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Contents 2

Chapter 1 Basic Information about the partner countries 3

Basic information about Finland 3

Basic information about Hungary 7

Basic information about Spain 10

Basic information about Slovakia 12

Basic information about Poland 15

Chapter 2 A tertiary education in partner countries 22

Education in Finland 22

Universities in Finland 24

Hungarian tertiary education system 25

Tertiary education in Spain 28

Tertiary education, universities in Slovakia 31

Education in Poland 33

The Higher Education Institutions in Poland 34

The most popular faculties to study in Poland over last 5 years and career paths you can take

37

Ten best universities in Poland 41

Chapter 3 Employment issues 44

Unemployment in Europe and in Poland 44

Employment issues – national and local levels 49

Reasons for unemployment in Spain 50

What steps should be taken? 50

Chapter 4 Business Etiquette 51

Business etiquette in Spain 55

Addressing a person 55

Dress code 55

Time and punctuality 55

At school 56

Meeting and greeting 56

Conversation 55

Business meals 56

Manners and customs 57

Giving presentations in public 57

Preparation 57

Impression 58

Verbal and non – verbal language 58

Confidence 58

Coping with nerves 58

Chapter 5 Disability issues 60

Chapter 6 First aid 67

Chapter 7 My Comenius experience 73

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Chapter 1 Basic Information about the partner countries

Basic information about Finland

Finland is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. In 2012

Finland's population was around 5.4 million. Helsinki is the capital of Finland. Other large

cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti ja Kuopio.

Here’s a list of interesting places worth visiting that are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage

Sites:

Sammallahdenmäki is a Bronze age burial site in Finland in Lappi municipality. It is one of

the most important Bronze Age sites in Scandinavia.

Suomenlinna is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands (Kustaanmiekka, Susisaari,

IsoMustasaari, PikkuMustasaari, LänsiMustasaari and Långören) and which now forms part

of the city of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

Old Rauma is the wooden city centre of the town of Rauma. The oldest buildings date from

the 18thcentury, as two fires of 1640 and 1682 destroyed the town. Most buildings are

currently inhabited andowned by private individuals, although along the two main streets and

around the town square they aremainly out side in business use.

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SantaPark (not on the UNESCO list) is an amusement park and visitor attraction near

Rovaniemi inthe Lapland region of Finland. The park is designed to emulate the cavern

residence of Santa Claus onthe Arctic circle. Popular culture often depicts Santa Claus (or

joulupukki in Finnish) coming from Lapland. Therefore, tourists come every year to

Rovaniemi to meet Santa Claus.

Languages

Finnish and Swedish are the two official languages of Finland. Finnish is a member of the

Finnic group of the Uralic family of languages. The Finnic group also includes Estonian and

a few minority languages spoken around the Baltic Sea.

Some examples:

Hello = Moikka

Good Morning = Hyvää huomenta

How are you? = Mitä kuuluu?

I’m fine, thanks = Hyvää, kiitos

Finland’s national anthem was originally written in Swedish by Johan Ludvig Runeberg and it

goes like this:

Oi maamme, Suomi, synnyinmaa,

soi, sana kultainen!

Ei laaksoa, ei kukkulaa,

ei vettä rantaa rakkaampaa,

kuin kotimaa tää pohjoinen,

maa kallis isien!

Sun kukoistukses kuorestaan

kerrankin puhkeaa,

viel lempemme saa nousemaan

sun toivos, riemus loistossaan,

ja kerran, laulus synnyinmaa

korkeemman kaiun saa.

Oh our land, Finland, land of our birth,

rings out the golden word!

No valley, no hill,

no water, shore more dear

than this northern homeland,

precious land of our fathers.

Your splendour from its shell

one day will bloom;

From our love shall rise

your hope, glorious joy,

and once your song, fatherland

higher still will echo.

Jean Sibelius (8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957)

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Jean Sibelius (born Johan Julius Christian

Sibelius) was a Finnish composer of the

late Romantic period. His music played an

important role in the formation of the

Finnish national identity. Sibelius was born

in Hämeenlinna in the Russian Grand

Duchy of Finland, the son of Swedish

speaking doctor Christian Gustaf Sibelius

and Maria Charlotta Sibelius née Borg.

Although known by the typical Finnish and

Swedish name "Janne" to his family,

during his student years he began using the

French form of his name, "Jean", inspired

by the business cardof his seafaring uncle.

He is now universally known as Jean

Sibelius. In addition to the symphonies,

Sibelius's bestknown compositions include

Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste,

the Violin Concerto in D minor and The

Swan of Tuonela (one of the four

movements of the Lemminkäinen Suite).

Sibelius composed prolifically until the

mid1920s. However, after completing his

Seventh Symphony (1924), the incidental

music to The Tempest (1926), and the tone

poem Tapiola (1926), he produced no large

scale works for the remaining thirty years

of his life. Although he is reputed to have

stopped composing, he in fact attempted to

continue writing, including abortive efforts

to compose an eighth symphony. He wrote

some Masonic music and reedited some

earlier works during this last period of his

life, and retained an active interest in new

developments in music, although he did

not always view modern music favorably.

Tove Jansson (9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001)

Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish

speaking Finnish novelist, painter,

illustrator and comic strip author. Brought

up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art

from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki

and then Paris. Her first solo art exhibition

was in 1943. At the same time, she was

writing short stories and articles for

publication, as well as creating the

graphics for book covers and other

purposes. She continued to work as an

artist for the rest of her life, alongside her

writing. Jansson is best known as the

author of the Moomin books for children.

The first such book, The Moomins and the

Great Flood, appeared in 1945, though it

was the next two books, Comet in

Moominland and Finn Family

Moomintroll, published in 1946 and 1948

respectively, that brought her fame. Here’s

a quote from the book Moominvalley in

November:

“Lie on the bridge and watch the water

flowing past. Or run, or wade through the

swamp in

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your red boots. Or roll yourself up and

listen to the rain falling on the roof. It's

very easy to enjoy yourself.”

― Tove Jansson, Moominvalley in

November

And here’s a link to a series of

moomintrolls:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUim

RPULBKU

Finnish mythology

Finnish mythology is the mythology that goes with Finnish paganism which is still

practiced by the Finnish people. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian

mythology and its nonFinnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians. Some of their

myths are also distantly related to the myths of other FinnoUgric speakers like the Samis.

Finnish mythology survived within an oral tradition of mythical poemsinging and folklore

well into the 19th century.

Although the gradual influence of surrounding cultures raised the significance of the skygod

in a monolatristic manner, the father god "Ukko" (Old Man) was originally just a nature spirit

like all the others. Ukko was a god of the sky, weather, and the crops. He was also the most

significant god in Finnish mythology and the Finnish word for thunder, "ukkonen" (little

Ukko) or "ukonilma" (Ukko's weather), is derived from his name. In the Kalevala he is also

called "ylijumala" (overgod), as he is the god of things of the sky. He makes all his

appearances in myths solely by natural effects when invoked.

Of the animals, the most sacred was the bear, whose real name was never uttered out loud,

lest his kind be unfavorable to the hunting. The bear ("karhu" in Finnish) was seen as the

embodiment of the forefathers, and for this reason it was called by many euphemisms:

mesikämmen ("meadpaw"), otso ("browed one"), kontio ("dweller of the land"), lakkapoika

("cloudberry boy"), metsän kultaomena ("the golden apple of the forest") but not a god.

Tuonela was the land of dead. It was an underground home or city for all the dead people, not

only the good or the bad ones. It was a dark and lifeless place, where everybody slept forever.

Still a brave shaman could travel to Tuonela in trance to ask for the forefathers' guidance. To

travel to Tuonela, the soul had to cross the dark river of Tuonela. If he had a proper reason,

then a boat would come to take him over. Many times a shaman's soul had to trick the guards

of Tuonela into believing that he was actually dead.

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Basic information about Hungary

Flag:

The Hungarian flag changed a lot in the course

of history. At first it was only red and white.

The green was added in the XV. century. All

three colours have their own meaning: the red

means strength the white means loyalty and the

green means hope.

The flag we use today became official in 1990.

The red, white and green stripes are equally

wide without crest.

Language:

Hungarian language belongs to the Finno-Ugrian family of laguages. At the beginning our

language seperated from its closest relatives and started to develop on its own.

After Hungary became catholic latin had a huge influence on our language. We use the latin

alphabet in our own version of it. For a very long time latin was our official language.

From 1790 to 1820 we started to broaden our vocabulary and we changed the we we write our

words. This process is called neology.

Hungarian first became official in 1836 besides latin. It became our only official language in

1844.

