As part of the memorandum of cooperation between the Poltava Polytechnic and the Ilisimatusarfik University of Greenland, a teacher of the Educational and Research Institute of Finance, Economics, Management and Law Volodymyr Byba as well as students Valeriia Shuliak and Valentyna Luhova became the first Ukrainians to participate in the academic mobility program in Greenland.
From April 1, 2023 to August 30, 2023, the Polytechnic scientist together with professor Javier Arno from the University of Greenland teaches a course in business economics and conducts systematic scientific research, and female students master a wide range of professional disciplines, studying under the Erasmus+ academic mobility program.
The participants of the international exchange shared their first impressions and talked about studies and research activities at the local university. According to the students, at first the opportunity to visit distant Greenland, which they only knew about from movies and books read, seemed very unreal. However, they already perceive the given chance as a new cool experience, a time to "boost" the necessary professional skills and an opportunity to get acquainted with the local multinational flavor.
"Without exaggeration, I can call this Erasmus+ academic mobility program the most exciting experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives, – commented Valentyna Luhova, a participant of the Erasmus+ academic mobility program, – we would never have thought that we would have the chance to visit the faraway beautiful Greenland, which we read about in books and watched programs on TV. We are infinitely grateful to our alma mater for such an opportunity! Not only do we have the opportunity to study thoroughly the two specialized academic disciplines of economics and political science with experienced teachers and groupmates from different countries of the world, but we also acquire new knowledge and skills, actively catching up on our foreign language proficiency skills. I personally feel that during my 1.5-month stay in Greenland, I improved my knowledge of the English language and significantly expanded my vocabulary using economic terms.
Classes are held in an interactive format – teachers and students discuss each topic together, conduct research, and look for answers to questions. The approach to studying at the local university is student-centered and individualized. For example, we are asked to conduct all research on the example of the economy of Ukraine and the economy of Greenland, so in this way, together with us, other participants of the Erasmus+ academic mobility program from the countries of the European Union will learn more about the economy of our country and the negative impact on the financial and economic system of the whole country caused by the devastating war. I would like to note that the class, during which we together calculated inflation in Ukraine during the war, left the greatest impression on everyone – the figures obtained shocked both the teacher and all the students."
"We are loved and supported here in every way, in particular, the head of the Department of Internationalization and Communications at the University of Greenland Per Arnfjord takes care of our documents, studies and leisure activities. For instance, they organized fishing in the fjords, a tour of the local market and the city of Nuuk, hiking in the outskirts of the capital, we were introduced to local cuisine – we tried whale fat, dolphin meat and many types of fish that we had previously only read about in textbooks. In addition, there is a free gym and swimming pool.
The nature of Greenland is dazzingly beautiful, we walk a lot and talk with local residents – they are all very friendly and support us and Ukraine in these difficult times! We are extremely grateful to the Greenlanders for such a warm welcome, and especially to Per Arnfjord, who takes care of us like family!" – adds student Valeriia Shuliak.
According to the participants of the academic mobility program, the first half of May was very busy with various cultural events. The girls presented national cuisine and talked a lot about Ukrainian traditions during the cultural evenings planned by the partners.
"On May 3, 2023, a cultural evening was held – all international student guests prepared their national dishes and arranged a tasting. Among the participants were students from Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, and we were the only ones from Ukraine, – continues Valentyna Luhova. – We, Ukrainians, woke up at four o'clock in the morning to cook borshch, halushky (dumplings), pampushky and oladky (pancakes). We were very worried about whether everything was delicious, because we don't cook so often at home, but all the guests of the event liked the authentic Ukrainian dishes, many of them came for the goodies several times! Everything was very tasty, the emotions were unreal! Our Ukrainian dishes were highly praised."
On May 12, representatives of Poltava Polytechnic presented Ukraine at the University of Greenland in Nuuk. Pleasantly surprising was the huge number of spectators, the full hall, and the sincere interest of other participants of the academic mobility program, who were really fond to learn about life during the war in Ukraine.
According to the students, the war in Ukraine remains one of the most painful topics, so they saw their main task as providing people with truthful information about the events currently taking place in Ukraine. After all, it is important to explain why Ukrainians need the support of the whole world.
During an hour of an informative and emotionally rich performance, the audience immersed themselves in the realities of our life in Ukraine, imbued with the feeling of suffering and pain. The emotions of distress and even tears were visible on the faces, some listeners cried a lot.
"We ended the speech with the sacred phrase: "Everything will be Ukraine!". The audience was so impressed by our presentation that they approached us at the end of the performance with words of support. They greeted us with the words: "Glory to Ukraine!", and we answered with pride: "Glory to the Heroes!" – the students do not hide their own emotions.
"On May 14, 2023, all international guest students had a great opportunity to ride a pony around the city of Nuuk," – says Valeriia Shuliak. – There were a lot of positive emotions that we got thanks to the horse riding. We admired the beautiful scenery of the spring Arctic for a long time. We are grateful for such a great opportunity from the University of Greenland – Ilisimatusarfik (Grønlands Universitet)! In addition to studying, many cultural events are organized for us here, so there is no time to be bored!".
It should be noted that National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic" became the first institution of higher education in Ukraine to sign a memorandum of cooperation and a bilateral agreement on Erasmus+ academic mobility with the University of Greenland – Ilisimatusarfik (Grønlands Universitet) in February, 2023
lisimatusarfik or Grønlands Universitet is the only university in Greenland, located in the capital of Greenland, the city of Nuuk. Most courses are taught in Danish, and some in Greenlandic.
The University of Greenland was founded in 1987 with the aim of establishing a local institution of higher education in Greenland. Initially, it was located in the premises of the Moravian missionary station, and in 2009 it was transferred to the specially designated research complex Ilimmarfik. The budget of the university is 14.8 million Danish kroner.
The participants of the academic mobility program from the Poltava Polytechnic will have the opportunity to continue to study actively, exchange experience, meaningfully spend their leisure time, get acquainted with the cultural background of the country and improve their foreign language skills.
It should be recalled that female Polytechnic students are studying the activities of European business brands as part of the academic exchange program at a Romanian university, and two more female Polytechnic students are studying under the Erasmus+ academic exchange program at the Bialystok University of Technology.
Previously, the Polytechnic scientist participated in trainings on the internationalization of higher education on the basis of a leading German university, the scientist and the Polytechnic student completed an internship for teaching Polish with an emotional regulation component.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
