During October 3-7, 2022, the Jean Monnet International Summer School on the topic “EU Grants for Personal and Professional Growth” was held for students. The number of participants exceeded the planned 40 students of Sumy State University by 5 times due to the large number of interested participants from all over Ukraine (177 registered participants!!!). The topic of EU grants, which can help a young person not only in professional, but also in personal improvement, turned out to be extremely relevant in the conditions of war.
On October 3-7, was successfully completed a 5-day training event within the framework of Jean Monnet’s module “EU Experiences for Enhancing Youth Employability through Professional Skills Development”, financed by the Erasmus+ program (ERASMUS – JMO -2021-MODULE -SKILLS4JOB-101047867). The international summer school on the topic “EU grants for personal and business growth” was held in an online format, which made it possible to attract a much wider audience than was planned offline (40 students of Sumy State University), as well as to attract a foreign expert – Ms. Kaya Pierce-Grove, who is regional manager for early talent development in finance, procurement and supply – EMEALA, Johnson Controls (Germany). Another involved expert was the first deputy head of the Sumy Regional State Administration – Taras Savchenko.
The aim of the school was to improve the practical skills of future university graduates to obtain additional employment opportunities in the EU market or in companies operating according to EU standards and value systems. The authors of the school shared their expertise translated to the needs and capabilities of students in four interrelated blocks of topics:
- EU grants available during the 2021-2027 program period to expand the scope of professional opportunities.
- Assessment of professional skills and their presentation for job application in accordance with EU standards.
- Intercultural competence for business communications in international companies: experience of EU countries.
- Reporting on public and grant projects: EU experience.
Speakers were: associate professors of the Department of Accounting and Taxation Y. Serpeninova and N. Vynnychenko, and associate professors of the Department of International Economic Relations T. Shcherbina and O. Zamora. The material of the summer school was supplemented by additional training offered to the participants on the online course of the project, which contains extended materials on the specified topics, as well as different tasks. The online course is posted on the online platform of Sumy State University, which is in public open access, “Examinerium”. According to the results, the participants received certificates of attendance.
Next year, another summer school is planned for students of Sumy on the topic “Employment in EU companies and organizations”. Stay tuned, we’ll be glad to see you!