From October 14-18, 2024, Europe’s largest university, Sapienza University of Rome, hosted Sapienza Staff Week, bringing together representatives from 30 countries whose universities are partners of Sapienza University. Sapienza, founded in 1303, is also Italy’s oldest university, with a student body of 122,000.
Sapienza’s Department of Internationalisation of Didactics and Mobility outside the EU expertly organized all Staff Week events, creating a flawless environment for participants.
The week provided a rich platform for communication, learning, and networking, also opening doors for new partnerships under the EU Erasmus+ Programme (KA1, KA2, etc.). Ukrainian higher education representatives gave particular emphasis to the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian war, including speakers from Kamianets-Podilskyi Ivan Ohiienko National University, Dragomanov Ukrainian State University, and Oles Honchar Dnipro National University.
Special attention was given to the development of PhD students, with reports by seven speakers highlighting the Joint International Doctorate, an initiative enhancing opportunities for third-level higher education students. Sapienza University currently enrolls 4,088 PhD students, 567 of whom are international, across 96 PhD programmes.
We also had a warm reunion with Tetiana Moiseieva, a Philology student from our university, who is participating in the EU Erasmus+ (ICM) Programme at Sapienza for the winter semester.
A key highlight for Ukrainian representatives was the meeting with Jlenia Destito, Project Manager at the European Commission EACEA in Brussels, who introduced the 2025 Call for Proposals under the Jean Monnet programme of Erasmus+. Ms. Destito commended the exceptional engagement of Ukrainian universities and voiced her support for Ukraine during the ongoing war.
The topics presented by speakers from Sapienza Università di Roma were not only highly relevant but also remarkably profound: PhD courses, Mobility projects, Double Degrees programs, Introduction to the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility, Erasmus Mundus program, Strategies and inclusion policies, Gender equality, Disabilities and specific learning difficulties, and more.
There is still much work ahead for Kamianets-Podilskyi Ivan Ohiienko National University on its path to internationalization.
Tetiana Storchova, Head of the International Relations Department, represented KPNU.
Working together for the victory!
Office for International Cooperation