The Hungarian alphabet:

a á b c cs d dz dzs e é f g gy h i í j k l ly m n ny o ó ö ő p q r s sz t ty u ú ü ű v w x y z zs

A Á B C Cs D Dz Dzs E É F G Gy H I Í J K L Ly M N Ny O Ó Ö Ő P Q R S Sz T Ty U Ú Ü

Ű V W X Y Z Zs

National Anthem:

Hungary’s first anthem was a song called

Boldogasszony Anyánk. Then in the XIX. century

when we were part of the Habsburg Empire our anthem

was the same as theirs which was Gott erhalte Franz,

den Kaiser composed by Joseph Haydn.

Our current national anthem (Himnusz) was declared

official in 1989. It’s a poem set into music. The poem

was written by Ferenc Kölcsey in 1823.

Legend:

The legend of the White Stag

It’s a pagan legend that discusses the process of settlement of

the hungarians.

According to the lengend there were two brothers called

Hunor and Magor whose descendants are the huns and the

hungarians. While they were hunting in the woods a deer

showed up in front of them and led them to a new land. The

legend says that the deer was sent by one of their gods to show

them the way to their new homeland. The brothers followed the

deer and they settled down on a place we call

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Hungary today.

Famous Hungarian figures:

I. Stephen (997-1038)

He was Hungary’s first king. He was

raised in catholic mentality, he brought

christian faith into our country. During his

reign Hungary went through a lot of

changes and started to develop. This

process granted

Hungary enough power

to remain a strong and

independent country.

Sándor Petőfi: (1823-1849)

Hungarian poet, revolutionist, national hero.

One of the most outstanding figue of the hungarian poetry. He took a very

important part in the revolution in 1848. He wrote the poem called

Nemzeti Dal (National Song) that had a huge influence on the rebellious

crowd.

He died in a battle against the Habsburg Empire.

A piece of literature:

Petőfi Sándor: Nemzeti Dal

Talpra magyar, hí a haza!

Itt az idő, most vagy soha!

Rabok legyünk vagy szabadok?

Ez a kérdés, válasszatok!

A magyarok istenére

Esküszünk,

Esküszünk, hogy rabok tovább

Nem leszünk!

Sándor Petőfi: National Song

On your feet now, Hungary calls you!

Now is the moment, nothing stalls you,

Shall we be slaves or men set free

That is the question, answer me!

By all the gods of Hungary

We hereby swear,

That we the yoke of slavery

No more shall wear.

Population:

Our current population is 9 908 798 people. Our population involves people came from

different nationalities like germans, slovakians, romanians, croatians, serbians and gypsies.

The top 5 major cities:

Budapest is our largest city and

Hungary’s capital. Most of the citizens

live here. There are lots of interesting

tourist attractions to see, for example:

The Castle of Buda, The Heroes’

Square and the Chain Bridge.

Debrecen: Our second biggest city.

When you are in Debrecen it’s worth visiting the Zoo of Debrecen, the Hortobágy National

Park and the annual Flower Carnival.

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Szeged: The third largest city in Hungary. In Szeged you can visit the Dóm Square, the

Votive Church and the University ofSzeged which is also worth visiting.

Miskolc: Hungary’s fourth biggest city. You can visit the Zoo and Cultural Park of Miskolc,

the Old Wooden Church and the Cave baths of Miskolctapolca in Miskolc.

Interesting places:

Hortobágy National Park – Puszta:

The cultural landscape of the Hortobágy Puszta consists

of a vast area of plains and wetlands in eastern

Hungary. Traditional forms of land use, such as the

grazing of domestic animals, have been present in this

pastoral society for more than two thousand years. It is

part of the Tisza plain of eastern Hungary.

Old Village of Hollókő:

Hollókő is an

outstanding example of a deliberately preserved traditional

settlement. This village, which developed mainly during the

17th and 18th centuries, is a living example of rural life before

the agricultural revolution of the 20th century.

Hollókő also known for its traditional clothing style and Easter

customs.

Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs:

In the 4th century a remarkable series of decorated

tombs were constructed in the cemetery of the Roman

provincial town of Sopianae (modern Pécs). These are

important both structurally and architecturally, since

they were built as underground burial chambers with

memorial chapels above the ground.

Millenary Benetictine Abbey of Pannonhalma:

The first Benedictine monks settled down here in

996. They were evangelizing the Hungarians, they

found the country's first school and in 1055 they

wrote the first document in Hungarian. From the

time of its founding, this monastic community has

promoted culture throughout central Europe.

The Historic Wine Region of Tokaj:

The cultural landscape of Tokaj

graphically demonstrates the long tradition

of wine production in this region of low

hills and river valleys. It’s located at the

foothills of the Zemplén Mountains in

Northern-Eastern Hungary.

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Basic information about Spain

Spain is situated in south-western Europe and occupies almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. It

has a population of 47.190.493 inhabitants. Its government structure is a parliamentary

monarchy.

Its anthem is The royal march. Spain's national anthem is one of the oldest in Europe and its

origins are unknown. Spain is divided into 17 regions and two territorial divisions.

MAJOR CITIES MADRID: The capital and largest city in

Spain. It has got approximately 3.3 million

people and in Madrid metropolitan area

there is a population of 6.5 million. It is the

third-largest city in the European Union,

after London and Berlin.

BARCELONA: The capital of Catalonia

the second largest city in Spain, after

Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537. It

is also the largest Spanish city in the

Mediterranean sea. It is located on the

north-east Mediterranean coast between

the rivers Llobregat and Besòs.

INTERESTING PLACES WORTH VISITING SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Santiago de Compostela is located in the north-west of Spain, in Galicia. With its

Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque buildings, the Old Town of Santiago is one of the world's

most beautiful urban areas. The oldest monuments are grouped around the tomb of St James

and the cathedral. Lots of pilgrims go there to see the tomb of the apostle Saint James the

Greater, Santiago.

LA ALHAMBRA

It is one of Spain’s major tourist attractions. Alhambra means Red Female because the

building reflects the colour of red clay. It was built as a small fortress in the 9th century and

later became the emir’s palace. When the Catholic Monarchs reconquered Granada in

1492,Christian rulers started to use it.

LANGUAGE Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people around the world and it is one of the most

important languages in business and in the cultural scene.

In some places the word Castilian Spanish is used to refer to standard Spanish. That is

because of the region of Castille. In fact, Spanish originated in northern Spain as a

continuation of spoken Latin. In Spain there are a lot of dialects but we can’t confuse these

with other languages in Spain, for example, Extremaduran or Andalucian would be dialects

and Catalonian and Basque would be different languages.

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FAMOUS PEOPLE It very difficult to choose only two famous people in Spain because there are a lot of people

who are good at doing specific things, so we would highlight some well-known people in

different areas:

Pedro Almodóvar is one of the best film director in Spain. In 2012, his film “The Skin I Live”

received four Goyas and also won an Oscar award for “All about my mother”

Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter, one of the most important painters of the Spanish

Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important

as a portrait artist. One of his most known works is “Las Meninas”

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish sculptor and painter and he is also known for co-founding the

Cubist movement. His best works were “Guernica”, “Las señoritas de Avignon”

or“Maternidad”.

LITERATURE ­We can find some well known writers:

Miguel de Cervantes: He was a novelist, poet and playwright and considered to be the greatest

in Spanish literature and universally known for writing Don Quixote.

Antonio Machado: He was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish

literary movement known as Generación del 98. He was born in Seville and in his poetry

career, there are three stages:“Soledades”(1899-1907), “Campos de Castilla” (1907-1917),

“Nuevas canciones” (1917-1930)

Federico García Lorca: He was a Spanish poet. Nowadays he is the most

widely read Spanish poet of all time. His major works were: “Impressions

and Landscapes” (1918), “Book of poems” (1921), “Poem of Deep Song”;

written in 1921 but unpublished until 1931. He was murdered in the Spanish

civil war.

LEGEND OF LA SERRANA DE LA VERA It is a widely spread legend from Extremadura about a woman who was

cheated by her lover. As he refused to marry her, she ran away, broken-

hearted, to live in the mountains. “La serrana” hid in a cave and every man

who passed by her was seduced and murdered. It happened to all men

except one who managed to escape and report it to the authorities. Eventually, she was

sentenced to death.

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Basic information about Slovakia

Slovakia is one of the smallest countries in

Europe and it is situated in the heart of

Europe. The population of Slovakia is

about five millions. The capital of Slovakia

is Bratislava and it lies on the banks of the

river Danube. Slovakia is divided into

eight regions - Bratislava, Trnava, Trenčín,

Nitra, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Košice and

Prešov. Our national language is Slovak.

The Slovak flag is formed by three parallel

stripes (white, blue, red), and by the

Slovak state emblem – double cross.

