The University of Jyväskylä is known for its progressive approach to education in Finland. That is why our colleague Veronika Babyrádová decided to explore how things work at the university. She was hosted by Josephine Moate, a specialist in dialogic teaching and methodological approaches, and working with her proved to be very beneficial during the study stay. The opportunity to observe classes and participate in seminars was particularly inspiring in terms of how instruction is organized and structured, and it sparked reflection on her own approach to teaching at MUNI. Thanks to Josephine, Veronika had the chance to meet many experts in her field, vocational education, and thus view her topic from a variety of enriching perspectives. The study stay was also important in terms of methodological progress and exploring new potential methodological approaches in qualitative research, to which Josephine made a very positive contribution. Our colleague is returning from Jyväskylä not only with new knowledge, but also with new professional connections with experts in the field.

The study stay at the University of Jyväskylä involved more than just learning and observing. Our colleague Veronika also gave several presentations on relevant topics. The first of these was an overview of the Czech education system, presented in a course for undergraduate students. She described the educational environment in the Czech Republic, from preschool through university. On another occasion, she presented to PhD students participating in the EDUCA Flagship project, introducing them to the PhD program at Masaryk University as well as her own doctoral research, which focuses on shaping students’ professional identity in vocational secondary education. And since the main theme of the entire meeting was internationalization, she also spoke about opportunities for PhD students to study abroad at our BOLD program. The entire meeting was very inspiring and sparked an interesting discussion about the differences and opportunities for internationalization across various countries within the context of doctoral studies.