European topics in Ružomberok: Ukrainian-Slovak bridges in education

    3. november 2025
    During their working visit to CU, Storchova and Pochapska discussed deepening cooperation within Erasmus+ and the possibilities for SR–UA 2025 projects. The program also included a journalism seminar entitled "European Topics in Ružomberok," focusing on the media and the current context in Ukraine.

    Kamianets-Podilsky Ivan Ohienko National University (K-PNU) is a public university in the city of Kamianets-Podilsky. It was founded in 1918 and has had its current name since 2008. K-PNU currently educates more than 4,000 students, mainly at the bachelor's level. It is organised into eight academic units – seven faculties and one scientific and educational institute – covering the fields of history, Ukrainian philology and journalism, foreign philology, physics and mathematics, pedagogy, physical education, natural sciences and economics, as well as special pedagogy, psychology, and social work. The university has been active in the Erasmus+ program since the 2015/2016 academic year, initially on the KA107 line and currently mainly on the KA171 line. It maintains 87 bilateral agreements with partners from 14 countries, including 14 inter-institutional agreements directly within Erasmus+ KA171. Strengthening international cooperation also motivated the training at the Department of International Relations and Mobility, as well as the mobility teaching at the Faculty of Arts and Letters, both at the Catholic University in Ružomberok (CU).

    Tetiana Storchova heads the Office for International Cooperation at K-PNU and also works as a teacher at the Department of English Language there. She is responsible for developing partnerships and coordinating mobility and project initiatives. During her working visit to KU, she met with Martin Bereta, Vice-Dean of the KU Faculty of Health Sciences; they discussed opportunities for expanding cooperation, particularly in the field of health care (physiotherapy), and the preparation of joint plans within the framework of the APVV Slovakia-Ukraine 2025 international projects.

    Oksana Pochapska completed a mobility program at the Faculty of Arts and Letters at CU, and in the past, she also carried out a research stay at FF KU as part of the National Scholarship Program (NŠP). Her work focuses mainly on media literacy and digital security. During her stay at CU, she gave a presentation on journalism in a war environment and, together with Tetiana Storchova, participated in a seminar for journalists entitled "European Topics in Ružomberok". At the event, they had the opportunity to discuss the current situation in Ukraine with MEP Miriam Lexmann and journalist Mirek Tóda (Denník N), who has been working as a reporter in Ukraine for a long time.

    Both sides expressed interest in continuing and deepening the exchange of students and staff within Erasmus+ KA171, especially in the fields of philology and journalism, while also developing new thematic links, particularly in the health sciences with a focus on physiotherapy.