Last week, Division for International Cooperation welcomed colleagues from partner universities at 7th Erasmus+ International Staff Week. This week-long event, with a theme of "New priorities and challenges in the Erasmus+ program", was attended by 27 representatives, mainly from the ranks of Erasmus+ programme coordinators or other employees of international offices. This varied group was represented by colleagues from both European and non-European countries such as Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Spain, Latvia, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, France, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Ukraine, but also South Africa, Zambia, Cape Verde, Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan, Bhutan, Israel or distant canada
The pillars of thie Staff Week were five workshops focused (not only) on new topics within the Erasmus+ programme. The first of the series of lectures was focused on mental health, which gave participants advice and tips on how to deal with the stress that comes with working (not only) in an international environment. Sustainability at Palacký University in Olomouc, sustainable development or Green Erasmus were the subjects of the Sustainable University lecture. The participants thus had the opportunity to look under the hood of the sustainable development strategy at UP and in return share their experiences with this topic. One of the key activities of the entire Staff Week was a lecture on the topic of Students with specific needs, which was presented by a colleague from the Support Center for Students with Special Needs. The participants had the opportunity not only to learn about the services that the center offers to both Czech and international students, but also to listen to the experiences of two Czech students who, despite their health handicap, decided to travel abroad for a study stay with the support of the center. The lecture part of the programme was then concluded with workshops on Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility and New Priorities in the Erasmus+ Programme, which allowed the participants to learn how we deal with new priorities at UP and what is behind the successes of our university in the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme.
Just as important as the mentioned workshops are the activities that provide our colleagues withthe opportunity to get to know not only Palacký University in Olomouc, but also Olomouc, the Czech Republic, its culture and heritage. Therefore, the presentations about Palacký University in Olomouc, the Czech Republic, Czech language lessons or a guided tour of the city and university dormitories and canteens could not be omitted from the programme. The participants could then apply their knowledge and team spirit during the Scavengerhunt game and deepen their newly acquired friendships during a trip to nearby Kroměříž.
We would like to thank everyone who made the 7th Erasmus+ International Staff Week possible and we firmly believe that this week was as inspiring for all participants as it was for us. Thanks to this marvellous experience, we were once again able to see how amazing our international partners are.
See how the 7th Erasmus+ International Staff Week looked like in our photo gallery.