HEROES | Building bridges from Vilnius to Mechelen: when international days create lasting connections. 🌉

Spring arrived early in Mechelen, bringing 18°C sunshine and over 200 international lecturers from across the globe. Among them: Kristina Jakutytė-Ancienė and Inga Piscikiene from VIKO Lithuania, who came to teach and left with so much more.

We meet them during lunch at Campus De Vest, enjoying the warm weather with fellow teachers and staff. The sunny spring day is especially welcome for colleagues from colder northern countries like Lithuania, where winter holds on a bit longer.

Kristina has already taught two classes this morning: one to business students, another to media students, both on reputation management. Inga has a workshop planned for this afternoon on happiness and its impact on business success. Between sessions, they share what brought them to Mechelen and what they're taking home.

Why travel from Vilnius to Mechelen?

"It was important to be here because it gave us the opportunity to visit a HEROES partner and to learn how this university works," Inga explains. Having just organized their own international weeks at VIKO, they were curious to see Thomas More's approach.

For Kristina, who holds a PhD in Communication and works as a science project manager, the draw was multifaceted. "I know you have very strong International Days, and I am very happy that I could join and give two lectures with students from your university. They were wonderful. I really enjoyed my time during classes."

But it's the networking potential that really excites her. "It is also very nice to be here with so many other international lecturers. I know there are more than 200 lecturers from all over the world. That is really inspiring and we love to build new connections while being here."

The strategy works. "It is very important for me to find new contacts and to prepare international project applications," Kristina shares. "I did find people here to start new projects."

When students surprise you

Teaching international classes always brings unexpected moments. For Kristina, those moments came early and often.

"The students were very involved, engaged and very brave," she reflects on the Thomas More students.

After her first session, a student approached her. "She is preparing a Bachelor thesis about the topic of reputation management. She asked me if I have any advice about literature or sources to use. And I am happy to help her out, so we exchanged our contact details. We are in contact now and it is really nice that new connections come out of it."

Then came the second lecture's surprise ending. "All the students came to take a picture with me at the end of the class, so I was surprised, I did not expect that."

Happiness as a business strategy

Inga's afternoon workshop tackles a deceptively simple question: "Do happy people always mean happy business?"

Her answer? “YES! Be happy. It's good for business. Take care of your people, make sure they can be an ambassador, so work on the culture."

It's advice that applies equally to companies and universities, a theme that runs through the entire International Business Day experience. When you create an environment where people feel valued and connected, they become natural ambassadors of their institutions.

HEROES connections that last

The networking extends beyond Thomas More. "I met two ladies from Seinäjoki yesterday evening, another HEROES partner," Inga mentions. "I visited them last year, so it was great to meet up again here and have this touchpoint."

This is the power of HEROES partnerships: creating a community where colleagues can reconnect across borders, share best practices, and build relationships that span multiple institutions and countries.

Discovering Mechelen

Between lectures and workshops, Kristina and Inga explored their host city. Their verdict? "Mechelen is the perfect city, we are here for the first time. We walked around, beautiful architecture, nice people. Wonderful town and lots of churches, beautiful inside and outside. We hope to have time to climb the cathedral."

An invitation to Vilnius

As our conversation wraps up, talk turns to the HEROES semi-annual meeting coming to Vilnius in May. Their advice for visiting partners?

"May is known for its cultural events," Inga shares enthusiastically. "We have many cultural nights and activities. You should really try to visit one of those. These are worthwhile checking. And our college itself is already an event."

Kristina adds: "The main building is in downtown Vilnius, near the river. And it is a perfect time to enjoy the spring in Vilnius and discover the city."
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What makes International Days matter

As Kristina and Inga prepare for their afternoon sessions, it's clear that International Days achieve something that can't be measured in lecture hours or workshop attendance alone.

It creates moments: A student asking for thesis advice. An entire class requested a group photo. Colleagues from different countries are reuniting. New project partnerships forming over lunch. Cultural insights shared between sessions.

From Vilnius to Mechelen and back again, these connections create a network that extends far beyond a single day of teaching. They build bridges between people, institutions, and countries: one lecture, one conversation, one unexpected group photo at a time.

That's HEROES in action. That's why international days matter.

See you in Vilnius in May!
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Kristina Jakutytė-Ancienė holds a PhD in Communication and works as a lecturer and science project manager at VIKO (Vilnius University of Applied Sciences) in Lithuania. Inga Piscikiene is a lecturer at VIKO's Civil Engineering Faculty. Both are valued HEROES partners.