Like at home! – the foreigners friendly University
Thousands of kilometres from home, in a new environment, in a foreign country, in an unknown culture - we often do not realize that people from abroad studying at our University have to face a real challenge. It is with them in mind, as well as with administration employees serving people from abroad, that a series of films is being created as part of the "Welcome to Poland" project, which is carried out at the Promotion and Communication Centre. The first episode premieres today.
The main goal of the project, implemented from May 2022 to April this year, and concerning the internationalization of the university, is to improve the qualifications of the staff and make them aware of the existence of intercultural differences affecting communication problems, and thus developing attitudes of openness and tolerance for diversity among the entire academic community. Knowledge, empathy and understanding are conducive to creating a foreigner-friendly place - and this is what the Silesian University of Technology wants to be. This is evidenced, among others, by the University Development Strategy for 2021-2026, in which the increase in the internationalization of science and education was defined as one of the main strategic goals of the University.
The axis of the project implemented as part of the "Welcome to Poland" program of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange entitled “Like home! Campaign raising the qualifications of the administrative staff serving students and scientists from abroad” is a series of five fictionalized films presenting various situations from the life of a family whose members are associated with the University. The script abounds in funny, real-life situations, sometimes presenting the university reality in a twisted mirror and with a grain of salt, and sometimes allowing us to look at the usual patterns of action from a distance.
- We hope that the reception of the films will be positive, even though there is no shortage of exaggerated situations. We really wanted to reflect in the spirit: what are we laughing at? We are laughing at ourselves! We assumed that even the most difficult topics and problems can be shown with distance, kindness and ... a margin allowing for making mistakes from which conclusions should be drawn - says the project manager, Iwona Flanczewska-Rogalska, deputy director of the Promotion and Communication Centre.
The executive producer of the films is AG Studio, a well-known production house from Upper Silesia. The producers have many successes in the production of music videos by leading performers of the Polish music scene, and in 2019 and 2020, together with the Silesian University of Technology, they won the first two places in the "Video online" category in the nationwide Genius Universitatis marketing competition organized by the "Perspektywy" Educational Foundation.
In addition to the fictionalized series, the project also provided for English language training with elements of intercultural communication for administrative staff. The beneficiaries were the employees of the Academic Student Housing, who come into contact with foreign students on a daily basis and have to find themselves in various, sometimes difficult situations. The topics of the classes were developed based on the results of over a hundred surveys conducted as part of the project with students and PhD students from abroad, which identified the main communication barriers. The trainings were very popular, there were many more applicants than places available in the project. Therefore, the project activities also provide for the publication of a specific code of good practice, which will help both parties in everyday situations: students and employees from abroad and the university's administrative staff. All this to make every member of the academic community of the Silesian University of Technology feel like at home at the university.
Project “Like at home! Campaign raising the qualifications of the administrative staff serving students and scientists from abroad" is financed by the European Union under the "Welcome to Poland" program of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange.
