PUA cooperates with South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (Germany) many years. A lot of interesting educational and scientific projects have been realized jointly. Some of these projects supposed training or internship of students or teachers in the partner university. In 2015/16 academic year a new mobility program – the one for PhD students – has been launched.

Within this program Elena Mykolenko, teacher of the chair of enterprise economics, had an internship in the German university in autumn, and Alina Ilchenko, PUA’s PhD student and graduate, expert of Kharkiv Chamber of Commerce took part in the program in summer.

Alina shared her impressions about the visit:

«I had a great opportunity to visit Meschede city, Germany. Thanks to the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (EVZ) and financed by the German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs,Meetup project for cooperation between German and Ukrainian students. Meetup was founded in 2014, as social Entrepreneurship and Intercultural studies in People’s Ukrainian Academy (PUA), Kharkiv (Ukraine) and South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (FH SWF), Meschede (Germany).

Especially thanks to prof., D. Ewald Mittelstadt for his taking care of me, and everything I need during standing in Germany and his assistant Mark, for everyday guiding me, help, perfect excursion in Meschede, Hagen and other very nice places in Germany, and Anna, and other students – Belyal and Helena.

The mission of this project is developing intercultural concepts for entrepreneurial activity fostering social, cultural, and environmental developments in Europe by students’ participation in two-weeks block seminar aiming. Main project activities include discussions on the above mentioned topics, developing a business idea to a business model in a multicultural group and presenting it to the audience.

The project units 12 Ukrainian students and 12 German students. First visit will be by German colleagues on first week of October, and Ukrainians will go to Germany last week of November.

The contents are social entrepreneurship: changing the world, how to generate the ideas, determining project objectives, optimizing the strategy, making a project plan, unique selling proposition, presenting the project, feedback, intercultural studies, foundations of intercultural communication, from difficult dialogues to crisis conversations, making diversity and inclusion work.

I had the good practice of Meetup project promotion in front of students from International management. Also I told them about our country, beautiful country and our big city Kharkiv and our good university – People’s Ukrainian Academy.

I took part in the FH SWFbachelors’ final presentations of individual projects in front of “Trilux” top-management.This German company is specialized on light producing and take the third place of world light producers. Students’ have shown good preparation, high skill and qualified as target specialist in this area.

I have the possibilities to visit another University offices, for example, the Innovation laboratory where you can make some searching work.

Also we were visiting the Annual SüdwestfalenEntrepreneur Forum in Osthaus Museum (Hagen, Germany). There were about 150 visitors-businessman. The topics were about different types of company products, it was very interesting to hear about football products with small lottery.

Thanks to my University – People’s Ukrainian Academy for this good opportunity to visit Germany, to know innovation things in the education and researching field and thanks to all people which help me – Elena Mykolenko, Oksana Basmanova, Marina Stepanova».