Universities functioning in the EU should constantly widen their offer and improve the quality of offered educational services to ensure best possible future of students on the labour market. An important group that universities in EU countries are educating are persons from third countries, among them many students from The Eastern Partnership countries. Students from these countries very often choose Polish universities, a large part of them are studying or want to study in Lublin, mainly because of the location of Lublin at eastern EU border. There is a need to match educational offer of universities to needs of students from these countries. For this reason the aim of the project is to increase the attractiveness of Lublin`s academic offer for foreign students (in particular from EP countries) through the implementation of innovative and pro-quality changes at universities in Lublin in partnership of local government and universities. Therefore, each of Lublin`s universities participating in the project will develop a new study programme or a specialisation in an already existing study programme concerning a subject matter responding to the needs of foreign students from EP countries and aimed at those students. There is also a need to develop comprehensive solutions to improve the study offer in Lublin, in particular for students from abroad, that`s why in the project these solutions will be worked out on the basis of research on students from EP countries studying in Lublin and in their countries of origin and based on the experience of foreign partners. The activities planned in the project are as follows: - Reasearch on foreign students studying in Lublin concerning the quality of received educational offer, needs of it`s changes, complementary offer and quality of life in the city - survey supplemented by in-depth interviews - Research on motivation of potencial foreign students - survey conducted with use of an electronic tool - Desk reasearch on existing solutions and best practises concerning the offer for foreign students - Working out comprehensive solutions improving study offer in Lublin for students from EP countries as a joint publication based on analisis of research reports, study visits and recommendations of foreign experts - Working out new study programmes for students from EP countries (I, II, III level or postgraduate studies) or a specialisation aimed at students from these countries - work of experts finished with applying for opening of new study programme/specialisation to a respective Facualty Council - Creating an internet website of the project promoting the project, consortium of partners, project`s results, in particular new study programmes and specialisations (in Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and English). The website will be designed mostly for students from EP countries - Preparing joint promotional materials of the City of Lublin and Lublin`s universities engaged in the project for students from EP countries containing information about possibilities of studying (in Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and English). - Conference summarizing the project and promoting its results - Study visits with workshops in Nancy, Vilnius and Lublin in order to improve the knowledge concerning creation of the educational offer in partnership of local government and universities, in particular offer attractive for foreign students (staff of all project partners will take part in the visits, in total 18 persons) Activities are aimed at following target groups: universities, university teachers, foreign students (in particular from EP countries) studying in Lublin and youth from EP countries interested in starting to study in Lublin. Planned results of the project: 3 new educational programmes or specialisations, joint publication containig comprehensive solutions improving the study offer in Lublin for students from EP countries, research reports, internet website and informational materials. The project will constantly influence the target groups. As a result the number of students from EP countries on Lublin`s universities will grow. Educational and non-educational offer for foreign students in Lublin will improve. The universities will closer cooperate with local government. More students in the city/region/country as well as the improvement of their education will positively influence the economic development of the region/country. New solutions and new educational programmes/specialisations worked out in Lublin could be used in other cities of EU and beyond EU. The cooperation between universities of different EU countries will increase. More students and citizens from EP countries in EU will improve common relations of EU and EP countries, which will contribute to a bigger stabilisation and safety in the world. Project will be implemented together by partners from three EU countries: Poland, Lithuania and France.
"European Eastern University" project was implemented since September 1, 2014 till October 31, 2016 by the City of Lublin in partnership with 5 universities: 3 from Lublin and 2 foreign ones - from Lithuania and Slovakia. They are: Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin University of Technology, Mykolas Romeris University from Vilnius and the Catholic University in Ruzomberok. The project objectives were as follows: - To promote Lublin as an academic city, - To improve and strengthen the cooperation of the City of Lublin with Lublin universities and foreign partners in order to obtain best practices for creating educational and non-educational offer of Lublin for students from the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, - To support policies of Lublin universities in acquisition of foreign students and in education on study programmes tailored to the needs of potential employers in Lublin and EaP countries through transfer of good practices from other academic centres in EU and by adapting study programmes to the needs of labour markets of Lublin and EaP countries, - To provide students with favourable conditions for education by diversifying the city's offer addressed to students (including foreign students from EaP countries). The project began with 3 researches: - Research on foreign students studying in Lublin concerning the quality of received educational offer, needs of its changes, complementary offer and quality of life in the city - survey supplemented by in-depth interviews, - Research on motivation of potential foreign students – survey conducted with use of an electronic tool among young persons for EaP countries, - Desk research on existing solutions and best practises concerning the offer for foreign students. Action providing international learning and exchange of experiences were 3 study visits with workshops held in Lublin, Vilnius and Ruzomberok and used to acquire good practices of partners and to obtain recommendations to improve educational and non-educational offer. Each visit ended with a report summarizing the course of the visit and gathering good practices presented during it. Each of Lublin universities created a new study programme tailored to the needs of students from EaP countries. They are: postgraduate studies in the field of Central and Eastern Europe development offered by KUL, postgraduate studies “The citizen and the enterprise in the internal market of the EU” offered by UMCS and a specialization "Sustainable building" within the "Environmental engineering" offered by the Lublin University of Technology. Within the project a joint publication was created containing comprehensive solutions to improve study offer in Lublin for students from EaP countries. It is a summary and a set of knowledge gained through research and study visits. Also joint information materials "Study in Lublin!" of the City of Lublin and universities involved in project were developed. Their aim is to encourage young people from EaP countries to study in Lublin, especially on study programmes developed within the project. The materials were developed in 4 languages: Polish, English, Ukrainian and Russian. Throughout the duration of the project the website at www.euw.lublin.eu was carried out. The project ended with a conference summing it up and promoting its results, which gathered approx. 250 participants mainly from Poland, EaP countries (mainly Ukraine and Belarus) and representatives of project partners from Slovakia and Lithuania. Products developed during the project are: report from research on foreign students studying in Lublin, report from research on motivation of potential foreign students, report from desk research on existing solutions and best practices, 3 reports of study visits, joint publication containing comprehensive solutions to improve the study offer in Lublin for students from EaP countries, 3 new study programmes, project website and common information materials of the City of Lublin and Lublin universities involved in the project. Among the results of the project, it is worth mentioning the increase of knowledge of involved university staff on creating educational offer for students from EaP countries, on their needs for higher education and non-educational issues as well as increase of knowledge of academics and local government employees on creation of partnerships of local government and universities for creating offer for foreign students. In long term, the project will contribute to increase of the number of students from EaP countries studying in Lublin, increase of their knowledge and improvement of their chances on labour markets in EU and EaP countries thanks to new study programmes and to the overall improved match of educational and non-educational offer to needs of foreign students. The project has also positively affected the cooperation between the City of Lublin and universities - all partners expressed their will and need to continue cooperation.