Author: Mgr. Kateřina Janků, Ph.D.

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, specifically the kind colleagues and educators from the Lillehammer area, welcomed the future Dean of the Faculty of Public Policies Dr. Kolaříková, the Vice-Dean for International Relations Dr. Janků and Dr. Odstrčilíková from the Institute of Special Education, very warmly in the still cold period of transition between winter and spring.

The aim of the mobility was a professional meeting on the development of cooperation and partnership, sharing experiences and discussing possible joint project and publication activities between the institutions. To this end, the faculty representatives met with Dr. Kristina Brodal Syversen, Head of the Department of Education and Special Education, and Dr. Anne Lindblom, a member of the Department, with the intention of discussing research topics within inclusive education, the organisation and structure of the Norwegian school system and other detailed topics related to special education and pedagogy.

The trip also included several school visits to the Fagerlung skole in Brumunddal, a primary school focusing on multicultural education, the Lunden skole in Hamar, a primary school that systematically educates pupils with severe and combined disabilities as part of its positive, inclusive vision, and the Storhamar VSG, a secondary school in the Hamar region that, in addition to several diploma courses, also provides apprenticeships and practical courses for students with special needs. Our colleagues had the opportunity to have a first-hand insight into the Norwegian language teaching and a meeting with students and teachers who presented the curricula in more detail.

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences is a partner university of our faculty within the Erasmus+ programme since 2023, which allows both pedagogical mobility and semester study stays of students of pedagogically oriented study programmes. The mobility was the first activity within this partnership and we believe that next year we will welcome our colleagues from Norway here in Opava.