Ludmila Coada, Associate Professor, Free International University of Moldova (Moldova)

 

 

1. Your personal data (teaching/training staff: name, surname/ position/ department/ home university)

 

I am an Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, Political Science and History / Free International University of Moldova (ULIM). I teach courses on World and Regional Politics and History (Comparative Politics of the Post-Soviet States; EU Foreign Policy; European Union Enlargement and Neighbourhood, among others). My areas of interest and expertise include post-Soviet history and politics, Moldova and post-Soviet states' foreign policy, and European Union foreign and security policy.

 

2. Which activity did you participate in (staff mobility for teaching, staff mobility for training)?

 

I carried oud a Staff Mobility for Teaching.

 

3. Why did you decide to apply in the Erasmus+ programme?

 

I have always had aspirations to be a good university professor, to do my best in order to inspire students and to communicate critical thinking skills to them. After years of teaching, I could say that my success in the field of education was possible due to the skills I have, such as creativity, positive attitude, skill of maintaining the students’ interest, and good leadership. Furthermore, I continue developing my teaching skills, strategies, and methods for achieving effectiveness and improving quality of education in both my university and Moldovan university system. Erasmus Plus Mobility for Teaching seemed to help me in reaching those goals and John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin appeared to be a great environment for sharing my teaching experiences, testing my training skills, and also conducting postdoctoral research.

 

4. Your personal experience/what did you like about your mobility/what did you gain thanks to it?

 

Participating in teaching mobility, I’ve had a feeling of contributing, through both sharing my teaching experience and learning from European/Polish practices, to improvements in the quality of higher education; strengthening academic cooperation among faculty members and researchers; and creating links between the disciplines and curricula of both home and host universities. 

At KUL I’ve had the opportunity to:

• share my experiences on teaching strategies and methods, testing teaching methods in an international classroom environment;
• compare and contrast my own experiences and findings with experiences and reflections of others;
• get feedback on the teaching content and improve it;
• get to understand host university’s system;
• make new friends and colleagues at host university and discuss with them possible common activities and future cooperation;
• develop my knowledge and understanding of culture and society of the host university’s country - Poland.

I think that my participation in the Erasmus Plus Staff Mobility for Teaching has had a positive impacts on both home and host universities’ content and quality of education, and my own professional and personal development.

 

5. Why would you recommend it to others?

 

Erasmus + programme is an excellent chance to both young people/students and university staff to:

• grow and advance - thinks that appear to be very important for professional career;
• catch up practices from European education systems;
• establish closer relations with the host institution and its people and work together in the areas of common interests.

 

I express my gratitude to all KUL representatives who supported my own, but also ULIM’s students mobility during the 2016 spring semester. Special thanks to Tomasz Kostecki (Head of International Relations Office); Tomasz Stępniewski (Faculty of Social Sciences/ Institute of Political Science and International Affairs); Katarzyna Stępień (International Relations Office) who made our stay at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin a great experience.

 

 

 

Doc. Dr. Vitalii Lebediuk, National University of Ostroh Academy (Ukraine)

 

1.Your personal data (teaching/training staff: name, surname/ position/ department/ home university)

 

Vitalii Lebediuk, doc., dr., associate professor at the Department of Political Science, Dean, Faculty of Political Studies and Information Management, National University of Ostroh Academy (Ostroh, Ukraine). Head of the NGO School of political analysis POLIS. He is interested in the European studies, political parties and party systems, election systems and voting behavior, quantitative research methods. 

 

2.Which activity did you participate in (staff mobility for teaching, staff mobility for training)?

 

Staff mobility for teaching.

 

3.Why did you decide to apply in the Erasmus+ programme?

 

I decided to apply in the Erasmus+ programme in Poland due to several reasons.

Firstly, my primary goal in participating in the Erasmus+ programme is to establish professional and personal contact for the long term cooperation between the Faculty of Political Studies and Information Management of Ostroh Academy and The Faculty of Social Sciences of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. Our Faculties have joint of department: Political Science, Psychology, and Social Communication. I believe such cooperation will contribute Ukraine’s reintegration science into Europe.

Secondly, I am particularly interested in joining such science studies network because most of our faculty, including myself, are doing research and teaching courses on transition studies. Currently, I am working on the monograph on Party System Institutionalization in Post-communist Countries. I am particularly interested in meeting with local faculty who are doing research on related or the same field.

Thirdly, as a participant of the Erasmus+ programme I have the opportunity to enrich my courses by developing teaching materials, introducing new books, etc. I consider the program very innovative and dynamic. This experience would be eminently useful to my personal professional growth and, even more important, to my colleagues and students with whom I could share my academic background while teaching and working at the department of Political Science in my home university.

 

4.Your personal experience/what did you like about your mobility/what did you gain thanks to it?

 

I had an opportunity to meet and communicate with interesting people and made professional acquaintances. Moreover, I hold in high regard the opportunity to converse and answer questions coming from Polish students on current issues of political science in Ukraine. Finally, the communication has been rather extended and the studying of foreign language has been improved. It was an interesting experience therefore the educational aim has been achieved. I am especially grateful for providing me with the opportunity to work at library of the Institute of Central and Eastern Europe at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. I would also like to thank all people who helped to made my visit to Lublin a productive and enjoyable event.   

5. Why would you recommend it to others?

I consider the lecturing in the framework of Erasmus+ programme offers opportunities for personal growth and promotes cultural integration. Meeting new people provide a fertile ground for making professional and personal acquaintances, opportunities for joint projects. Experiences gained will be added value for the universities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof. Oksana Kushlyk, Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University (Ukraine)

 

1.Your personal data (teaching/training staff: name, surname/ position/ department/ home university)

 

Oksana Kushlyk, dr hab., prof. Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University

 

2. Which activity did you participate in (staff mobility for teaching, staff mobility for training)?

Staff mobility for teaching

 

3. Why did you decide to apply in the Erasmus+ programme?

The studying of the experience of educational process in European universities, approbation of lectures with connected subjects is the important stage of international cooperation, which results are actual both for the university sending a scientist and the university receiving him/her.

The suggested course of lectures in derivatology of the modern Ukrainian language aimed to paying the attention to the main concepts of word-forming, describing the common features of the traditional aspect of studying word-forming process, focused on the word-forming formant, revealing the peculiarities and tasks of new aspect in the investigation of word-forming phenomena, focused on the forming base. Students of philological universities who study the Ukrainian language first of all, as well as those who conduct comparative investigations of linguistic problems in the Ukrainian and Polish languages, need such knowledge.

 

4. Your personal experience/what did you like about your mobility/what did you gain thanks to it?

Firstly, the educational aim has been achieved. In particular, doing the practical tasks after the course of lectures in derivatology results in:

1) the students’ ability to understand the theoretical basis of derivatological problems;

2) their competence in using terminology;

3) their gaining of practical skills of word-forming analysis;

4) the ability to form new words according to the patterns;

5) the ability to determine the word-forming type of derivatives (main and combined).

It proves the actuality of this course of lectures and encourages to enlarge the amount of lectures in the curriculum – as a major educational subject or as an optional course.

Besides, the circle of contacts and communication has been rather extended, and the studying of foreign language has been improved.

 

5. Why would you recommend it to others?

The studying of actual aspects of different linguistic problems, representing this material to a new audience, especially European university, and being assisted by the Erasmus+ programme, give the opportunity to confirm yourself as a theoretician and practical worker, as well as scientist.