An official cooperation agreement has been in place between Fitchburg State University and Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences since 2011. The last exchange took place four years ago; at the beginning of March, 16 students arrived in Europe with Prof. Joshua Spero for a ten-day visit. Representing Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences were Prof. Dr Klaus Hegemann and Prof. Dr Alexander Brand.
The last exchange took place four years ago; at the beginning of March, 16 students travelled to Europe with Prof. Joshua Spero for ten days. Representing the HSRW were Prof. Dr Klaus Hegemann and Prof. Dr Alexander Brand. The US delegation flew from Boston to Amsterdam, where they were welcomed. Their first stops were the International Court of Justice in The Hague and a city tour of Amsterdam. The following day, they travelled to Kamp-Lintfort, where they toured the campus and the Baroque gardens of Kamp Abbey.
In the evening, the US guests were invited to a GiB reception with dinner at Rindern Water Castle. Prof. Hegemann recalled his first experience of Fitchburg: “In 1988, I spent three months there as an exchange student. That was very important for me, not least for my language skills.” Brand described the interaction with the students as “very lively. We held a number of workshops, including on European politics, Ukraine, climate and energy.” He expressed his gratitude for the support of the HSRW, the Campus Kleve Friends’ Association and the Society for International Encounters.
Professor Joshua Spero, who had also visited the Lower Rhine region with a group four years ago, emphasised the German-American friendship. “That’s very important. Our students are the future. And the town twinning with Kleve is at the heart of Europe.” After a visit to Kalkar, the group travelled from Amsterdam to Warsaw. Fitchburg State University also has friendly ties with Kraków.