The national anthem is “Nad Tatrou sa

blýska” written by Janko Matuška (1844)

You can listen to the national anthem at

this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UALq

d8t3YxY

INTERESTING PLACES WHICH ARE WORTH VISITING

Orava castle It is a treasure of the history of Orava and

still attracts thousands of tourists every

year. This castle is situated on 112m high

cliff above the river Orava, in the village

Oravský Podzámok. The first document

about it comes from the year 1267. There

are still impressive exhibitions, e.g. the

Castle Chapel, the Knight´s Hall, the

Picture Gallery, the Natural Science

Exhibition.

Gothic Wooden Roman-Catholic Church of All Saints

It is from the 15thcentury. It was awarded by the EUROPA NOSTRA PLAQUE in 1993

and this monument was included in the list of European Cultural Heritage. It has a

beautiful wooden altar with patrons of the church. Today, the church is used only

occasionally, e.g. for weddings but its main purpose is to serve tourists.

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Dobšinská Ice Cave Dobšinská Ice Cave belongs to the most

important ice caves in the world. Since

2000 it has been inscribed on the World

Heritage List. This cave has the glaciated

part at elevations from 1,100 to 1,120

metres above the sea level, the

monumental glaciations of the Dobšinská

Ice Cave persist for thousands of years at

elevations only 920 to 950 metres.

Vlkolínec

Vlkolínec is a small village situated at the

foot of a mountain in the north of Slovakia.

This village is situated in the district of the

town Ružomberok in Žilina region. It is a

conservation area of folk architecture. You

can find here classical wooden block

houses typical for central Europe. This

village has been included to UNESCO

World Heritage Site since 1993.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav

Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav was born in

Vyšný Kubín. He was and still is a very

famous Slovak poet, playwright, novelist,

translator, lawyer, and honorary President

of Slovak Matica. Hviezdoslav is one of

the leading personalities of Slovak

literature and culture in Slovakia, he

belonged to among the most important

leaders in Slovak literature. There are also

many squares, streets, a village and even a

waterfall which are named by him.

In the art, we also have an artistic competition in poetry and prose called “Hviezdoslavov

Kubin”.

Among his best known masterpieces we include:

- Letorosty I., II., III.

- Krvavé sonety

- Hájnikova žena

- Ežo Vlkolínsky

- Herodes a Herodias

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Juraj Jánošík

He is considered as a Slovak legend and

national hero. He was a robber who took

money the rich people and gave it to the

poor ones. He grew up in Terchová in a

solitude, in the family whose name was

repeatedly on the serf lists. According to

the Slovak folk legend Juraj Jánošík and

his retinue lived in the forests between

Žilina and Liptovský Mikuláš. According

to the Polish legend he was also looting in

Poland. He was so called “Slovak Robin

Hood”. Jánošík became very famous not

only in Slovakia. He was also known in the

Czech Republic.The Poles use to call him

“hero of the Tatras”.

Ľudovít Štúr

He was the Slovak national revivalist,

politician, philosopher, historian, linguist,

teacher, writer, poet, journalist and editor.

In 1843 he codified the Slovak literary

language based on the Central Slovak

dialects. He was one of the leading

participants in the Slovak National

Uprising.

Blessed Sister Zdenka

Zdenka Schellingová was a Slovak nun.

She belonged to the Sisters of Mercy

Order. It was the order of the Holy cross

pursuit by the Catholic Church in the

Czech-Slovakia. Zdenka Schellingová was

born in Krivá in Orava, as the tenth of

eleven children. Her original name was

Cecilia. Cecilia decided for religious life

very discreetly. In her fifteen, she joined to

the Sisters of Saint Cross Order in the

Podunajské Biskupice. She decided to

dedicate whole her life to God.

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Basic information about Poland

Location: Poland, an East Central European nation, borders six countries: Germany, Czech

Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania. Its Baltic Sea coast spans 328 miles.

Population:38,192,000

Capital: Warsaw

Currency: Złoty (PLN), View Polish coins and Polish banknotes.

Language and Alphabet: The Poles have their own language, Polish, which uses the Latin

alphabet with a few extra letters, namely the letter ł, pronounced like the English. Locals

usually also know a little German, English, or Russian. German will be more readily

understood in the west and Russian more in the east. Polish has the second largest number of

speakers among the Slavic languages after Russian.

Religion: The Poles are devoutly religious with almost 90% of the population identifying

themselves as Roman Catholic. To most Poles, being Polish is synonymous with being

Roman Catholic.

Poland History and Culture Facts

The name "Poland" originates from the name of the tribe "Polanie" which means "people

living in the open fields". Poland first became a unified entity in the 10th century It's first

documented ruler was Mieszko I in the 10th century. From the 14th to the 18th centuries,

Poland and neighboring Lithuania were politically united. The constitution established in the

late 18th century is a monumental event in European history. The next hundred years saw a

Poland divided by those who would control its territory Russia, Prussia, Austria, but Poland

was reconstituted during WWI. Poland was heavily affected by WWII, and today it's possible

to visit some of the Nazi camps established there for the purpose of mass extermination of

groups of unfavorable individuals, including Jews, Roma, and the disabled. The Katyń

Massacre records the murder of some 22,000 of Poland's finest soldiers, academics,

professionals and business owners in the 1940 by the Soviet Secret Police who were buried in

the Katyń Forest in what is today Russia. In the 20th century, a communist regime with close

ties to Moscow ruled until the 1990s, when communism's collapse reverberated through East

and East Central Europe.

The highest mountain in Australia was named in 1840 by Polish explorer Paul Edmund

Strzelecki as Mount Kosciuszko because of the mountain's resemblance to the Kosciuszko

Mound in Krakow. Kraków was the headquarters and the place of coronation of Polish kings

and the nation's capital from 1038 until the move to Warsaw in 1596. Poles represent the

biggest number of people by nationality to rescue Jews during the German Nazi-organised

Holocaust, up to around 450,000 from certain death. Poland holds the world record with the

most people at 6,135 being awarded the title of Righteous among the Nations by the State of

Israel.

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Dąbrowski's Mazurka (national anthem

of Poland)

Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła,

Kiedy my żyjemy.

Co nam obca przemoc wzięła,

Szablą odbierzemy.

Marsz, marsz Dąbrowski,

Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski.

Za twoim przewodem

Złączym się z narodem.

Przejdziem Wisłę, przejdziem Wartę,

Będziem Polakami.

Dał nam przykład Bonaparte,

Jak zwyciężać mamy.

Marsz, marsz...

Jak Czarniecki do Poznania

Po szwedzkim zaborze,

Dla ojczyzny ratowania

Wrócim się przez morze.

Marsz, marsz...

Już tam ojciec do swej Basi

Mówi zapłakany -

Słuchaj jeno, pono nasi

Biją w tarabany.

Poland has not yet perished,

So long as we still live.

What the alien force has taken from us,

We shall retrieve with a sabre.

March, march, Dąbrowski,

From the Italian land to Poland.

Under your command

We shall rejoin the nation.

We'll cross the Vistula and the Warta,

We shall be Polish.

Bonaparte has given us the example

Of how we should prevail.

March, march...

Like Czarniecki to Poznań

After the Swedish occupation,

To save our homeland,

We shall return across the sea.

March, march...

A father, in tears,

Says to his Basia:

"Listen, our boys are said

To be beating the tarabans."

The Dragon from Wawel

Centuries ago there lived in a cave at the foot of Wawel Hill in Cracow a most horrible fire-

belching dragon, a monster that ravaged the nearby meadows by devouring grazing cattle. The

bravest knights tried to overcome the dragon in vain Even before they could took out their

swords the fire from the beast's mouth killed them, so that one after another died

The king who reigned at the time sent out his heralds to announce that whoever could kill

the dragon would as a reward marry his daughter and sit on his throne after his death. Knights

encouraged by such a handsome offer came in large numbers, but they too were destroyed.

The king gave himself up to despair, together with his daughter as she could not expect to

ever be married. The dragon-ravaged country became poorer and poorer.

Then a shoemaker named Krak decided to conquer the beast by a unique strategy. After

stuffing a fat ram with sulphur, he placed the tasty animal at the cave's entrance. The dragon,

being greedy as well as stupid, swallowed the dangerous gift in one mouthful. Its throat

burned so that it ran to the nearby Wisla river, gulping down so much water that it burst with

a great bang, that way he set the surrounding countryside free from the grip of terror. The

17

shoemaker married the king's daughter, and after the monarch's death, ascended to the throne.

The town he rescued from the clutches of Smok, the dragon of Wawel Hill, took its name

from him, and bears it to this day with great honour - the old capital of Poland, Krakow.

Famous People

Mikołaj Kopernik born

on February 19, 1473 in

Toruń, Poland was a

Renaissance

mathematician and

astronomer who

formulated a heliocentric

model of the universe

which placed the Sun,

rather than the Earth, at

the center. The

publication of Copernicus'

book On the Revolutions

of the Celestial Spheres,

just before his death in

1543, is considered a

Nicolaus Copernicus or

major event in the history

of science. It began the

Copernican Revolution and contributed importantly to the

scientific revolution. Copernicus had a doctorate in canon

law was a physician, polyglot, classics scholar, translator,

governor, diplomat, and economist.

