Program

Thursday, 8 May 2025 – Get-together and warm-up
Schelling-Forum, Klinikstraße 3, 97070 Würzburg

7.00 pm ‘Getting to know each other and short presentations’: ‘What kind of Europe do I want, and how can Franco-German cooperation contribute to this?’

• Professor Doris Fischer, Vice-President for International Affairs and Alumni at the University of Würzburg
• Prof. Dr Eric Leroy du Cardonnoy, Vice-President for International Affairs at the University of Caen
• Martin Heilig, Second Mayor of the City of Würzburg and alumnus,
• Dr Lars Lehmann, Schelling – Forum
• Dr Emmanuelle Delille, Attaché for Science and Higher Education Cooperation for Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg
• Students from Germany and France

Friday, 9 May 2025 – The practical and political dimensions of Franco-German cooperation
Schelling Forum, Klinikstraße 3, 97070 Würzburg

9.30 am: Introductory session: ‘Challenges and opportunities in cooperation: the European Economic Code, experiences of Franco-German cooperation (within the framework of the Association Henri Capitant); followed by a joint exchange of experiences’
• Professor Dr Christoph Teichmann, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Würzburg

10.15 am: ‘Working in Germany and France: What makes the difference?’
• Alumna Kerstin Schleifnik, Senior Business Expert at Commerzbank AG and alumna of the University of Würzburg,
• Alumna Mathilde Berhault is a Senior Consultant at D2 – Denkfabrik Diversität, Würzburg

11.00 am Networking with coffee and biscuits

11.30 am ‘Foreign Language Acquisition in France and Germany – Review and Prospects’
• Dr Hildegard Haberl, Head of the Institute of German Studies at the University of Caen Normandy
• Dr Matthias Erhard, Head of the Professional School of Education, University of Würzburg

(Prof. Dr Esme Winter-Froemel and Prof. Dr Matthias Hausmann)

Following the keynote presentations, there will be an exchange of experiences and ideas for the further development of teaching.

1.00 pm: Networking lunch at the Schelling Forum

2.00 pm: Networking walk from the Schelling Forum to the Hubland Campus, organised and prepared by Erasmus students Elissa Haouas and Anna Traurig (German Studies, Würzburg)

2.30 pm: Visit to the Jean Paul Archive (presentation of an autograph by the philosopher Jean Paul); led by Prof. Dr Barbara Hunfeld and her team

3.30 pm Guided tour of the Centre for Philology and Digitality led by Anna Traurig, research assistant at the Chair of Modern German Literature and Intellectual History

5–6.30 pm Return to the city

7.00 pm: Keynote address by Dr Theo Waigel (former Federal Minister of Finance and alumnus of the University of Würzburg), moderated by Prof. Dr Peter Bofinger, followed by a discussion with members of the public, students, alumni and academics from both universities

Saturday, 10 May 2025 – Day of Inspiration: Reflection, Discussion and Vision – History and the Future
Schelling Forum, Klinikstraße 3, 97070 Würzburg

9.30 am Prof. Dr Michaela Fenske, Chair of Ethnology/Empirical Cultural Studies, University of Würzburg: ‘France in the field post letters of the Würzburg officer Hans Schmidt (1870/71)’. From the work of the reading group ‘Historical First-hand Accounts for Members of the Public and Students’

10.00 Funding opportunities and PhD support:
• Axel Honsdorf, Funding opportunities in the Bavarian-French context, BayFrance, Munich
• Dr Stephan Schröder-Köhne, Managing Director of the Graduate School at the University of Würzburg

10.15 am Keynote address by Vice-President Prof. Dr Eric Leroy du Cardonnoy, Vice-President for International Development, University of Caen Normandy, Chair of the 12th Section of the CNU, Professor of Literature and Civilisation of German-speaking Countries (19th–20th centuries), “The Congress of Vienna (1814–1815): Negotiating Peace in Europe. An Inspiration for Today and Tomorrow?”

11.00 am Prof. Dr Thomas Hippler, Modern History, University of Caen, research project on the history of the concept of peace at European and global levels, title to be announced

12 noon Keynote address by Prof. Dr Peter Bofinger, Senior Professor of Economics, Money and International Economic Relations, University of Würzburg, Chair of Alumni & Friends at the University of Würzburg, ‘Where is Europe heading?’

1.00 pm Networking – Lunch

2.00 pm: Guided tour of the city by Anna Traurig, research assistant at the Chair of Modern German Literature and Intellectual History, specialising in Romanticism

4.00 pm: Guided tour of the picture gallery at the Martin von Wagner Museum, University of Würzburg, focusing on works relating to German-French conflicts, collaboration and cooperation, to stimulate further discussion.

5.30 pm: Walk with an AI-inspired tour led by Professor Marc Latoschik’s department to the Würzburger Stein, including stops at the Welcome Centre and the Graduate School

Sunday, 11 May 2025 – Spring International
Schelling Forum, Klinikstraße 3, 97070 Würzburg

11.00 am Sharing experiences and exchanging ideas for the future

Around 12 noon: Visit to the Würzburg Spring International Festival (inspired by Europe Day)

Participation in the festivities, networking and collaboration with the City of Würzburg International Office (Katja Schröder and Julia Wintzheimer) and representatives of the German-French Society (Britta Habersack)

Afternoon: Departure

We would like to thank the following for their kind support:

• Universitätsbund Würzburg e.V.

• German-French Citizens’ Fund

• German-French Youth Office