crucial under pandemic conditions, characterized by unpredictability and uncertainty. The international communication and the teams working at the international relations departments, including that at the Medical University of Varna, consolidated and extended their role of university centres for communication with international partners and information exchange with them. This is most prominently reflected in the entirely changed range and type of communication, especially concerning the „Erasmus+“ mobility, in which the students’ and academic staff health protection and safety become key issues. A marked trend is observed of shifting toward online communication, in which the partners communicate from a distance in real time. The traditional fora with physical presence make room for the virtual events, the webinars and virtual conferences becoming a standard in international communication. The numerous unprecedented situations and cases with which the departments of international relations have to cope, can be successfully resolved with fast response, creative thinking in the very course of the pandemic. The unexpected and comprehensive extraordinary situation is a great challenge for the international partnerships but also a preparation for the future. It demonstrates the sustainability of communication, the constructive relations and the good results.