From 23 to 26 March 2026, Khmelnytskyi National University successfully expanded the boundaries of academic partnership by becoming part of the educational online COIL project “Breaking Borders: International Business, Trade & Wellbeing Across Cultures.” This initiative brought together 176 students and a team of lecturers from Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to jointly explore the impact of international trade, global economic processes and cultural differences on the development of the modern world and societal well-being.
Our university was достойно represented by students from five faculties: International Relations and Law; Technology and Design; Management, Administration and Tourism; Economics and Management; and the Faculty of Humanities and Pedagogy. Over the course of four days, they actively worked in 27 international teams of 6–7 participants, each functioning independently with a clear distribution of roles within the team and supported by coach-mentors.
The project programme was designed according to the principle of an “intensive learning rhythm,” combining theory and practice. Each morning began with parallel interactive lectures delivered by international experts, after which students moved on to workshops, discussions and other team-based activities.
This approach enabled participants to organise their work effectively on the main task — the creation of a short documentary film. In their video projects, teams explored real-life case studies, comparing cultural perspectives on economics, trade and well-being. Students conducted independent interviews, collected and edited video materials, and demonstrated how global efficiency sometimes conflicts with local interests.
In addition to teamwork, each participant developed an individual “International Passport” — a digital reflection diary focused on their professional development and intercultural discoveries.
The final day of the project was held as an online conference, during which the documentary films were presented. Participants exchanged opinions, discussed their experience and received feedback from lecturer-coaches.
Associate Professor of the Department of Management and Administration, Olena Savchenko, and Associate Professor of the Department of HR Engineering in Business Economics, Yevheniia Shelest, joined the project as invited expert lecturers from Khmelnytskyi National University. The project coordinator from the university was Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Language Education and Intercultural Communication, Olena Martyniuk.
Participation in the project is one of the stages in implementing the university’s internationalisation strategy. Students not only improved their professional English language skills but also learned to work in culturally diverse environments, a critically important competence for a modern specialist. The “Breaking Borders” project demonstrated that physical borders are not an obstacle to genuine cooperation and knowledge exchange.
The project participants sincerely express their gratitude to Vice-Rector for Research and Academic Affairs, Kateryna Skyba, and to the International Relations Office of our university for the initiative and the opportunity to gain a unique intercultural experience.
We are confident that the cooperation established during the project will serve as a solid foundation for future joint international initiatives.