As part of credit mobility, a group of eight guests from Barleti University in Tirana, Albania, spent last week at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of the University of South Bohemia (USB). They visited the Department of Physical Education and Sports, as well as the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Education. At the rectorate of the USB, the Albanian colleagues were received by the rector, Professor Bohumil Jiroušek, and vice-rector for foreign relations, Assoc. Prof. Radka Závodská. Two Albanian teachers, Assoc. Prof. Dr Erika Melonashi and Lejda Abazi, PhD., came to České Budějovice to teach and present their paper at a conference on autism organised by the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences on Monday, October 10. Four administrative staff members completed training focusing on internationalisation and the Erasmus+ programme. The group also included Artan Shytaj, vice-rector for academic affairs of Barleti University, and head of the sports department Artan Pogony.
Head of the Institute of Social and Special-paedagogical Sciences FHSS USB Assoc. Prof. Jitka Vacková sees Albania as a country that is full of stimuli for fields related to social work. "Albania is historically close to the Czech Republic,” she said. “Both belong to Eastern Europe, which has several common features, yet very diverse experiences. Albania has been experiencing migration for a long time, which is a beneficial topic for us regarding the current situation. They have different methods of financing social work to here, which can inspire us." The vice-dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tourism and Sports of Barleti University, Erika Melonashi, described the focus of the Health and Social Faculty (which connects the health and social fields) as a perfect combination. She is a psychologist and examines health from three perspectives - social, medical, and psychological. She deals with the effect that personality types have on health, including the course of covid-19.
The collaboration between the two schools began in 2017 in the USA at Clemson University in South Carolina while preparing collaborative teaching for students of the doctoral study programme. "Developing social work in the new Albanian society shows historical and developmental similarities of origin, which are also evident in the Czech Republic. That's what makes this cooperation more important," said Assoc. Prof. Vacková. The interruption of the field's historical development by the communist regime means that there is an enormous need for the methodological anchoring of the field as a scientific discipline, including the development of social work methods and techniques that graduates can use in practice.
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