"Snoezelen is now regarded as an innovative method whose aim it is to encourage a person with disability or disadvantage to the activity based on sensory stimulation thanks to a unique environment created. Snoezelen uses and combines numerous therapeutic, educational and relaxation activities which enhance the quality of life and purposefully promote human development. The concept was already created in the 1970s in the Netherlands and its spreading is evident throughout the world. Snoezelen is expertly suspiced by the International Snoezelen Association (ISNA-MSE).The proposed project Support of Snoezelen and its Integration into University Education is focused on the development and expansion of Snoezelen in university level. Specifically, the project relates to the inclusion of the Snoezelen course in the education of students of special education, pedagogical psychology, and social, therapeutic and rehabilitative fields. The main objective of the project is to prepare comprehensive instruction methodology, instruction material and syllabus of the course ""Snoezelen"" at an international tertiary-educational level so that the course is applicable in international student mobility. For the goals of social policy and inclusion of people with special needs, developing the fields of helping professions is currently essential. Strategic partnerships of the proposed project will bring about, apart from outputs related to the creation of innovative instruction of a course, further comparative discussion, experience and possibilities of scientific research activities of the participants. The created course Snoezelen will expand the possibilities of inbound and outbound students and scholars from and to abroad, promoting the internationalization of lesser regional universities. Sharing large amounts of information about Snoezelen is a driving force for further development of the fields which implement it. The individual output items of the project which are related to its objectives include:•publishing a professional monograph and individual scientific papers on the issue of the Snoezelen and its teaching;•creating video-recordings and a set of supplementary case studies for instructions•designing the ""Snoezelen” course for student mobilities.The target group are university professors/teachers and students. The outputs of the project activities will most affect future students of the subjects who will have a newly conceived course in the fields of helping professions, and scholars/university teachers who can increase professional competence and through cooperation with foreign partners broaden the adequate outputs, such as articles and professional publications, influencing further the theory of Snoezelen.The three cooperating universities who constitute the proposed partnership include a team from the Czech Republic from the Faculty of Public Policies, Silesian University in Opava, a team from the Republic of Poland from the Faculty of Rehabilitation, University of Physical Education in Krakow (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Bronislawa Czecha w Krakowie) and a team from the Kingdom of Spain from the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Social Affairs, University of Lleida (Facultat d’Educació, Psicologia i Treball Social de la Universitat de Lleida). The international partnership undoubtedly brings specific value to the proposed project, as the unification of contents of instruction the course at the university level will help create a methodically structured instruction model focused on Snoezelen, which is currently missing completely. Consequently, it is possible to further develop the subject and strengthen, clarify its content and make it more transparent throughout the European area.The anticipated positive outcome is the elaboration of methodological materials, professional publications, and providing comparative outputs, which will of course be available to all students and scholars of the partner coalition. As part of the project, we expect the newly created partnership to also bring about innovative increase in competences of the participating university teachers, connected to both their professional profile in science, and their approach to the students. As part of the project, comparative outputs associated with the process of instruction in the field of Snoezelen are expected to be based on feedback and intensive use of the results for further development."

"Therapeutic services increasingly gain in importance. This can be attributed, among other things, to the progressive ageing of the population in Europe. But also the latest scientific knowledge shows the high effectiveness of non-drug procedures, which as therapeutic approaches offer real alternatives to conventional pharmacological treatments. With the continuously growing demand for therapeutic services, the need for qualified therapists is also constantly increasing. Thus, it should be the goal to convince young people to start a training to become occupational therapists.In addition to a high quality of theoretical training, the practical imparting of professional competences and the possibility of finding professional employment opportunities in all countries of the European Union play an important role in the attractiveness of the profession.Under the title ""EUPRAC - Europractice for Occupational Therapists"", a European project partnership therefore concentrated primarily on the part of the practical training of occupational therapists, for which there are still no uniform regulations in the country comparison, but which is a decisive component of the training.In the period from 01. October 2018 to 31. March 2021, educational institutions from four European countries cooperated:•IBKM gemeinnützige Schulträger GmbH as the project executing organization (DE),•„Angel Kanchev“ University of Ruse (BG), •Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego we Wroclawiu (PL),•ICM Fachhochschule Krems GmbH as well as•IBKM Praxismanagement GmbH as an important practice partner.The target groups of the project included:•trainees (apprentices) and students (in the project: DE, BG, AT, PL) with an interest in occupational therapists as well as interest in Europe-wide professional employment opportunities and perspectives,•trainers, VET teachers in occupational therapy, who broaden their professional expertise by providing practical teaching skills as well as intercultural communication, including language skills and mobility,•educational institutions focusing on practical training for occupational therapists in Europe, who benefit from Europe-wide comparability of educational content and qualifications,•providers of occupational therapeutic services in Europe with a need for theoretically and practically competent staff.In the first step, an EUPRAC comparative study was developed, which focused on the training programmes, the framework conditions of the training and the recognition practices of the regional and national authorities, as well as on the financing of therapeutic services and the position of occupational therapists in the social security system in the participating countries.Based on this study, a common training basis for the practical training of occupational therapists was developed in a second step. The qualification framework of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) also formed important bases for the creation of the EUPRAC curriculum.Components of the curriculum are:•Competence-based learning objectives and contents for the practical training of occupational therapists in the context of internships in other European countries,•Recommendations for a preparatory procedure within the sending educational institutions for completing occupational therapy placements in other European countries,•a questionnaire to ensure the recognition of occupational therapy internship institutions in other European countries,•Guidelines for students in preparation for an occupational therapy internship in another European country,•Profile of expectations and offers of occupational therapy internship institutions to students/trainees from other European countries.The initial testing was carried out within the framework of tandem internships with students/trainees from the participating European educational institutions in occupational therapy practices in Germany. The results and experiences were also implemented in the EUPRAC curriculum. A job shadowing programme provided further essential insights from the perspective of the teachers.With the EUPRAC curriculum that has been developed, the European project team aims to provide guidelines for the barrier-free completion of internships that are both relevant to practice and serve as a model for other actors, in order to open up new perspectives and opportunities for young people on the European labour market. At the same time, this aims to promote the attractiveness of the occupational therapy profession. The EUPRAC curriculum promotes a practice-oriented vocational qualification that contributes to ensuring the demand-oriented supply of occupational therapists in the EU and at the same time increases the quality of education in this profession throughout Europe."

"<< Objectives >>Project:- will significantly increase cooperation between partners, the skills of an innovative approach to teaching, work organization and sensitivity to socio-cultural diversity, provide a model for the preparation of new courses and expand the online education offer, increase the possibilities of internationalization- contribute to better preparation of students and practitioners to work, help understand the needs of various patient groups, give opportunities for professional development<< Implementation >>Activities include:Desk research on- learning theories- teaching methods- course designGroup interviewsOnline course:- methodology- syllabus, scenarios, storyboards- OER to videos- structure of the course- videos and voice-over in partner languages- self-study manual structure and contents- exam format and methodology- technological infrastructure- Certificate template- GuidelinesCourse Piloting & evaluationThey are described in detail in ""Mov-e_distribution of tasks"" attached<< Results >>Measurable results:- analysis of the needs of students, teachers, practitioners and hospital management of the quality of preparing a physiotherapist for work and functioning in a diverse socio-cultural environment - scenarios of 15 lessons combining teaching of movement analysis and therapy with improving communication skills - 15 classes available online - textbook supplementing online course- a pool of exam questions - certificate template - project evaluation and recommendations"