An incredible experience, leadership, fellowship and cooperation
From May 5 to 9, 2025, professors Sergio Nicolás Barrera Pardo and Diego Fernando Molano Soto from Colombia participated in the Erasmus+ mobility programme at Šiaulių valstybinė kolegija / Higher Education Institution.
Representing one of the largest universities in Colombia - National Open and Distance University (UNAD), they took part in International Week—an experience that blended academic exchange, cultural discovery, and global connection. The following text is a heartfelt reflection from both professors on their meaningful journey, highlighting what they learned, felt, and took home from their visit to Lithuania.
“We would like to begin this message by saying that we feel very honored and happy to have had the opportunity to participate in this Erasmus+ mobility program at Šiaulių Valstybinė Kolegija. The experience has been incredible from start to finish. Although we were thousands of kilometers away from our home country, the mobility organizing team, all the staff from the host university, the citizens of Lithuania, and the beautiful city of Šiauliai made us feel at home. Even though the weather was cold, the simplicity, kindness, and understanding shown by everyone involved were enough to make us feel the traditional warmth of home.
As professors from the largest university in Colombia, we had high expectations for this mobility experience, and they were far exceeded thanks to the excellent organization, the precision in the execution of each activity, and of course, the relevance of every single one of them. Even though only two of us traveled from Colombia, we represented more than 300,000 students and 7,000 collaborators who are part of our institution.
This experience has been memorable and enriching from many perspectives. This immersion allowed us to understand important multicultural aspects related to education, improve our language skills, and connect with professors from different countries around the world. It was wonderful to learn from each of the educational models represented and to share our own experiences, knowledge, vision of education and sustainability, as well as the challenges and commitments we all share as a global society to achieve increasingly equitable and open education for all citizens.
Each activity carried out during this week has brought us valuable lessons: respectful and quality communication, teamwork as a pillar for progress in any context, creativity to solve problems, trust in every team member, camaraderie, unconditional support, and the importance of joining forces to achieve common goals as a human race, without ideological, political, or any other kind of bias, these are without a doubt, part of the lasting lessons from this mobility experience.
As educators, we understand that the social cause of education is one of the fundamental pillars for building just and equitable societies, which also fosters collective growth and progress. Therefore, cooperation between institutions plays a key role in allowing the exchange of experiences to define work and research lines that promote innovative solutions to global challenges. We understand that only through joint and supportive efforts can we build a society capable of providing well-being for current generations and a strong foundation for facing whatever the future holds, grounded in knowledge, inclusion, and mutual respect. This is one of the most important conclusions from our experience.
Additionally, we had the chance to learn a bit about Lithuania’s culture, identity, and way of life. Every person we met in this beautiful country expressed respect, order, calmness, and human warmth that has undoubtedly left a lasting impression on us. We have learned what it means to be a great host, and we hope to put this into practice when we welcome you to our home, our beautiful Colombia which from now on will always be a place that warmly welcomes teachers, students, or administrative staff wishing to participate in a mobility program in our country.
We can only thank ERASMUS+ for the opportunity we were given, and thank the team from the International Relations Office for their outstanding work during these days for their valuable support, kindness, dedication, and the love with which they organized this international week. We conclude by saying that we are taking a piece of Lithuania with us in our hearts. We will surely remember this week for a long time. We hope to once again see the incredible plains, green landscapes, and warm people of Lithuania in the future.”
