The guiding idea of the project, held from May 2022 to April 2023 by the International Cooperation Centre of TUL, was to accommodate the needs of the growing number of international students and staff studying and working at TUL. They are often confronted with difficulties, e.g. when dealing with Polish public administration agencies, and require support due to the language barrier. And as you may be aware, receiving internationals is a lengthy process: from establishing contact, to maintaining relations, arranging accommodation, travel, scheduling classes, employment arrangements, etc. The establishment of the Welcome Point was therefore essential in terms of the quality of services provided to foreign visitors upon their arrival at TUL. The Point will streamline access to information and make it easier for foreign students, doctoral candidates, and researchers to get along in the TUL academic environment. In the long perspective, the project will have a positive effect on the perception of TUl by internationals as a good place to study and work, and thus improve the university's internationalization.
Raising competencies of the ICC staff in attending to foreigners was another goal of the project. Information materials were developed to provide adequate assistance to foreigners, and training courses were held on how to handle foreigners in a professional manner. Rooms in the building of the International Cooperation Centre, which houses the Welcome Point, were also upgraded and fitted out.
Following the analysis of the ICC staff preferences, a series of training sessions was held:
- "Diplomatic protocol with elements of savoir vivre"
- "Professional secretariat and business correspondence"
- "Principles of employing foreigners and legalizing their stay in Poland"
- "Guiding foreign guests around the TUL campus and the surrounding area"
- "Intercultural communication with particular emphasis on the cultures of non-European countries"
- "Emotional intelligence and methods of working with emotions for adults using EQdo® emotion cards"
- "GETTING THINGS DONE® LEVEL 1: FUNDAMENTALS"
- "GETTING THINGS DONE® LEVEL 2: PROJECTS & PRIORITIE\
The conference wrapping up the project held at the International Cooperation Centre of TUL featured distinguished speakers: Jakub Ujejski - GTD® Master Trainer and Iga Kosecka, Operations Manager from GTD Poland, Maciej Kronenberg, CEO, chairman of the Board, Center for Development Initiatives REGIO (Centrum Inicjatyw na Rozwoju REGIO), and Aga Rogala, pedagogue therapist, EQdo® trainer, a well-known influencecounselor educator. Also in attendance were ICC employees and invited guests.
Among the topics addressed during the panel discussion were the competencies required of the staff handling international visitors, staff and students. Also discussed were the training courses provided by the companies represented by the speakers. The guest speakers presented training materials, i.e. the EQdo® emotion cards, which are a remarkable tool for working with emotions and challenges we face in our private lives, as well as, and perhaps more importantly, at work. The principles associated with task management in accordance with the American GTD® method developed by David Allen was presented.
An important point was also made about the great value of the cultural heritage of Lodz - a distinctive city of 100 factories, without a typical market square, but with a beautiful Art Nouveau style Piotrkowska Street. A city that we are proud to show off to our foreign guests. We are fortunate, as many interesting sights are located on the campus of the Lodz University of Technology, frequently traversed by TUL Welcome Point Lodz employees and international visitors.
The conference ended with the conclusion that the competencies that had been acquired by the staff participating in the training were not soft competencies but key competencies, whose value is hard to quantify, and all this thanks to the support of the National Agency for Academic Exchange NAWA.
Contact details of the office of the project: International Cooperation Centre of TUL, Żwirki 36, 90-539 Łódź, Building A16, mgr Paulina Danieluk, phone: 426383857; email: welcomepoint@info.p.lodz.pl
The program was implemented by the National Agency for Academic Exchange and co-financed by the European Social Funds within the Knowledge Education Development Operational Program, a non-competition project entitled "Increasing the competences of academic staff and the institution's potential in accepting people from abroad - Welcome to Poland" (Action: 3.3 Internationalization of Polish higher education), specified in the application for project funding no. POWR.03.03.00-00-PN14 / 18.