Born on March 1, 1810, in

Zelazowa Wola, Poland, Fryderyk Chopin, grew up in a

middle-class family. He published his first composition at

age 7 and began performing one year later. In 1832, he

moved to Paris, socialized with high society and was known

as an excellent piano teacher. His piano compositions were

highly influential. He died of tuberculosis and ill health on

October 17, 1849, in Paris

18

Marie Curie,Maria Sklodowska Curie, was

born in Warsaw on November 7, 1867, the

daughter of a secondary-school teacher.

She received a general education in local

schools and some scientific training from

her father. She became involved in a

students' revolutionary organization as a

result had to leave Warsaw to Cracow,

which at that time was under Austrian rule.

In 1891, she went to Paris to continue her

studies at the Sorbonne where she obtained

Bachelor’s degree in Physics and the

Mathematical Sciences. She met Pierre

Curie, Professor in the School of Physics,

in 1894 and in the following year they

were married. She succeeded her husband

as Head of the Physics Laboratory at the

Sorbonne, gained her Doctorate of Science

degree in 1903, and following the tragic

death of Pierre Curie in 1906, she took his

place as Professor of General Physics in

the Faculty of Sciences, the first time a

woman had held this position. She was

also appointed the Director of the Curie

Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the

University of Paris, founded in 1914.

Pope John Paul II also known as Karol

Wojtyla (1920-2005). He was a poet, actor

and enthusiast of the Polish mountains He

was the only Polish Pope to this day and

served the second longest. He contributed

greatly to the collapse of communism in

Poland and throughout Central and Eastern

Europe. on 16 October 1978 he had chosen

as a Pope. on 13 May 1981, Jan II Paweł

was shot but fortunately survived The Pope

died on 2 April at 21: 37 His family home

in Wadowice just outside of Kraków

Interesting places visiting in Poland

The Hel Peninsula and the seaside

Hel is a small fishing village and seaside

resort on the tip of the Hel Peninsula, just

30 km north of Gdansk across the sea. The

beaches are clean and sandy, the

atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, plenty

of people playing great beach sports and

swimming. The resort lies on the south

side of the peninsula, with a small port and

a popular beach just minutes from the

centre, and wild sandy beaches to the east

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and the north. There is a lighthouse, a

maritime museum, a sealion centre, plenty

of restaurants and bars serving fresh fish

and other foods, a sand dune park, fishing

and speed boat trips, and shops and stalls

as well as other attractions.

Lake Region

If you are looking for quiet, nature and relaxation, then the

Mazury lake district is ideal. Located in north east Poland,

there are huge tracts of clean forests, clean air, peace and

quiet, also a popular destination for hunting and fishing.

The Mountains

The mountains in the south in the summer are also a great place for a holiday in Poland,

relaxation and getting away from it all, it’s now easy to cross the border into Slovakia or the

Czech Republic to spend some time there too. During the winter resorts such as Karpacz,

Zakopane, Krynica, Szczyrk and Szklarska Poreba have great facilities for skiing and

snowboarding.

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The Eagles Nests Of Poland

If you want to experience a true taste of

Poland’s medieval history, then pay a visit

to the Eagles’ Nests. Situated on the

Kraków-Czestochowa Upland, this is a

chain of 25 medieval castles built to

protect Poland’s western frontier during

the 14th century. Many of them are located

in a protected area known as Eagles’ Nests

Landscape Park, one of more than 120

landscape parks throughout Poland.

The castles were constructed at the

command of Casimir III the Great, who

ruled Poland from 1333 to 1370. At that

time, Kraków was the capital of Poland,

and lay perilously close to the border with

Silesia. Casimir is credited for rebuilding

Poland after decades of war that had

devastated the country – in fact, when he

came to the throne, Casimir’s neighbors

simply referred to him as the King of

Kraków, refusing to acknowledge his title

as King of Poland.

Polish Traditions

January 1 - New Year's Day

New Year's Day is celebrated across Poland on January first. Major city centers, like

Krakow's Main Market Square, are filled with celebrants waiting for the fireworks display on

the night of December 31st.

Springtime - Easter

Easter in Poland is celebrated according to the Western Calendar. Eggs are painted and

special foods are prepared. The majority of Poland's population is Catholic, and church

services are also attended during Easter in Poland. The Monday after Easter is an important

day for those celebrating in Poland.

On All Saint's Day (November 1), cemeteries in Poland are decorated with flowers and

candles. The candles are specially made so that they can burn safely for a long period of time

in order to guide spirits through the night. When darkness falls, hundreds of these candles can

be seen glowing in Poland's cemeteries.

Recognition of this holiday is a part of the Roman Catholic tradition. Many Polish people

consider their identity as Roman Catholics inseparable from their identity as Poles.

November 11 - Independence Day

Independence Day in Poland celebrates the country's assumption of independence in 1918.

November 11 has been celebrated as Independence Day in Poland since 1989.

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December 24 & 25 - Christmas Eve and Christmas

Christmas Eve is the most important Christmas holiday in Poland and is called Wigilia. It is

marked with a special meal, often made up of 12 meatless dishes, and observance of

Christmas Eve traditions. The Christmas tree is typically decorated on this day. A large dinner

may also be prepared for Christmas Day.

All Saints' Day on 1st November is an important religious holiday where Poles visit

cemeteries to honour their loved ones who have passed away.

In addition to birthdays, Poles celebrate their name day or "imieniny", which is the day

commemorating the saint they are named after. The names associated with each day is listed

in all calendars in Poland. Just like birthdays, there are parties with food, drinks, presents and

the singing of the traditional birthday song, "sto lat". And if you want to wish someone on

their name day, just say "Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji imienin!"

Traditionally, the main meal of 3 courses is eaten around 2pm, starting with a soup, a main

course of meat and a desert. Polish dumplings or "pierogi" are one of national dishes and one

of the best recognizable Polish food outside Poland. Poles love their candies and chocolates

22

Chapter 2 A tertiary education in partner countries

“We learn for life no for school”

Seneca

Education in Finland

COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL

Before primary school children go to preschool education. After that children go to

elementary school (classes 1-6). Then children go to secondary school (classes 7-9).

AFTER COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

There are different kinds of classes to choose, for example a barber, a builder, a car mechanic,

a chef, an electrician…

Vocational school takes 3 years. After that you have a trade and you are ready to work. If you

want to continue studying after vocational school, you can go to polytechnic.

UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

You have to pass the required and elective courses, at least 75. In the last year you have

matriculation examination. Then you graduate.

Upper secondary school takes 2,5-4 years. After that you are ready to go to an university or a

polytechnic.

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Loimaa upper secondary school

Loimaa vocational school

HIGH-LEVEL STUDIES

University

You can go to university after upper secondary school.

In university you can study almost whatever you want.

After that you are highly educated and you will get a good job.

Polytechnic

You can go to polytechnic after vocational school or upper secondary school.

In polytechnic you can study many things about different jobs.

After that you will get a little bit better job.

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GENERAL THINGS ABOUT SCHOOL IN FINLAND

We get a school meal every day and it is free.

We have a free health care in school and also a psychologist.

In comprehensive school we have free education, books, pencils and other stuff.

After primary school we have to buy books and everything else by ourselves, but the

education and food is still free.

Universities in Finland

We have 15 universities in Finland. Here are the best five universities.

The best five universities

1. University of Helsinki was founded in 1640. The university is divided into eleven faculties

which are Theology, Law, Medicine, Arts, Science, Pharmacy, Biological and Environmental

Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Agriculture and Forestry, Social Sciences and Veterinary

Medicine. The university is located on four main campuses: City center campus, Kampula

campus, Meilahti campus and Viikki campus.University of Helsinki has 36 000 students.

2. University of Turku was founded in 1920. The university is divided into seven faculties:

Humanities, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Medicine, Law, Social Sciences, Education

and Economics. The university also has faculties in Rauma, Pori and Salo. There are 20000

students.

3. University of Eastern Finland was founded in 2010. The university is located in three cities:

in Joensuu, Kuopio and Savonlinna. The university is divided into four faculties which are the

Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences,

and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. There are 15 000 students.

4. University of Oulu was founded in 1958. The university is divided into six faculties which

are Technology, Sciences, Humanities, Medicine, Education and Business school. There are

15000 students.

5. University of Jyväskylä was founded in 1934. The university in divided into seven faculties

which are Faculty of Humanities, Information Technology, Education, Sport and Health

Sciences, Mathematics and Science, School of Business and Economics and Social Sciences.

There are 15 000 students.

