International Credit Mobility
Appendix to application
Mobility project between
Charles University in Prague, Protestant Theological Faculty, Czech Republic (CU PTF)
and
Ukrainian Catholic University, Ukraine (UCU)
1. Relevance of the strategy
For the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) internationalisation is a key factor in
broadening and deepening the quality of its study and research programmes and developing
new ones (in particular its PhD and STD programmes), while for the Protestant Theological
Faculty of Charles University (CU ETF) the project provides an opportunity for joint research
and teaching with a partner from the world of Eastern Christianity, in particular in the fields
of patristics, philosophy, dogmatics, and ecumenical studies.
Although drawing on a long tradition, the UCU in its present form has only been accredited
by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education since 2006. Internationalisation and interaction with
other higher education institutions is of key importance in expanding the horizons of its
research and study programmes. In particular, it plans to open PhD and STD programmes in
the near future, for which teaching by 2 or 3 international professors is required. It is
anticipated that teachers from CU ETF can fulfil this need through this mobility project,
especially in the fields of theology, history of Christianity, and philosophy. Study/research
mobilities at CU ETF with its extensive library facilities will be particularly attractive for PhD
students from UCU.
CU PTF already has many international partners, but so far very few from the world of
Eastern Christianity. Through this mobility project UCU could help make good this deficit. It
is planned that cooperation in both research and teaching will focus on the fields of patristics,
philosophy, dogmatics, and biblical and ecumenical studies. The specific contribution and
viewpoint of Eastern Christianity in these fields, mediated through UCU student and staff
mobilities, will be of great interest to CU ETF researchers and students.
2. Quality of the cooperation arrangements
Staff from CU ETF have attended a conference at UCU and invited UCU staff to attend a
conference in Prague. A draft Inter-Institutional Agreement has already been drawn up,
detailing the tasks and responsibilities of the partners.
After initial correspondence between the two institutions, staff from CU ETF, including Prof.
Lenka Karfíková from the Philosophy Department, attended the conference “Knowledge of
God: East and West” at UCU in October 2014. This was an opportunity for the two
institutions to get to know each other and to discuss future cooperation, which will continue
when Dr. Oleh Kindiy from the Department of Theology at UCU attends a conference on the
study of the traditions of thinking in antiquity and the Middle Ages in Prague in June 2015, to
which he has been invited by CU PTF. In the meantime a draft Inter-Institutional Agreement
has already been drawn up. According to the Agreement, each side will be responsible for the
following: selection of the students and/or teaching staff it sends to the partner institution,
including ensuring they have the necessary language skills; providing support and advisory
services for incoming students and teaching staff; organising the necessary English-language
courses for incoming students and teaching staff; recognising and awarding credits for courses
completed successfully at the partner institution as part of this mobility exchange.
3. Quality of project design and implementation
The initial planning will take place through correspondence, personal contacts, and the draft
Inter-Institutional Agreement, so that selection procedures and support structures will be in
place in advance of the actual mobility.
It is planned to prepare the project in the following phases:
 2014-15: Preparation of conditions for mobilities.
 2015-16: Initial mobilities take place, preparation of PhD and STD programmes at UCU.
 2016-17: Mobilities continue, including teaching at PhD and STD programmes.
Conditions for mobilities are already outlined in the draft Inter-Institutional Agreement and
will be fine-tuned during the rest of 2014-15. They include the following:
 A fair, transparent, and documented selection process, ensuring equal opportunities for all
participants, and making sure candidates have the necessary language skills.
 Equal academic conditions for home and incoming students and staff. Incoming students
will not be charged tuition fees.
 Individuals or agencies will be identified at both institutions to provide support services
for incoming students and staff. These will include: orientation programmes and language
courses in Czech/Ukrainian for incoming students; help with administrative and academic
matters; guidance on finding accommodation; providing information on courses / learning
agreements /mobility agreements for incoming students and staff in advance;
 Courses indicated in students’ learning agreements will be recognised by their home
institution, providing they have been successfully completed.
4. Impact and dissemination
It is anticipated that the project will bring benefits to both institutions in teaching
programmes, research, and developing new study programmes, in particular in the fields of
patristics, dogmatics, theology, and ecumenical studies, through a symbiosis of Western and
Eastern viewpoints, with the results being disseminated both within the institutions and
through conferences and publications.
For UCU the desired impact will include: strengthening the international element in its
research and study programmes, broadening the theological horizons of its students, launching
PhD and STD programmes, the possibility of study visits by PhD students to Prague.
For CU PTF the desired impact will include: exposure to teaching by, and joint research with,
a partner from the world of Eastern Christianity. Particularly in the field of patristics this
perspective can be very valuable.
For both institutions the cooperation with a partner from a different Christian tradition and
historical region will be enriching. The project should also lead to an improvement in the
English language skills of students from both institutions as the joint teaching programmes
will be in English.
The results will be disseminated within the institutions in the following ways: publicising and
encouraging attendance at guest lectures and joint conferences, circulation of reports by
students and teachers on their mobilities. Reports on the mobility project will be published in
academic and church publications.
It is also planned that the exchanges will develop in parallel with research projects,
particularly in the fields of patristics, dogmatics, philosophy, and ecumenical studies. Specific
projects that are being considered are: “Patristic Sources for Social Doctrine”, “Peace and
War”, and “The Golden Age of Patristic Theology”. Outcomes of these projects, including
conferences, and the publication of conference proceedings, translations of patristic texts, and
other publications, will also help disseminate the results of the mobility project.
A further possible outcome of the increased cooperation between the two institutions could
take the form of graduates from UCU study programmes in Social Pedagogy and Psychology
going on to study CU PTF’s new fee-paying English-language study programme at
Bachelor’s level in “Social services focused on Diaconia and Christian social practice”.