On 24th April 2019, a special gala took place in the Opole Concert Hall, during which the competition ‘Partnership without borders – the Opole region 15 years in the European Union’ was settled. The competition had been organized by the Board of the Opole Voivodeship. Awards and honourable mentions were granted to local government authorities, cultural institutions, representatives of the academic world and NGOs for their activity and the most interesting foreign initiatives. 

There were also awarded Opole European Stars and the University of Opole received the award for being one of the most active higher education institutions in the Opole Voivodeship in the field of cooperation with foreign partners. The award was handed over by Andrzej Buła, Marshal of Opole Voivodeship to Halina Palmer-Piestrak, Deputy Head of Foreign Relations at the University of Opole, who represented the UO.