ELIGIBILITY

1) Eligibility for bachelor level studies at university depends on completing one of the

following qualifications:

Finnish Matriculation examination and upper secondary level education

International Baccalaureate examination (IB)

European Baccalaureate examination (EB)

Reifeprüfung examination (RP)

Vocational upper secondary qualification of at least three years duration or an earlier

corresponding qualification.

Competence based vocational upper secondary qualification, further vocational qualification

or specialist vocational qualification or an earlier corresponding qualification Foreign

qualification that gives eligibility to enroll in a higher education institution of corresponding

level in the country of origin. Other applicants may also be admitted, if the university

25

considers their skills and knowledge sufficient. This eligibility requirement also applies to

separate applications to bachelor level education or bachelor level education leading to

master's level education.

2) Eligibility to master's level education (not included in the joint application) depends on

completing one of the following qualifications:

Applicable Bachelor's degree

Applicable polytechnic Bachelor's degree

Applicable foreign qualification that gives eligibility to enroll in a higher education institution

of corresponding level in the country of origin

Other applicants may also be admitted, if the

university considers their skills and knowledge

sufficient.

Hungarian tertiary education system

Tertiary educational attendance has grown rapidly

over the years both in Hungary and in the more

developed countries, but the gap between them has

remained. Although there is a rise in the number of university students in Hungary there are

big differences between the different regions of the

country. The Education Ministers from 29 European countries

decided to harmonise and unify their Higher Education. It has

resulted in the Bologna Process which currently has 47

participating countries among them Hungary.The aim was to make

an easily comparable system. A Higher Education system which is

based on three main cycles: bachelor, master and doctor. They

wanted to make it more mobile, travelling to abroad to study is

available.

Admissions to tertiary institutions

To get into a higher education institutions you must successfully pass the upper secondary

school leaving examination, called mature exam. They can do advanced or normal level

exams from the courses. Admission is decided according to a score system which is made up

of the secondary school leaving examination results and the secondary school performance of

the students. Higher education institutions may offer state funded and fee-paying places for

applicants. The number of state funded places determined by the government every year.

Bachelor and Master programmes Bachelor: BA/BSc programmes of 6 to 8 semesters (ISCED 5A, 180-240 ECTS credits)

lead to a first degree

Master: Master level programmes (ISCED 5A, 60-120 ECTS credits) of another 2 to 4

semesters require a first degree as admission criterion.

The pre-requisite to entering doctoral programmes (ISCED 6) is a MA/MSc degree.

There are a few fields of tertiary education (e.g. law and medical studies) where undivided

long programmes remain the standard form of study (10 to 12 semesters, 300-360 ECTS

credits) leading to a first degree but equivalent to a MA/MSc degree.

Advanced vocational programmes

Short cycle advanced vocational programmes ( 120 ECTS credits) are relatively new in the

Hungarian education system. These programmes can be provided both by higher education

The Best Hungarian Universities

1. Eötvös Lóránd University

2. University of Szeged

3. Semmelweis University

4. Corvinus University of Budapest

5. University of Debrecen

26

institutions and upper secondary schools. These programmes lead to an advanced vocational

qualification but does not give a degree.

Post-graduate specialisation programmes

Higher education also includes post-graduate specialisation programmes. You can do it after

the bachelor and the master training,but it doesn’t give you a new degree.

PhD or DLA (Doctor of Liberal Arts)

A PhD or DLA (Doctor of Liberal Arts) degree is can be obtained after a doctoral course

which follows a Master course.

Eötvös Lóránd University (Budapest)

The main faculties of the University is Law, Informatics, Humanities( teacher and

kindergarten teacher training), and Faculty of Science. The most popular is the Faculty of

Humanities and Faculty of Education and Psychology in 2011.( Only in these 2 faculties the

number of candidates is more than 12000.)

University of Szeged

The main faculties of the University are Faculty of Health Care, Faculty of Music, Faculty of

Law, Faculty of Humanities and Faculty of

Engineering.

Semmelweis University

The University is specialised in different

Faculties of Health Science (For examle:

doctors, dentists or pharmacists). This is the

most famous university of doctors in

Hungary.

Corvinus University of Budapest

The main faculties of the university are Faculty of Food Science and Faculty of Economics.

This University is famous for high level of economic education.

University of Debrecen

The main faculties of the

university:

-Faculty of Music

-Faculty of Law

-Faculty of Health Care

-Faculty of Economic

-Faculty of Humanities

The most famous faculty

is the Management

Sciences and Rural

Development. (The

university has more than

35000 students.)

The academic year in Finland

First of all, remember that the academic year in Finland is divided into two terms: Autumn

term (from August/September to December) and Spring term (from January to the end of

May)

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Most degree programmes only accept new degree students at the beginning of the academic

year. So, usually your application will concern studies that start in the autumn term. In some

cases, however, it may be possible to apply for studies that start in the spring term.

During the socalled summer term (JuneAugust)

it may be possible for already registered students to complete some individual course

modules, but generally speaking that is "holiday time" and there is no separate summer term

intake for degree studies.

Applying to universities

The exact application times and deadlines depend on the university and the programme.

However, in most cases the annual application period to the university degree programmes

begins between late November and January.

For Bachelor's level admission at universities, please contact the university directly about info

on how and when to apply (note that the universities offer only a very limited amount of

Bachelor's level programmes in English) for Master's level admission, and information on the

exact application.

Who can apply for exchange student status?

If you would like to study at the University of Helsinki for an academic term or year and then

transfer your credits to your home university, you can apply for exchange student status. In

other words, to qualify, you should be registered and actively studying at a university outside

Finland. As a rule, the student exchanges are based on an agreement made between your

university and the University of Helsinki. Also multilateral exchange programmes exist; for

example, the USbased ISEP programme. The international counsellor or a similar adviser at

your home institution can give you more information about the exchange programmes your

university has with the University of Helsinki.

How can a foreigner get into a Hungarian University

Nowadays Hungary is a popular destination for foreign people in higher education. More and

more student choose to study in Hungary.

The number of foreign students has considerably increased in the last few years. Many of

them comes from the neighboring countries but there are a lot of students from Africa, Asia,

etc (even from South-America).

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Foreigners can study the following subjects in Hungarian universities:

General Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Nursing, Midwifery, Psychology,

Veterinary Sciences, Pre-Medical, Pre-Veterinary, English Language Course, Economics,

Business Administration, Art, Art History, Communication, International Studies, Political

Science

To get into any Hungarian University you have to follow some instructions:

EU/EEA students don’t need a visa to study in Hungary, but they do need to apply for a

residence permit within 90 days of moving to the country. If you want to take a course in

Hungarian, you have to take an exam to prove your language skills.

Application step-by-step:

Choose University and course

Download, print, and fill the application form.

Collect the required documents

Send the documents to the given address

Pay the application fee

Choose an exam place and date and apply for it via e-mail

Application documents are different in every university but there are some documents

which are required in all of the Hungarian universities:

copy of passport/ID

original/copy of Secondary school leaving certificate

application form

medical report

application fee

curriculum vitae

Entrance exam: There’s an oral and a written part in the interview.

After the entrance exam the exam papers will be sent to the universities for evaluation. The

decision is not based on only the exam results. The University Board makes the decision

usually within a few weeks after the exam and the applicants are notified about it by e-mail

or/and hard copies.

Foreign students can also apply for exemption from the entrance exam on condition they hold

Degree in a related field and proof of B2-level English knowledge is also a prerequisite.

Additional required documents for applicants for exam exemption:

- copy of transcript/degree of the related studies the request is based on, or copy of the IB or

A-level

29

- course description of the subjects studied (syllabus)

- proof of language knowledge: B2 level language exam (such as Cambridge FCE/CAE,

TOEFL, IELTS)

TERTIARY EDUCATION IN SPAIN

Most relevant universities in Spain

According to “El Mundo”, a Spanish

newspaper, ranking about universities in

Spain, the best ones are:

1. Universidad Complutense de Madrid

The Complutense University of Madrid is

a public research university located in

Madrid, and one of the oldest universities

in the world (1293). The university enrolls

over 86,000 students. Alumni include

renowned philosophers (Jose Ortega y Gasset, Ignatius of Loyola,), writers (Federico García

Lorca, Antonio de Nebrija, Pedro Calderón de la Barca), scientists (Santiago Ramón y Cajal,

Severo Ochoa)

2. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid:

It´s a Spanish University, located in Madrid. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging

different Technical Schools of Engineering and Architecture(18th century). According to the

annual university ranking conducted by El Mundo, the Technical University of Madrid ranks

as the top technical university in Spain, and second overall.

The UPM is part of the TIME network, which groups fifty engineering schools throughout

Europe.

3. Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

The Universitat autonoma de Barcelona also known as UAB is a public university mostly

located near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. it consists of 57 departments in the

experimental, life, social and human sciences, spread among 13 faculties/schools. All these

centers together award a total of 85 qualifications in the form of first degrees, diplomas, and

engineering degrees. UAB has more than 40,000 students and more than 3,600 academic and

research staff. The UAB is a pioneering institution in terms of fostering research

4. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

The Autonomous University of Madrid is one of the top universities of Spain and commonly

known by its Spanish initials UAM or as "la Autónoma". UAM is a Spanish public university

established in 1968. UAM has been one of Spain's most prominent higher education

institutions, being ranked first amongst Spanish universities by the El Mundo University

Supplement (known as "Las 50 Carreras"), by The Times Higher Education Supplement, and

by the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

30

5. Universidad de Barcelona

The University of Barcelona (Catalan: Universitat de Barcelona) is a public university located

in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. With 75 undergraduate programs, 353 graduate

programs and 96 doctorate programs to over 63,700 students, UB was considered to be the

best University in Spain in the 2011 QS World University Rankings. In 2010, according to

University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), it is the best university in Spain and

83rd university in the world.

Universidad de Salamanca

The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education

institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of

Madrid, in the autonomous community of Castilla and León.

It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of

foundation by King Alfonso IX. It is the oldest founded

university in Spain and the third oldest European university

in continuous operations. It is the top-ranked university in

Spain based on the number of students coming from other

regions.[6]

It is also known for its Spanish courses for non-

native speakers, which attract more than two thousand

foreign students each year

Most demanded degrees:

1. Master in Business Administration (ADE)

2. Architecture

3. Fine Art

4. Library science

5. Biology

Access to university. You need to meet the following requirements:

1- Bachillerato Certificate (equivalent to Upper Secondary certificate)

2- PAU (University Entrance Exam):

a) Compulsory exams (foreign language, Spanish, History and Philosophy)

b) Optional exams (depending on the subjects chosen)

Admission mark:

6/14 Bachillerato marks

4/14 Compulsory PAU exams

4/14 Optional PAU exams

ERASMUS Erasmus program consists of the carrying out of a studies or practices period in another

European university or enterprise. During this period, the student doesn’t have to pay the

tuition fees in the host institution (accommodation, the trip …) because the student receives a

grant for these expenses, although it is not a very big one.There are two types of mobility

programs: mobility for studying and

31

mobility for work experience. It’s usually required to have an important knowledge of

Spanish. In most universities classes at are mainly taught in Spanish, B1 Level is advised but

UCM, for example, offers a free Spanish Language Course for levels under C-1 to students

who apply for it

How a foreign student can get into a Spanish university You must have studied in the European Union or one of these countries: Andorra, Iceland,

Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or China. You can also study in our universities by

having the European Baccalaureate diploma or the International Baccalaureate Diploma. You

can also take the PAU entrance test to improve your marks. If you don’t meet the

requirements you must pass a test arranged by the UNED (Distance Learning National

University).The recognition of foreign certificates, diplomas or studies for non-university

education involves the declaration of their equivalence with the current certificates in the

Spanish educational system. In the case of university degrees, this may involve recognition of

the equivalence of degrees and diplomas gained abroad or partial validation of studies passed.

Tertiary education, universities in Slovakia How long do we have to study to get a certain degree?

a) You can achieve the first degree after studying 3 or 4 years – after its graduation you get

the degree baccalaureate (Bc.)

b) The second degree lasts from 1 to 3 years – after its graduation you get the degree of Mgr.,

Ing., art. ...

c) When you finish the third level – after the graduation you can get the degree of (PhD.)

Famous Slovak Universities

Jessenius Faculty in Martin University of Matej Bel in Banská Bystrica

Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra University of Žilina

32

Which faculty can we find at Slovak universities? Faculty of Medicine, Natural Science, Economics, Art, Philosophy, Political Sciences,

Education, Theology, Sport, Military, Agriculture.

COMENIUS UNIVERSITY

“If a human would like to become a human must be educated”

John Amos Comenius

Comenius University in Bratislava is the

oldest and biggest university in the Slovak

Republic. It was founded in 1919 and it

follows the university traditions of

Academia Istropolitana. Studying at the

oldest Slovak university enjoys

popularity with international students –

more than 2,300 students from 80 countries

study at Comenius University. The

university admits about 9,000 new students

every year who can choose from a rich

range of several hundreds of courses.

Comenius University in Bratislava is an

outstanding scientific institution.

Comenius University is also involved on

hundreds of national and international

scientific projects.

Faculties of Comenius University: - Faculty of Medicine – 1919

- Faculty of Law – 1921

- Faculty of Philosophy – 1921

- Faculty of Natural Sciences – 1940

- Faculty of Education – 1946

- Faculty of Pharmacy – 1952

- Faculty of Physical Education and

Sports – 1965

- Jessenius Faculty of Medicine – 1969

- Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and

Informatics – 1980

- Roman Catholic Faculty of Theology –

1990 (only in Slovak)

- Evangelical Faculty of Theology – 1990

(only in Slovak)

- Faculty of Management - 1991

- Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences

– 2002

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Other important facilities of Comenius University in Bratislava: - Academic library of Comenius University

- Information technology centre of Comenius University

- Botanic garden of CU

- Comenius University press

- In the area of university, there are two tennis courts with aluminic surface

The present educational system in Poland was introduced in 1998/1999 then the pre-school

education underwent certain changes, since 2002, pre-school education has been treated as the

first level of the education system and starting from 2003/2004 school years it became

compulsory for children of six years old. The pre schooling stimulates the general

development and gives the primary reading skill and basic mathematics.

Education in Poland

Pupils of 7-12 attend primary school. Their education is divided into two cycles: the first

cycle (grades 1-3) at which they begin learning and the second cycle (grades 4-6) at which

systematic learning is provided. Primary schools operate on the basis of general educational

plan which determines the minimum weekly number of lesson of particular subjects. The

main components taught at the lower level of the primary school (grades 1-3) These are:

Polish language,

social and natural environment and

mathematics,

crafts and technology,

art and music and

physical education. In the lower grades one teacher teaches all subjects,

In the higher grades each subject has a different teacher and usually pupils change classroom

for each subject. After completing primary school pupils can choose different secondary

education, which is free of charge. General secondary schools provide pupils with general

education, with the possibility of receiving the graduation certificate of general education.

Those who have passed the final examination called matura" may apply to universities. Those

who do not want to study at university and those who have not taken the matura" examination

may continue their education in post - secondary vocational schools.

Secondary schools of vocational education prepare qualified workers and others with

equivalent qualification. They also provide general secondary education. The purpose of these

schools is to meet the demand for qualified workers, and they also provide young people with

the opportunity of acquiring secondary education and taking the matura" examination.

34

Students can choose post-secondary education. They are trained as nurses, accountants,

administrative personnel for enterprises and hotels, computer specialists.

After secondary school students can take higher education. There are various types of higher

educational institutions in Poland.

Studying in Poland will give you a complete education, prepare you for work in the labour

markets of the world. The reform of science and the higher education sector was launched in

the years 2010-2011 The introduction of EST points made it easier for Polish as well as

foreign students to take up studies abroad which can be a life-changing experience because

they expose people to completely new and different worlds, values, attitudes cultures,

languages, nationalities and countries. Poland is in the fourth place in Europe in terms of the

number of people with higher education. The total student population is over 2 million

studying at 450 higher education institutions Each year almost half a million of young

people start their education at universities and colleges. The Polish universities offer more

than 200 high quality study faculties. The structure of studies in Poland corresponds to the

guidelines from the Bologna system newly introduced in the European higher education based

on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). There are 30 thousand

foreign students studying in Poland while almost 100 thousand students from Poland started

their education in another country within the European Union. They can study medicine,

biotechnology or engineering, but also art and business. The diploma awarded to them upon

graduation is recognized in Europe as well as in most countries of the world.

The Higher Education Institutions in Poland are divided into state (public) and private(non-

public) institutions.There are two main categories of higher education institutions:

Universities and non-university type institutions. At the university at least one unit should be

authorized to award the academic degree of doktor (PhD)

www.highereducation.pl, www.mnisw.gov.pl

All higher education institutions are required to end their courses with examinations. There

can be several independent examinations or tests in separate parts of a subject. To

successfully complete a semester (or a year), a student must get the passing (at least

“satisfactory”) marks for all assessments and examinations in the subjects covered by the

curriculum ECTS credits In addition to the grading scale, in the European Credit Transfer

System (ECTS) under which a certain number of credits is allocated to a given subject,

independently of marks awarded. To complete a year successfully, the student has to collect

60 credits (30 per semester).

Grade Description

The most common scale comprises the following marks:

5 very good (bardzo dobry)

4 good (dobry)

3 satisfactory (dostateczny)

2 unsatisfactory/fail (niedostateczny)

credit/pass (zaliczenie)

Sometimes the plus symbol or decimal is used to modify the numerical

35

In Poland there are four main terms referring to academic titles/degrees: licencjat or inżynier

(the equivalent of Bachelor, being the first post-secondary degree you can get as a student),

magister (the equivalent of Master) and doktor (the equivalent of Doctor) no matter whether

you graduate in arts or e.g. molecular biology.

