Successful international BIP at the Faculty of Management and Business

The Erasmus+ Blended intensive programme (BIP) international event Skills for the Future - Developing Human Capital in an Intercultural Context took place from 12 June - 16 June 2023 for 19 international participants. The meeting was organized by the Faculty of Management and Business (FMB) represented by the Vice-Dean for International Relations, Mgr. Eva Benková, PhD. and the Foreign Relations Officer, Mgr. Monika Pastirova.

The main objective of the event was to develop skills necessary for employment in today's ever-changing world with a focus on digital, presentation, communication and intercultural skills. 19 teaching and research staff from Latvia, Cyprus, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic participated in this mobility.
A rich professional and socio-cultural programme was prepared for the BIP participants. On the first day of the event all participants were welcomed by the Dean of FMEO - prof. Ing. Róbert Štefko, PhD. Mrs. Benková, Vice-Dean, also contributed to the introduction of the event with her speech. In her presentation, she introduced the University as well as the Faculty of Management and Business, the network of foreign relations, study opportunities and Erasmus+ mobility, as well as other possible forms of international cooperation. This presentation was followed by a crash course in Slovak language and Šariš dialect, prepared by Mgr. Zuzana Slobodová, PhD. In the afternoon, the organisers prepared a tour of the city of Prešov with a professional English-speaking guide.
On the other days of the program, expert presentations and workshops were prepared by FMEO teaching staff - Assoc. Mgr. Lucia Zbihlejová, PhD., who in an engaging way introduced the BIP participants to techniques of coping with stress and difficult situations; Mgr. Eva Benková, PhD. conducted a workshop on Presentation and Communication Skills; PhDr. Jakub Horváth, PhD. MBA took the participants through the world of digital skills and digital marketing with his interactive workshop; and Assoc. Ing. Viktória Ali-Taha, PhD. presented an interesting lecture and workshop Prejudices and stereotypes in an intercultural context. All presentations and workshops were in English.
The socio-cultural programme included a guided tour of the city of Prešov, a sit-down tasting of typical Slovak traditional cuisine and a trip to the High Tatras to Štrbské pleso and the observation tower - the Tower of Dreams, where the BIP participants could enjoy the view of the beautiful Slovak nature. In their free time, the BIP participants experienced the unrepeatable atmosphere of the Days of the City of Prešov with a sitting or a concert in the city centre.
At the end of the programme, a joint workshop was held where participants presented their faculties and universities, shared their experiences, discussed new thoughts and ideas for possible future cooperation of all participating universities and presented suggestions for improving the organisation of future events.
There was also a virtual element to the BIP programme, where participants met online via the ZOOM platform, which took place after the physical part of the mobility, on 21 June 2023. During this meeting, the results of the feedback questionnaire on the organised programme, prepared by the BIP organisers from FMEO, were presented. Discussion followed on the specific questions of the questionnaire, on suggestions to improve the organisation of the programme, on other possible topics for future events and a photo gallery from all days of the BIP week was presented.
In view of the many positive responses and constructive feedback, we can evaluate the first year of the new Erasmus+ mobility format as very successful. Participants showed active participation and interest in all lectures, workshops and the social part of the programme. This intensive programme proved to be a valuable opportunity for participants to improve their skills, make international contacts and expand their professional knowledge. We hope that we will be able to organise a similarly successful event in the future.