Study Tours to Poland (STP) is a grant program of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, which is implemented by the Leaders of Change Foundation in cooperation with the Borussia Foundation. As part of the Program, study visits to Poland are organized for student youth from Moldova and Ukraine.
Active students from various universities of Ukraine are selected to participate in the program. This study visit to Poland provides an opportunity to get acquainted with the Polish experience in the field of systemic transformation and the “Polish path” to membership in the European Union. Such visits are organized for small groups of students, in cooperation with Polish non-governmental organizations, representatives of local and self-government administrations, as well as central government institutions. Travel, accommodation and meals are fully covered by this program.
The program of the students’ visit consists of meetings with Polish public leaders and representatives of the scientific community, visits to state institutions, meetings with heads of higher education institutions, teachers and students, as well as includes familiarization with forms of public activity of students and presentations of innovations in business and economic activity, studying the work experience of non-governmental organizations and their place in society, dialogue with authorities at various levels and activities for the benefit of the development of local communities; includes visits to media offices, meetings with journalists, studying of Polish culture and history.
This grant program provides an opportunity to combine learning, educational, speech and cultural components.
A student of the Educational and Research Institute of Finance, Economics, Management and Law of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” Mariia Bovkun took part in the grant program and shared her impressions after her stay in the Republic of Poland.
“We were accommodated in a comfortable hotel in the city centre. We had breakfast and dinner in a “łącznik”, and at lunch we visited various cafes and restaurants, where we tasted a variety of Polish dishes and even dined at a Ukrainian restaurant several times.
Every day I had a very busy but extremely engaging schedule. We had many thought-provoking meetings with foundations and public organizations. We met with the administration of the city of Toruń, where we lived, and the administration of the city of Bydgoszcz, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. We were constantly on the move and learning something new. We visited many museums, talked with experts in various fields, and even had a Zoom meeting with a member of the EU Commission from Poland, where we were able to get answers to the most pressing topics and questions for us. Every day we got acquainted with Polish culture, prepared Polish dishes for dinner and, in order to fully immerse ourselves in the local culture, we spent evenings with Polish families.
Not only had the program played a big role, but also the company. I will never forget the warm atmosphere of our evenings, when all participants gathered for dinner in the kitchen and together discussed their insights and impressions of the day. We always shared our experience and opened new horizons together, since it was the most active students of Ukraine who got into the program and we were always “on the same page”.
I am extremely glad that I was able to take part in this study visit. These 10 days flew by very quickly, but the events would have been enough for several months. I found new friends, learned a little Polish and travelled quite a lot. I also learned a lot about Poland, its politics, administrative system and how people in Poland change their lives and the country for the better with their social consciousness and initiative. This experience will help me in the future and will allow us to make our country more progressive and even better. Therefore, I highly recommend this program to everyone, as such programs give many opportunities and change your worldview,” – comments a participant of the program, a student of the Educational and Research Institute of Finance, Economics, Management and Law Mariia Bovkun.
Study Tours to Poland (STP) for students is one of the first cyclical Polish educational programs created specifically for student youth from Eastern Europe.
Students apply for participation in this Program individually, within the competition. Educational visits take place twice a year – in autumn and spring. As part of the program, more than 200 people visit Poland every year.
The purpose of STP for students is to study various aspects of life in Poland, the mechanisms of systemic changes and modernization, as well as the experience of being present in European structures. A very important emphasis of the program is familiarity with the non-governmental sector and various forms of civic activity.
The following can participate in STP:
- citizens of Moldova and Ukraine;
- aged 18-22 years;
- studying in higher education institutions of Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic;
- who have a valid foreign passport;
- who have not yet participated in the STP Program for students;
You can apply for fall programs HERE
Applications from candidates are accepted until July 10, 2023 inclusive (until 23:59 Polish time).
Each of the candidates will receive information about the results of the competition individually by August 11, 2023, to the e-mail specified in the application.
Visits are held in October-November 2023 (specific dates of participation will be provided to accepted participants individually).
The duration of the visit is 10 days.
Poltava Polytechnic encourages students of all courses and majors to apply for participation in the program in the fall. For help with the documents preparation, you can contact the university International Department (room 320 F) or the Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation Anna Kostiantynivna Pavelieva (room 311 C) or by phone +3-8-(095)-91-08-192.
Previously, a philology student became a participant in a youth exchange dedicated to inclusion in Romania, Polytechnic students took part in a youth exchange dedicated to discrimination and gender inequality, studied the preservation of natural resources and economic growth of young people with the help of a healthy lifestyle, a translation student became a participant in a youth project against discrimination, xenophobia and bullying, Polytechnic students took part in the Erasmus+ project dedicated to the development of environmental awareness among Europeans and held a charity auction, philology students mastered practical skills in the field of ecology and environmental protection, considered the problem of alcohol addiction and methods of combating it, raised the level of awareness of cultural diversity, studied the problem of displaced persons/migrants and internally displaced persons.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
