As part of the systematic implementation of the higher education internationalisation strategy and the consistent development of “internationalisation at home” programs, National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” continues to expand cooperation with leading higher education institutions across Europe and worldwide.
On October 5, 2026, an extended online coordination meeting of lecturers and facilitators of the international virtual academic mobility project Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) “Intercultural Negotiations” took place. The Polytechnic’s long-standing partner, the Dutch Avans University of Applied Sciences (Den Bosch), organised the initiative. The working session brought together scholars from seven leading universities worldwide. It served as a key preparatory stage before the official launch of a large-scale educational module tailored for students of the Educational and Research Institute of Finance, Economics, Management, and Law.
Poltava Polytechnic was represented at the inaugural meeting by the coordinators and facilitators of the educational module: Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Finance, Banking, and Taxation, Yuliia Khudolii and International Relations Coordinator of the University, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation, Anna Pavelieva.
The working discussion was moderated by International Business lecturers and coordinators of the partner elective module in International Business from Avans University of Applied Sciences, Annette Ammeraal and Juliana Brugman Guerrero.
The organisers emphasised that the project's mission is to promote internationalisation, enhance higher education students’ intercultural business communication skills, and engage diverse cultural and professional perspectives to prepare today’s youth for the challenges of the global economic environment.
The COIL project “Intercultural Negotiations” is distinguished by its broad intercontinental partnership geography. Alongside Poltava Polytechnic and Avans University of Applied Sciences, the project includes BSP Business and Law School Berlin and TH Köln (Cologne University of Applied Sciences) from Germany, ITESO – The Jesuit University of Guadalajara from Mexico, the Faculty of Economics in Osijek of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek from Croatia, and Miranda House College of the University of Delhi from India.
During the working session, the lecturers agreed in detail on academic regulations, shared methodology, peer assessment criteria, and teamwork logistics, while accounting for different time zones. The participants were divided into two time shifts, with the Poltava Polytechnic student team assigned to the evening session alongside youth from the Netherlands, Germany, and Mexico. The primary learning objective lies in an in-depth comparative study of theoretical concepts and practical business negotiation experience. Working in small, mixed international micro-groups of three, each participant will represent their own country. Students will analyse academic literature, verbal and non-verbal communication, and national business etiquette. They will also conduct authentic, in-depth online interviews with practising entrepreneurs with proven track records in cross-border operations.
The final deliverable of this trilateral team collaboration will be a joint three-minute analytical video synthesising acquired knowledge, comparing negotiation cultures, and offering practical recommendations in the form of business conduct guidelines. The Padlet platform will serve as the project's primary digital educational hub, hosting all study guides, instructions, and upload spaces. At the same time, synchronous plenary meetings will take place via Microsoft Teams. After the videos are submitted, students and an international board of lecturers will conduct a cross-peer assessment using Microsoft Forms.
The agreed implementation schedule entails finalising national teams and submitting participant rosters by November 1. As early as November 12, a kick-off online conference will take place, during which students will meet their international peers in separate virtual breakout rooms and receive guidance regarding task execution. The active research phase within international micro-groups will run from November 12 to November 24 and will require approximately ten to twelve hours of flexible work. The module will conclude with a submission deadline on November 24, followed by a peer-review day, and a celebratory final online conference on November 26, where the best video projects will be showcased, and the outcomes of the collaborative work will be summarised.
Anna Pavelieva, Coordinator of International Activities at the University, noted that the COIL model gives modern students unique access to the global academic and professional community without leaving home. Candidate of Economic Sciences and Associate Professor of the Department of Finance, Banking, and Taxation, Yuliia Khudolii highlighted that this module serves as authentic diplomatic and business practice, where future specialists learn to find common ground with representatives of diverse cultures, cultivate leadership qualities, and substantially enhance their proficiency in professional English. Anna Pavelieva and Yuliia Khudolii also expressed their profound gratitude to the President of the University, Volodymyr Onyshchenko, and Rector Olena Filonych for their continuous support of international initiatives, creating progressive conditions for the academic growth of faculty, and comprehensively facilitating the introduction of innovative educational formats, allowing the Polytechnic to integrate into the global scientific and educational space confidently.
The “Intercultural Negotiations” project marks the second collaborative international online initiative implemented by National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” in partnership with the leading Dutch institution, Avans University of Applied Sciences. In May 2023, Polytechnic faculty and students successfully carried out their first large-scale online educational project focused on developing international business startups and youth entrepreneurship.
Furthermore, the university's students regularly earn competitive opportunities for semester-long and year-long on-campus study directly at Avans campuses. In particular, during the 2023/2024 academic year, Management student Yelyzaveta Kalashnyk completed the European Project Semester programme, while Environmental Studies student Anna Bulavenko completed a full one-year course of study at Avans under the Erasmus+ programme and presented a series of significant practical research projects.
Currently, open competitive selection is underway among active and motivated students of the Educational and Research Institute of Finance, Economics, Management, and Law of Poltava Polytechnic who have an English proficiency level of at least B1. All program graduates will receive official international certificates that will serve as a valuable addition to their professional portfolios. For registration and organisational details, higher education students may contact the University’s International Relations Department by visiting Room 213-C or emailing interoffice@nupp.edu.ua.
It is worth noting that Poltava Polytechnic faculty members have opportunities to participate in academic mobility programs and internships, while students can study abroad through Erasmus+ credit mobility grant programs for a semester or a full academic year at leading universities in Austria, Greenland, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, and the Czech Republic.
