With support from the Department for the Economy, St Mary’s University College facilitated a unique skills enhancement programme for students in the cities of Kraków and Krosno in south-eastern Poland.

The SEDIM 2017 programme (Skills, Employability and Diversification through International Mobility) brought a dozen students together for an intensive programme of two weeks’ study covering career-focused topics such as public sector employment, the social economy, marketing, corporate life and the challenges of Brexit.

Six professors, company directors and public sector managers from Poland addressed the students and staff of St Mary’s while field trips included a class at the Glass Heritage Centre in Krosno, a city visit to Rzeszów to look at the tourism economy, a debate on Polish NGOs and a reflective visit to Auschwitz. There were also talks by regional town planners, a dean of the university, and a CEO of an IT company.

Co-organised with two of the most prestigious universities in Poland, the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa (PWSZ) in Krosno, the programme concluded with certificates of completion being awarded to the students.