Ukrainian Team
Follow-up Activity:
Ukrainian team participated in the Erasmus+ project "Digital EnterpreneurShip Through Empathy (DESTEM)" in May 2024 with the support of Ukrainian partner NGO "Development and Initiative". During the intensive training course, we enjoyed mastering new knowledge in digital entrepreneurship, empathy development tools, and skills of interpersonal communication. Besides the competencies covered by the program content, participants got a deeper understanding of national cultures represented by participants of other national teams.
Special interest in further use of training course tools and techniques was derived from nonformal activities and non-traditional approaches for sharing knowledge by amazing trainers represented the Acpelia as an NGO initiating the project.
One of these activities largely impressed the Ukrainian team engaging in analyzing the personal position, perspective and choices in the role of another person. So, the choice of follow-up activities was obvious as the role-play "One step forward" was the brightest and most unforgettable technique for empathy development based on a deeper understanding of the needs, peculiarities and obstacles for decision-making by other people, including stakeholders of potential digital business. After a short team discussion, Ukrainian participants decided to share this valuable experience with Ukrainian youth.
We had one online preparatory meeting, during which we planned the scheme of follow-up activity and divided the tasks. Considering the possibilities of youth involvement which are the highest in the university for the moment of follow-up activity, the role play was implemented in the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering (NUWEE), Rivne. The role cards were adopted for the realities of Ukrainian youth, and all other stages of the procedure were maintained according to the recommendations to organize the activity (https://surl.li/uikcj )
On the 22nd of May, the activity was held in the library hall of the NUWEE. 16 students were involved, the duration of the play was approximately one hour. Participants were positively impressed by the procedure and results. Especially touchable moments related to the reflection, when the participants shared their feeling and emotions and then findings.
The experience was shared using social media of the Department on Human Resources and Entrepreneurship as this department is responsible for the education of the students of the degree program "Economics" invited for the first approbation of the activity:
Економіка. НУВГП | One Step Forward - рольова гра з такою назвою організована для студентів спеціальності «Економіка» в НУВГП за результатами участі… | Instagram
One Step... - Кафедра трудових ресурсів та підприємництва | Facebook
Discussing the results with Ukrainian team, we made a conclusion on a real great value of this activity for empathy development in youth surrounding and necessity to continue usage of this and other valuable tools during the training. Thanks to the project Ukrainian team is now more empowered and can better cope with the challenges linked with digital tools and social inclusion concerning the needs of different population groups. We are looking forward to taking part in the next activity of the project where we will be hosting our friends from this training course.
Links to the posts on social media:
Participants' Impressions from the Project:
Yana: This project was an amazing experience for me. It offered a perfect blend of learning and personal growth. Engaging with participants from different backgrounds broadened my perspective and enhanced my intercultural understanding. The collaborative and inspiring atmosphere helped me develop essential skills and grow as an individual. I returned home with numerous insights that will guide me throughout my personal and professional life.
It was an impressive journey that I believe everyone should experience at least once in their life. I highly recommend seizing such opportunities whenever possible.
Anna: Almost 2 months have passed since the end of this project, and during this time, thanks to it, I finally realized that now I have an uncontrollable desire to attend such events more and more.
It was the first time I was on such an international project and I can confidently say that it exceeded all my expectations. I absolutely loved everything. An interesting training program, new acquaintances, acquisition of new skills, and communication only in English, which made it possible to significantly improve it.
I strongly recommend my friends and work colleagues to join such projects and support public organizations, and I am also sincerely grateful to our project organizers and mentors for their work. I wish them success and prosperity.
Halyna: Participation in DESTEM is one of the brightest memories of some previous years. To my mind, this experience was really fantastic and impressive for participants coming from countries with war conflicts. It was an important time for recovery in a positive environment, full of thoughts about future perspectives, not today's problems. It was really useful to master the new digital tools, participate in discussion on the entrepreneurship features in light of empathy. Being a lecturer and trainer, I enjoyed mastering some tools of active learning. The combination of different kinds of activities was unexpected sometimes but it forced me to make decisions in a funny and creative manner. The learning practices were successfully combined with new acquaintances. I am sure some of the incredibly interesting and purposeful people I have met during the project will be leaders and influencers of a high level in the future. I will try to keep these contacts. I am happy to have this experience.