INVEST AS A JOURNEY, NOT JUST A PROJECT
INVEST as a Journey, Not Just a Project
by Lenka Lackóová
My calendar is always full, my suitcase is never fully unpacked, and my colleagues across Europe feel more like friends than contacts. That’s what working in an international university alliance looks like for me.
My name is Lenka Lackóová, and I am an Associate Professor of Landscape Engineering at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. I joined the INVEST Alliance in October 2021, initially to work on bachelor specialisations related to sustainable landscape development and climate change. At the time, I thought I was joining a project focused on developing new study programmes. I quickly realised it was something far more ambitious.
From the very beginning, INVEST appealed to me because it is not just about education on paper. It is about building a shared institutional space that connects people, systems, and ways of thinking across seven universities. As the alliance developed, my role gradually expanded. Today, I act as a local coordinator at my university and am actively involved in project management, quality assurance, and study programme work packages. My role has grown alongside the project itself.
I have always been drawn to international work in education. I genuinely enjoy educational innovation — developing curricula, rethinking learning outcomes, and creating study programmes that respond to real societal challenges. The opportunity to do this in a truly international environment, across different academic cultures and legal frameworks, was an irresistible challenge.
One very visible change INVEST brought into my life is travel. I thought I was travelling a lot before but INVEST redefined what “a lot” really means. Regular meetings and project events across Europe quickly became part of my normal working rhythm. Thanks to INVEST, I have visited places such as Plovdiv, Joensuu, Milan, Rotterdam, Córdoba, Reims, and Gothenburg — and I still feel there are gaps to fill.
These trips are not just about meetings and agendas. Being physically present allows you to understand different academic cultures, build trust, and strengthen cooperation in ways that simply cannot happen online. International collaboration, for me, means a full calendar, a suitcase that is never fully unpacked, and colleagues who slowly become friends.
Working with colleagues from different countries is the most rewarding part of the experience. You constantly encounter new perspectives and ideas, but you also learn how much patience, openness, and mutual respect international cooperation requires. Over time, professional collaboration turns into genuine connection. We often say that we are not just a consortium, but an INVEST family — and that feeling is very real.
INVEST has also changed how I approach my work. I now think much more in terms of systems rather than isolated solutions. In teaching and programme development, I focus more on flexibility, coherence, and how things can work across borders. I have learned that if something takes longer in an international project, it is usually not a problem — it is part of the process.
One unexpected skill I have developed is learning how to explain the same idea in several different ways until everyone around the table says, “Yes, now I understand.” That might be the most international competence of all.
Looking back, INVEST is no longer just something I work on occasionally. It has become part of my daily life and part of how I think, plan, and make decisions. It is challenging and demanding — but deeply meaningful. INVEST is not only about outputs and deliverables. It is a journey, and that journey has shaped me both professionally and personally.