UCC Staff Attend University of Lodz International Staff Week

14 Jun 2023

Kathy Bradley, Head of the Skills Centre, Sally Orren (Language Centre) and Deirdre Parker (Career Services) attended an International Staff Week in May 2023, organised by the International Relations Office of the University of Lodz, Poland.

The programme was entitled: “New scenarios of internationalization – recognising needs, facing challenges, designing solutions”. The University of Lodz is a member of the European University of Post-Industrial Cities (UNIC) of which UCC is also a member. UNIC consists of ten universities in 10 countries throughout Europe, representing 10 post-industrial cities and the number of university partners is set to expand this year. The staff week in Lodz was a wonderful opportunity to build connections and relationships between the two universities.

University staff from a wide range of countries including Ukraine, Hungary, Spain, Turkey, Montenegro, the Dominican Republic were informed of the impressive range of courses, projects and initiatives launch successfully by the Skills Centre in UCC since its establishment in recent years. They also were provided with an overview of Career Services offered by UCC, particularly pre-entry and orientation initiatives for international students. The programme included an excellent, awareness-raising, evidence-based, day-long workshop on understanding the needs of Generation Z in the context of teaching and professional services in higher education by Joanna Frączek-Broda, PhD.

Intergenerational differences became evident within the group of attendees through some highly interactive and engaging team activities! Liliana Lato, Head of the International Relations Office in the University of Lodz, and her colleagues, provided an excellent overview of their journey towards their participation in UNIC. Some excellent examples of student leadership initiatives and online student engagement were provided later in the week by her communications colleagues, both central and faculty-based.

A session on Internationalisation in the digital age – Erasmus Without Paper and Beyond -  showcased the progress made by Lodz in adapting their Erasmus processes and systems to the digital age. Maciej Turała in the Faculty of Management provided a thought-provoking session on realising the potential of students through teaching, and the potential of staff from a university management perspective. The last day included a sessions entitled “into the unknown: short mobilities and blended, intensive programmes”, an area in which there is a lot of potential for collaboration with UNIC partners. 

New connections were formed over the week, and a firm foundation for lasting relationships across the UNIC institutions in particular. The development and strengthening of these new relationships will continue. Marta Jeżykowska of the International Relations Office in the University of Lodz will visit UCC in July. Gülfer Gözefrom, Director of the Director of the Academic Writing Program and Writing Center at Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey, will visit the UCC Skills Centre on an Erasmus mobility visit in June. And there will be an online meeting of Careers Professionals of the UNIC partner institutions in mid June to explore future opportunities for professional networking, training and the sharing of best practice across the career services staff of UNIC partner organisations.