International activity of university in 2012 was directed to provide opportunities to the university lecturers and students to participate in international scientific and educational practice, and to university - to take its rightful place among the Ukrainian higher education institutions, to be known in the world, and consequently - to increase the number of students.
The organization of international activity was carried out by the Institute of International Cooperation (established in 2008), the Polish Cultural and Educational Center, which has been existed since 2007 under the scientific supervision of Igor Kryvosheya and guidance of Kateryna Kuzan; the Israeli Cultural Centre headed by Nataliya Tsymbal; International Polish-Ukrainian laboratory of didactics named after J.A. Komenskyi supervised by Inna Osadchenko and Foreign Students' Department who possessed specific work with foreign students and led by Yuliya Klymenko. Thanks to the concerted efforts of these substructures we can follow a positive trend in 2012 international activity.
Two cooperation agreements with Baku Business University (Foreign Students' Department) and Limoges University (France) (Foreign Languages Department) were signed in 2012.
USPU is the co-coordinator of "EMINENCE" project financed by the European Commission within "Erasmus Mundus" program. 25 students and university employees have filled documents to participate in the 10-month mobility programs at the undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate levels or 1-month program for scientific and pedagogical staff. Selection Committee meeting will be held in March in Uman.
In 2012-13 academic year training of foreign students has been started in USPU. Thus, 10 students from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nigeria, Swaziland, Algeria, China, Azerbaijan, and Israel are now studying at full-time and correspondence departments.
128 lecturers, graduate students, masters and students participated in 84 international conferences abroad; this participation becomes no longer distant. 18 students participated in scientific conferences in Belarus and Poland.
Lecturers, graduate students and students presented a number of their publications in the papers collections and other international issues. The most active representatives were from Economics Department, Foreign Languages Department and Social and Psychological Education Department. According to the changing requirements to publishing of the scientific work results this work is sure to develop.
14 international events were carried out in USPU. It was a wonderful opportunity for scientific communication, common work planning, holding working meetings.
They were often accompanied by cultural and artistic events, such as the performance of theatre "Lyezhak", an exhibition devoted to Ernest Yablonsky's life and work etc.
Lecturers of Arts and Pedagogics Department took an active part in plain-air of twin cities representatives.
The fourth youth exchange was art directed and each stage ended with theatrical performance. It proved that children and young people can learn the language and understand each other faster and better than adults.
Participants of "Work and Travel" program realized the same idea. They were able to work and travel in the United States during the summer holidays. This activity often becomes their first life experience abroad.
The participants of the summer school in Poland have an opportunity to study other nations and learn themselves for their honorable mission is to present the Ukrainian culture in a multinational environment.
18 students and lecturers of the Foreign Languages Department participated in International Program SAMEDI and it helped them to increase the level of French and discover the unique world of France.
MIHUS (Interdisciplinary individual humanitarian studies) College was established at the Polish Cultural and Educational Center four years ago and the first students graduated. Knowing several foreign languages and a wide field of interdisciplinary knowledge contributed to the mobile young people's success.
4 students of MIHUS (V. Cherevchenko, I. Losinets, I. Chernavska (Foreign Languages Departmet), N. Korzhenetska (Department of Ukrainian Philology) were enrolled to Yan Amos Komensky State Higher School of Vocational Education from October to December.
Common with higher managerial school of Legnitsa program gives the opportunity to get two master's degree diplomas. Students master the principles of personnel and enterprises management.
The University representatives gave lectures to students of partner institutions, and had monthly professional internship.
On March 28, 2012 the lecturer of Polish language Veslava Sversch prepared the Polish Day in USPU attended by the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine Henrik Litvin.
Students have the opportunity to communicate with native speaker - the Peace Corps volunteer Paul Madruga which contributes to quality English learning.
Appropriate language preparation opens a wide range of possibilities for the intellectual elite, so the university students are assisted in preparating, planning and taking international exams in English such as TOEFL and IELTS and French DELF.
The lecturer of Foreign Languages Theory Chair Inna S. Lauhina had a language training course "Methodology of Teaching French as a Foreign Language" organized by Lorraine University of Metz (France).
So, the dynamics of cooperation with foreign countries, increased involvement of the University staff and students to participate in international programs can be seen. The departments' units showed the best dynamic in increasing the number of missions abroad and expanding their geography, in particular, to participate in international conferences, research programs and funds, increasing the number of lecturers and students' publications in international journals. As a result of progress systematic work the realization of principles of students' and lecturers' mobility in accordance with the Bologna process objectives can be seen.
