Participation of Students and Faculty of the Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Education in an Open Event within the Framework of the “INTERREG NEXT Poland–Ukraine 2021–2027” Program

On May 14, 2025, an open event was held at the Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Education of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University as part of the “Interreg NEXT Poland–Ukraine 2021–2027” Program. The meeting was made possible through the initiative of the Head of the Department, Professor Dariia Popovych, and representatives of the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg NEXT Poland–Ukraine 2021–2027 Program — Vasyl Khimiak, Head of the Secretariat, and Olena Zubrytska, Senior Program Expert.

The event saw active participation from undergraduate and graduate students of the educational and professional program “Physical Therapy” within specialties 227 “Therapy and Rehabilitation” and 227 “Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy.” Professor Dariia Popovych opened the meeting with welcoming remarks and presented the key issues on the agenda.

Faculty members who took an active part in the event included:

Asst. Prof. Kateryna Myndziv

Assoc. Prof. Valentyna Boiko

Assoc. Prof. Anastasiia Bai

Assoc. Prof. Viktor Nazaruk

Asst. Prof. Uliana Hevko

Asst. Prof. Olena Vaida

Asst. Prof. Andrii Havrylenko

The aim of the event was to raise awareness among students about the “Interreg NEXT Poland–Ukraine 2021–2027” Program, to introduce the specifics of cross-border project implementation, and to develop basic project preparation skills. The following key topics were covered:

Opportunities within the “Interreg NEXT Poland–Ukraine” Program (Small Projects Fund under the “Cooperation” priority)

“Understanding Grants Wisely” – overview of grant mechanisms, donor organizations, their philosophies, and opportunities they offer

Development Projects – successful examples, logical framework approach and its main tools (stakeholder analysis, problem tree and goal tree, logical framework matrix);
Practical task: building a problem tree

The event was held in an interactive format including discussions, case studies, and hands-on tasks related to preparing a grant project proposal. Participants worked on analyzing these proposals in the context of the department’s and the university’s scientific activities. They also learned about the potential to implement cross-border projects in collaboration with the university administration, faculty, and the Student Scientific Society of TNMU, in partnership with higher education institutions in Poland and with the involvement of the Joint Secretariat of the “Interreg NEXT Poland–Ukraine 2021–2027” Program.

This event made a significant contribution to increasing awareness among faculty and students about writing grant projects within the framework of international scientific cooperation supported by the “Interreg NEXT Poland–Ukraine 2021–2027” Program.