The Agriculture University of Tirana hosted an important academic event on March 10–11, 2026, as part of its internationalization efforts, in collaboration with the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” (DiMeV UNIBA). The event took place at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and served as the final session of the seminar cycle concluding the “Advanced Skills Course in Animal Health and Food Safety.”
This advanced course focused on strengthening professional and academic capacities in key areas such as emerging infectious animal diseases, zoonoses, marine pollution, hygiene and safety of foods of animal origin, antimicrobial resistance, as well as circular economy approaches in the agri-food sector. Through this collaboration, students and academic staff of UBT had the opportunity to benefit from international expertise and exchange knowledge on current challenges in public and veterinary health.
The seminar was part of the international project TNE HEALTH CONNECT (“Health Education and Advanced Learning Through Collaboration, Opportunities, Networking, and Educational Connections in the Balkans and Asian Countries”), funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research.
This project aims to promote academic and research collaboration among European institutions, placing a strong focus on Animal Health and Food Safety. After nearly one year since the project’s launch and an intensive period of academic mobility among partner universities, the activity in Tirana served as an important platform for direct exchange.
The program included teaching sessions, scientific coordination meetings, and discussions on innovative teaching methodologies, further strengthening interinstitutional collaboration.
AUT is developing joint academic activities with the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” in Italy. In this framework, Prof. Dr. Fatmira Shehu and Dr. Kujtim Mersini previously carried out a cooperation and teaching visit to the Department of Veterinary Medicine at UNIBA, where they were engaged in seminars for doctoral students in the fields of food safety and public health. During this period, doctoral student Elisa Bisha completed a two-month mobility at the Molecular Biology laboratory, while fifth-year student Livia Bega carried out her professional internship.
