From April 28 to May 2, 2025, a delegation from Sumy State University visited JAMK University of Applied Sciences (Jyväskylä, Finland), which is a partner of SumDU in the international grant project Pedagogy in the State of Emergency. The initiative is funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education under the Team Finland Knowledge programme.
The aim of the project is to develop and implement an online training module for university teachers working in the context of war, crisis, or emergencies. The project focuses on creating flexible and resilient learning environments, taking into account the impact of stress and trauma on the learning process, and applying student-centred, inclusive, and distance teaching methods.
The module is being co-designed by experts from JAMK and SumDU. Students are also actively involved in the development through short-term mobilities to JAMK, providing feedback from the perspective of higher education service users. One of these mobilities took place alongside the project meeting — currently, five students from the Department of International Economic Relations of the BiEM Faculty are in Finland.
During the meeting, participants discussed the content, structure, and practical components of the future course; held a focus group with students on their experience of studying during wartime; and conducted expert discussions on inclusion, emotional support, neurodiversity, trauma-informed pedagogy, and digital learning formats.
The Department of International Economic Relations was represented at the meeting by:
- Oksana Zamora – Associate Professor of International Economic Relations,
- Mariia Malizhenovska – undergraduate student in Tourism,
- Sofiia Petrenko – PhD student in International Economic Relations.
The course is expected to include six practical modules, each with assignments focused on adapting teaching to crisis contexts. During the summer and autumn, the course content will be further developed, tested, and supplemented by surveys of SumDU teachers and students. The final product will be a certified training programme to be implemented through the SumDU Center for Qualification Development.
The next in-person partner meeting is scheduled for December 2025.