We have First-cycle studies, lasting from 3 to 4 years, lead to the professional title of a

bachelor ( licencjat) or an(Engineer) inżynier in the field of engineering, agriculture or

economics. This is the Polish equivalent of the Bachelor’s degree. The full-time courses are

treated as the basic type of studies. They focus on preparing students for future employment

or education within the Master’s degree programmes. To obtain this degree, students must

earn 180- 240 ECTS credits. The higher education institutions run full-time, extramural,

evening and external courses, which usually requires the students to pay fees. There are

Eleven fields of study with long-cycle programmes which last a bit longer, due to the

difficulty of specialization, these are: acting, art conservation and restoration, canon law,

dentistry, law, medical analysis, medicine, production and photography, pharmacy,

psychology and veterinary medicine. You are awarded the professional title of a Master

(magister after 5 or 6 years of studying

Second-cycle studies – Master’s degree programme (1.5 to 2 years) following the first cycle

studies and leading to the professional title of a Master (magister

Third-cycle studies – Doctoral degree programmes (normally take 3 to 4 years) are for

graduates of Master’s degree programme, leading to the PhD degree, offered by the university

type schools as well as some research institution The PhD degree is awarded to candidates

who submit and successfully defend a doctoral dissertation before the thesis committee and

pass the doctoral examination. The best students at the university get scholarships from the

university or from the Polish Government or a number of Polish higher education institutions

which also offer their own scholarships.

The Polish higher education institutions offer a diverse range of study programmes in Polish

and in foreign languages, mainly in English. The number of degrees in foreign languages is

growing. At present, more than a half of the 119 existing fields of study are accessible in a

foreign language.

In order to graduate, the students are required to:

pass a performance assessment for all subjects, integrated placements and practical work

sessions, and pass all examinations covered by the study programme set for a given field of

study; present, at an appointed date, a diploma project and obtain a passing mark for that

project; pass the diploma examination. the student receives a diploma of completion of studies

in a specific field of study together with a Diploma Supplement (copy of the diploma

translated into a foreign language, describing the degree, level and specialisation).

The academic year in Poland is divided into two terms about 15 weeks each – the winter and

the summer semester. The winter semester starts in October and ends in mid-February, with a

break of ten days for the Christmas holidays. The examination session usually takes two or

three weeks, beginning in January. The summer semester starts in mid- February and ends in

June, with a one-week break for Easter. Summer holidays last for three months from the

beginning of July to the end of September

36

Admissions to the study programmes are administrated by the university and candidates

apply directly to the institution of their choice. In general, the requirements for foreign

students applying for universities in Poland are as follows:

provide the following documents to study for BA or MA

if you are an international student requiring a visa or a residence permit to stay and study on the territory of European Union, you should provide such a document.

have the refugee status granted by the Republic of Poland

provide secondary school certificate or an official duplicate issued by the candidate's high school, application form filled in 4 passport-size photographs copy of candidate’s

ID (passport certificate of the English language proficiency optionally (unless the high

school courses were taught in English);

provide medical certificate with no contraindication for studying, admission fee

payment receipt.

provide Undergraduate program diploma or an official duplicate issued by the university, candidate's CV with the details about the school and professional career

optionally one academic reference and one personal reference optionally,

filled out application form, 4 passport-size photographs, copy of the candidate’s ID (passport), proof of English language proficiency (unless the first degree was taught in

English), medical certificate with no contraindication for studying, admission fee

payment receipt.

You can Set up an account in the Online Application System from March till the end

of September and complete the forms you already can : personal data, education

details. School leaving exam results can be entered later

If you're taking part in admission for a programme where the qualification criteria is School leaving exam and you don't have a Polish maturity certificate you need to

register for Central Entrance Examination.

Confirm your registration. Pay your application fee in a currency you declared when setting up your account. Remember that you need to pay a separate application fee for

each registration.

When the date of your entrance exams comes the details about the exam will be sent to your

OAS account no later than two days before.

Are you having problems with arriving because you need a visa? University can issue a

certificate stating that the purpose of your visit is a university entrance exam.

If all registrations are confirmed and all forms completed and confirmed, wait for your

results! You will be notified through your OAS account or even get sms

If you have been accepted for enrolment, now complete the ‘data for enrolment' form, print

out the OAS application form from the ‘required documents' tab and check if you have all

documents required for enrolment ready.

You need to come to the office responsible for your new programme of study (the address can

be found on your OAS application form) and bring all required documents with you.

37

The most popular faculties to study in Poland over last 5 years and career paths you can

take

These are the IT studies concerning the computer studies and skills in data processing,

database production and transfer, for example technology, in economics, genetics. The

branch of studies also concerns the software making, the change in data processing, transfer

through software use for different purposes. The faculty is very popular among the

candidates, they don’t have any problems finding job after graduation. Possible professions

you can do after, finishing IT studies.

business analyst

business information systems

eBusiness

Internet communications

IT consulting

online media production

programming

system administration

web design

web development

Law and administration give you a thorough knowledge In public life examines the role of

the administration in government and legal education as well . It concerns penal law,

constitutional law, civil procedure it will explore the various trends in American public

administration, examine the unique circumstances involved in

Administering public organizations and look at different techniques of public management.

public administration will provide the student with a survey of Polish. Possible professions

you can do after, finishing Law and administration

tax office

job advisor,

Insurance account manager

license manager

school manager

the public administration worker

barrister

barrister's clerk

solicitor

judge

property valuer

court executive officer

land steward

Management the faculty for those who want to run the company responsible for managing

the organization, its employees, customers, reputation, assets and interests of stakeholders.

The company management is primarily concerned with the strategy, structure, and operations

The successful manager will identify options for the company as well as help with additional

resources to implement solutions. The studies will prepare its graduates for operating across a

wide variety of services such as business strategy, marketing, financial and management

controls, human resources, information technology, e-business and operations, and supply-

38

chain management. The students doing the faculty will find out how to carry out research and

collect data to understand the organization , conduct analysis interview clients, employees

running focus groups and facilitate workshops, prepare business proposals/presentations. The

future candidates for this faculty should know at least two foreign languages at B2 level at the

beginning and continue foreign language learning towards fluency while studying. The

faculty also try to include soft skills such as team work and the ability to communicate,

negotiate. Possible professions you can do after, finishing Management

management consultant

company manager

maintenance engineer

human resources manager

Construction is one of the quickest developing faculties at the universities, the students learn

about the construction materials used in building, gain training in design as well as in

installation and maintenance. They need to have a combination and designing skills, the

students learn to read detailed diagrams, plans and drawings, get skilled in using whole life

cycle costing techniques, learn how to keep the work to the budget, or designing site-specific

equipment as required, find out how to negotiate and develop project contracts organize and

assess the work of contractors , the faculty offers new specializations, such as intelligent

buildings and organic lighting or the new technologies that help to reduce the carbon

emissions of a building. The faculty offers course in constructing law of the EU Possible

professions you can do after, finishing Construction

architect

architectural technologist

building control surveyor

building services engineer

building surveyor

commercial/residential surveyor

consulting civil engineer

contracting civil engineer

engineering geologist

estate agent

historic buildings inspector/conservation officer

housing manager/officer

landscape architect

planning and development surveyor

quantity surveyor

rural practice surveyor

site engineer

structural engineer

town planner

water engineer

Production Engineering is responsible for the research, specification, design and

development of materials to advance technologies of many kinds. Its expertise lies in

understanding the properties and behaviours of different substances, from raw materials to

finished products. The field is also referred to as materials science or materials technology.

39

The students learn how to provide efficient solutions to the development of processes and

products, ranging from small component designs to extremely large plant, machinery or

vehicles. They will find out how to work on all stages of a product, from research and

development to design and manufacture, through to installation. The graduate will be

equipped as well in skills of management. Possible professions you can do after, finishing

Production Engineering

automotive engineer

bBiomedical engineer

broadcast engineer

building services engineer

chemical engineer

communications engineer

consulting civil engineer

contracting civil engineer

control and instrumentation engineer

drilling engineer

electrical engineer

electronics engineer

energy engineer

food technologist

land-based engineer

maintenance engineer

manufacturing engineer

manufacturing systems engineer

materials engineer

mechanical engineer

mining engineer

naval architect

petroleum engineer

production manager

quality manager

site engineer

structural engineer

technical brewer

technical sales engineer

telecommunications researcher

water engineer

Economics – the faculty connected with production analysis, with the distribution and

consumption of foods In the nation. It explores how a citizen and the society use the resources

to produce various goods and to consume or use them. Together with finances and

accountancy the Economics is the faculty chosen most often. Possible professions you can do

after, finishing Economics

accounting technician

actuary

chartered accountant

chartered certified accountant

40

chartered management accountant

chartered public finance accountant

corporate investment banker

corporate treasurer

financial adviser

financial manager

financial trader

internal auditor

investment analyst

operational investment banker

retail banker

senior tax professional/tax inspector

tax adviser

Environmental engineering is the integration of science and engineering principles to

improve the natural environment, to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation

and for other organisms, and to clean up pollution sites. Environmental Engineering can also

be described as a branch of applied science and technology that address the issue of energy

preservation, production asset and control of waste from human and animal activities.

