Wulkow

On the initiative of Dr. Thomas Vogel, the Director of the Language Centre of the European University Viadrina, around 30 directors of university language centres from various European countries met in the small town of Wulkow in Brandenburg in January 2009. The purpose of the meeting, which has since taken place annually, was to enable the participants to exchange information on the day-to-day running and expected future of university
language centres and other language centres offering a high standard of language teaching.
The following issues were addressed:

  • How are we structured and how do we work?
  • What is our mission and how do we implement it?
  • How are we funded and how do we attract new sources of funding for future projects?
  • How do we manage our tasks and meet demands?
  • How do we lead our staff?
  • How do we ensure consistently high standards?

The language is English. Results and conclusions are recorded in the “The Wulkow Group Memorandum” which is publicly available. It can be seen that language centres at institutions of higher education provide more than just access to foreign languages – sound language skills increase personal mobility, improve career opportunities and promote intercultural communication. Wulkow 2015 – short report