Participation in this program offers invaluable professional experience, allowing lecturers to step beyond the traditional classroom format and become active contributors to real social and spatial transformations. By working under resource-constrained conditions, participants will be able to test innovative methods of sustainable development and the integration of architectural solutions into the specific context of border territories – a highly relevant vector in modern European architectural education. Beyond acquiring new professional competencies, this academic mobility fosters international research collaborations and the exchange of expertise with European colleagues, significantly expanding professional networks and enhancing teaching quality.
Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences is a leading Latvian higher education institution recognised for its practice-integrated approach and innovative methods of addressing regional challenges. The university actively develops the fields of architecture and urbanism, creating an environment for research that is closely integrated with the needs of local communities. Cooperation with this institution opens new horizons for Poltava Polytechnic faculty to exchange expertise, explore advanced European standards, and implement joint research and practical projects.
General information about the program
Program name: Erasmus+ BIP “Commons Under Constraint. Adaptive Reuse and Community Co-production in Borderland Territories”.
Organiser: Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia).
Target audience: architecture, urban planning and engineering staff.
Format: design-build workshop.
Program ID: 2024-1-LV01-KA131-HED-000206527-2.
Number of grants: 2.
Grant amount: 965 EUR.
Payment procedure: 75% of the amount is paid upon arrival; 25% is paid after receiving the Transcript of Records and submitting the reporting documentation.
Deadline for document submission: April 24, 2026.
English language testing: April 27, 2026, 10:00, room У-03А.
Virtual component: May 5–9, 2026 (MS Teams).
Physical program in Latvia: May 11–15, 2026 (arrival May 10, departure May 16).
The mobility will take place in the city of Indra, located on the eastern border of Latvia (the edge of the European Union). The Latgale region is known for its multi-layered identity, cultural influences, and rich wooden architecture. Currently, the territory is facing depopulation, the presence of abandoned buildings, and new geopolitical realities (increased state presence and defence systems).
The goal of the mobility program is to explore how architecture can be useful under limitations and, through small interventions, to “revitalise” the space and support local life.
Working process
Method: site analysis, development of ideas, and practical construction from available materials.
Materials: use of secondary resources: elements collected from abandoned premises (wooden parts, frames, tools, etc.).
Approach: teamwork, cooperation with residents, and use of low-impact construction methods.
Event program (main stages)
May 10: arrival in Kraslava.
May 11: introduction to the territory, meetings with residents, definition of team tasks, first sketches.
May 12: space and material analysis, discussion with the community, preparation of workstations, start of material processing.
May 13–14: intensive construction phase, adaptation of projects according to the situation on site.
May 15: final work, preparation for the official opening.
May 16: morning hike, shared meal with the community, presentation of results, discussion of conclusions, departure to Riga (approximately at 16:00).
Practical information
Transport: participants are recommended to arrive in Riga, from where a direct connection to Kraslava is organised, and then to Indra.
Accommodation: Local Cultural Centre (Indra Local Cultural Centre). Sleeping places are organised in the sports hall on mattresses and folding beds. There are showers, sanitary facilities, and a fully equipped kitchen.
Meals: lunch and dinner are prepared together with a local farm. Breakfast is individual (there is full access to the kitchen).
Important: participants must have their own sleeping bags.
Team (curators)
Marta Ventere and Marija Katrīna Dambe (NOMAD architects) – specialists in adaptive reuse, spatial design, and architecture in resource-limited conditions.
List of Required Documents
- Motivation Letter in .docx format (in English);
- CV (Curriculum Vitae) in .docx format (in English);
- Scan copy of your international passport (first spread, in PDF format);
- Passport-sized photo in .jpg format;
- Official memo (service note) from the Head of the Department and the Director of the Educational and Research Institute.
The complete set of documents must be submitted simultaneously in both electronic and printed forms to the International Relations Office (room 213-C).
Email for submission: interoffice@nupp.edu.ua
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” actively develops international cooperation with Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia), which has already laid the groundwork for several successful academic mobilities. Specifically, within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA171 program, Poltava Polytechnic associate professors Lyudmyla Svystun and Yuliia Khudolii participated in the E3UDRES2 science festival, researchers Olha Harkava and Lyudmyla Shevchenko presented their scientific work on frame structural systems of buildings and the landscape and spatial organisation of the city of Poltava at the event “ViA's Research Evening 2024”. In addition, university lecturers and students participated in the “WOOD TECHNOLOGY HACKATHON”, where, together with international teams, they developed innovative projects, gaining valuable experience and new contacts. In the autumn semester of the 2025/2026 academic year, students Tetiana Holub and Maryna Kostenko participated in the Erasmus+ credit mobility program at this HEI. Such fruitful interaction contributes to strengthening institutional partnerships, exchanging advanced experience in higher education, and integrating Poltava Polytechnic into the European scientific and educational space.
Poltava Polytechnic lecturers can participate in academic mobility programs and internships. Students can study abroad under Erasmus+ credit academic mobility grant programs for a semester or the entire 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.
For more detailed information on current internship, teaching, and academic mobility programs abroad, please contact the International Relations Office (room 213-C, interoffice@nupp.edu.ua).
