Polytech held a virtual picnic as a part of the Erasmus+ project

This week, the international office of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University held the Erasmus+ Virtual Picnic, which brought together members from 13 European universities. The event was held online with the support of the national agencies Erasmus+ and the European Commission. Erasmus+ is the new program combining all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sports.

The participants discussed changes in the academic mobility amidst the pandemic, new challenges and tasks, as well as summarized the results of the past season and shared the results. Representatives of 13 universities from Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Turkey and other countries took part in the discussion.

Representatives of SPbPU international educational programs spoke about the development of academic mobility after the second wave of coronavirus. The coordinator of the international office of the Republican University of Sivas spoke about the peculiarities of the culture shock that many foreign students experience when they find themselves in an unfamiliar cultural environment.

In addition to thematic reports, the meeting participants discussed new challenges and opportunities for the development of the Erasmus+ program for the period from 2021 to 2030, made proposals for adapting and optimizing the program, shared their views on the advantages and disadvantages of virtual academic mobility, and other issues. At the end of the meeting, SPbPU international office employees held an online quiz for the participants about the cultural characteristics of St. Petersburg.