The first series of training webinars within the Erasmus+ BURN project, coordinated by Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University (Ternopil), with the Kirovograd State Pedagogical University as the dissemination partner, has concluded. The webinars, which took place from April 22 to May 27, 2024, were part of the training cycle "Course Development Principles in the EU" under the BURN project – "Strengthening the Psychological Resilience and Well-being of Universities in (Post-)War Ukraine" (No. 101129379-BURN-ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE), funded by the EU through the Erasmus+ KA2 CBHE competition.
The university team, including K. Bondar (Project Manager), V. Hamaniuk, O. Ostroushko (Administrative Managers), O. Shestopalova, O. Charkina, Z. Miroshnik, O. Bilozir, O. Kohut (Responsible Executives), and I. Mintiy (Technical Staff), participated in a series of webinars focusing on the design and construction of courses at three levels: bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D., following EU standards.
During each webinar, participants shared their experiences in creating curricula, syllabi, course structures, work and assessment methods, as well as university-level course evaluation mechanisms.
The training began with an overview of Estonia's experience in developing academic programs. Anu Leuska from the University of Tartu shared advice on creating an elective course for students in educational fields, titled "Introduction to Crisis Intervention". Experts from the University of Tartu also conducted the second webinar on the topic: "Supporting Online Learning Using the Moodle Platform".
Latvian university partners presented a webinar on "Latvian Experience in Curriculum Development", held on April 29, 2024. Dr. Anda Upmane, Associate Professor and Director of the Bachelor's Program in Psychology, demonstrated the methodology for logically distributing the assessment of knowledge and skills within the course. Dr. Laura Pirsko discussed the content of master's practices conducted at the University of Latvia's psychological service and the criteria for supervisory assessment during her webinar.
Representatives of the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin conducted two webinars. On May 7, 2024, Dr. Phil Langer and Dr. Lars Kühnke discussed the German experience in developing academic programs, the psychological education system, emphasizing its openness and autonomy in course content and the distribution of competencies. On May 14, 2024, Wibke Stelling, Head of Accreditation and Documentation, and Kristin Möllers, responsible for evaluation, measures, and mentoring programs, shared their experience in a webinar titled "Course Evaluation Strategies at the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin".
The final webinar, "Experience Exchange: Course Development Principles in the European Union", was led by the Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation, Project Coordinator, Professor Iryna Zadorozhna. She shared her insights into the development of curricula, defining course objectives and competencies, and building teamwork, which the Ternopil National Pedagogical University team had gained during the previous Erasmus+ MultiED project.
The knowledge and skills acquired during this series of webinars will be used by the faculty at Kirovograd State Pedagogical University in the development of new academic courses as part of the BURN project. The project aims to mitigate the effects of war on the mental health of students and staff at Ukrainian universities, raise awareness about trauma, develop skills in providing psychological assistance, and strengthen psychological resilience at Ukrainian higher education institutions.
More information about the project https://burn.kdpu.edu.ua/.