On October 20, 2025, two important events took place at the Polish Catholic University of John Paul II in Lublin. The first was the annual meeting of the members of CUP – Catholic Universities Partnership. The meeting was attended by delegates from universities from the USA, Croatia, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Our university was represented by CU vice-rectors Markéta Rusnáková, Štefan Tkačik, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters Štefan Samuel Mahút and two students. The topic of the annual meeting, which had the character of an international conference, was the role of scientific diplomacy in building trust, cooperation and peace in times of global tension and crisis.

CU Vice-Rector for International Relations and Internationalization Markéta Rusnáková was also an active participant in the meeting. She led a round table on the topic of implementing scientific diplomacy at university. 

The event was also accompanied by the presentation of the CU Commemorative Medal to the Nanovic Institute for European Studies for supporting CU students and teachers through exchange stays, grants and programs that have strengthened international dialogue. The commemorative medal was issued by CU on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its founding. Clemens Sedmak, Director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, received the award from KU Vice-Rectors Markéta Rusnáková and Štefan Tkačik.

Broader context:
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic University in Ružomberok, the university symbolically honored 25 key partners of the university. Among the honored partners was the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, University of Notre Dame, which is an organization that, among other things, is dedicated to building partnerships between Central European, Eastern European and American Catholic universities.