Robotics engineers

Environmental studies and ecology the faculty prepares you to deal with ecosystems as a

whole, the abundance and distribution of organisms (people, plants, animals), and the

relationships between organisms and their environment. In the faculty you will conduct

surveys to identify, record and monitor species and their habitats, learn about the taxonomy

how to classifying organisms and how to create habitat for endangered spieces, you will

analyse and interpret data, using specialist software programs, you will become aware of

environmental policies in the EU You can specialize in the following areas (e.g. freshwater,

marine, terrestrial, fauna, flora) and then carry out a wide range of tasks relating to that area.

Possible professions you can do after, finishing Economics

ecologist

energy engineer

energy manager

environmental consultant

environmental manager

marine scientist

nature conservation officer

recycling officer

waste management officer

water quality scientist

41

Ten best universities in Poland

Jagiellonian University of Cracow http://www.uj.edu.pl/

The University of Warsaw http://www.uw.edu.pl/

Adam Mickiewicz’s University of Poland http://amu.edu.pl/

Warsaw University of Technology http://www.pw.edu.pl/

University of science and technology of Stanisław Staszic in Cracow http://www.agh.edu.pl/

University of technology in Wrocław http://www.pwr.wroc.pl

University of Wrocław http://www.uni.wroc.pl/

Warsaw School of Economics http://www.sgh.waw.pl

University of Medical Sciences of Poznań https://www.ump.edu.pl/

Nicolaus Copernicus University of Toruń http://www.umk.pl/

The Jagiellonian University

In 1364, after many years of effort, King Casimir the Great got permission from the Pope to

establish a university in Krakow, the capital of the Kingdom of Poland. It was the second

university to be founded in Central Europe. Studium Generale in Krakow, as the school was

then called, consisted of three faculties only: liberal arts, medicine and law. The students had

the right to elect the Rector Rector was elected by the professors only from 1400 when it was

restablished by the queen Jadwiga.

The restored Krakow University soon became prominent in the world of learning. In the

second half of the fifteenth century the Krakow schools of mathematics and astrology

flourished. In that period, in the years 1491 - 1495, Mikolaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus)

studied liberal arts in Krakow. The status of the University was reflected in the fact that in the

years 1433 - 1510 as many as 44 per cent of the students came from other countries than

Poland

In the eighteenth century the University continued to decline, yet some symptoms of change

became gradually apparent. The systematic teaching of German and French was introduced,

as well as lectures in Polish law, geography and military engineering

The third and final Partition of Poland posed a serious threat to the very existence of the

University, but fortunately it was saved by the intervention of Professors Jan sniadecki and

Jozef Bogucki in Vienna. Once again the University became a major academic centre.

Scientific achievements of the time included the work of the following professors: the chemist

Karol Olszewski (1846 - 1915) and the physicist Zygmunt Wroblewski (1845 - 1888), who

were the first to liquefy oxygen and nitrogen from the air in 1883, and later also other gases.

42

The Jagiellonian University was dramatically affected by the German occupation of Poland.

On 6th November the Nazis ostensibly invited the University professors and other teachers to

a lecture by Obersturmbannführer Müller. The lecture turned out to be a trap. 144 University

staff were arrested by the Gestapo, together with some students, 21 professors of the

Academy of Mining and others, and sent to a concentration camp. The years 1939 - 1945 had

a devastating effect on the University. 34 University professors and other staff died in the

concentration camps of Sachsenhausen, Dachau and Auschwitz, as well as in Kharkov, Katyn

and other death camps, the victims of both the Nazis and the Soviets.

The structure of the Jagiellonian University is unique in Poland. Among the 15 faculties, there

are three which comprise the Collegium Medicum: The Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry,

Pharmacy, and Health Protection. These three were separated from the University in 1950,

following the Soviet model, and reincorporated in the Alma Mater in1993. Until recently, the

Jagiellonian was the only Polish university with medical faculties, although currently the

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń also has them.

The Jagiellonian University educates on the three levels: Ordinary, Masters, and Doctoral,

following the principles of the Bologna Process. 650 jubeelee

The University of

Warsaw

The university of Warsaw founded in 1816, is the best university and a leading research

centre in Poland. The high level of scientific research

University of Warsaw is listed among top 4% of the World-Class Universities and recognized

by prestigious international rankings such as, the Times Higher Education World University

Rankings and the CHE Excellence Group 2010 (subjects: chemistry, physics).

Currently, there are 20 faculties and 30 other units, including the Centre of New Technologies

The University collaborates with ca 1,000 foreign institutions, including 420 partnerships

within the boundaries of more than 1,100 Erasmus agreements and 240 partners from 52

countries within the boundaries of university agreements on direct collaboration.

UW offers undergraduate, graduate and post-diploma studies, organizes summer schools and

vocational courses, initiates interdisciplinary programmes and introduces new teaching

techniques. Its offer is adapted to the needs of the changing world and the challenges and

complexity of the labor market. Our scholars regularly receive awards and win competitions

for research grants. UW students are well-educated and very competitive, winning many

contests and championships. Scientific and vocational development of our students is

supported by appropriate offices, organizations, and cooperation with numerous institutions.

National and international companies highly value our graduates

43

Adam Mickiewicz’s University of Poznań

Adam Mickiewicz’s University of Poznań was founded in 1919 after Poland gain its

independence in 1918, it was named as the Polish University of Poznań. The first faculty run

in 1919 was the one of Philosophy, Then the Prussian authority changed its name of the High

School of Piast Monarchy in 1919. The beginning of the academic year took place 7 May

1919, it was 308 years after the foundation of the university. In 1925 the faculty of

Mathematics, Science, and Humanities were launched

King Sigmund Vasa founded the College of Jesuits which was considered the first university

of Poznań in 1611. The same charter was given to the College of Jesuits by the kings of John

Casmir in 1650, John III Sobieski in 1678

The Nazis closed the university down and dissolved the governing body of Professors just

after the war began September 1939, many lecturers were killed in the concentration camps.

The ones that survived together with the lecturers gave the lectures in the Secret University

of Western territories together with the professors of Warsaw University. The university was

restored after the war.

You can study at fifteen faculties at Adam Mickiewicz’s University including humanities,

science, Philosohy, sociology or arts. There are daily programmes as well as extramular

studies for which you need to pay fees

44

Chapter 3 Employment issues

Unemployment in Europe and in Poland

Unemployment is one of the most important economic and social problems in Poland because

the unemployment rate has been rising steadily over the recent years. During the communism

the official unemployment level was less than 1 %, but according to historians and the

economists the hidden unemployment was over 50 % in some factories. That meant that a job

for a person was done by two people. Due to the political and economic system

transformation (form the centrally planned economic model to a free market system) after the

1989 the unemployment rate started to rise rapidly. In 1990 it was 61%. Up to 2002 the Polish

economy has adapted to the free market system in a way, and the unemployment rate was

only 20%. And this unfavorable trend was reversed, since 2002 the unemployment has

declined to 15 % in 2006 and 9,5% in 200 the lowest unemployment rate. Such decline was

due to the economic upward trend which produced more

45

job offers . Then, due to the

economic crisis in 2009 the unemployment rate increased to nearly 12% and to 12,8 in 2010.

The unemployment rate in Poland over the last 20 years

A strong differentiation is observed in the unemployment rates for various parts of Poland.

The highest unemployment rate for one region means that it can be more than twice the figure

in the other region. In the warmińsko – mazurskie voivodeship in the north – east part of the

country the unemployment rate in February 2011 was 21,5% while in the richest district:

mazowieckie with the capital city only 10 % The highest unemployment rates are primarily

seen in the regions dominated by the agriculture, mining, and manufacturing industries.

46

The unemployment rate by administrative districts (February 2012)

Unemployment in Poland is affected by fluctuations of the weather and seasons. For example,

in winter there is a high unemployment especially in tourist, building industries and in

agriculture.

Polish unemployment is a problem for young people (below 35 years of age) According to

Eurostat data 24,9% among the unemployed are young. It’s because the young people have

unually no experience on the job market, their qualifications are incompatible with

employers’ demands and they are not flexible enough. Women and people over 50 also

experience difficulties finding the job. People of the last group spent almost half of their lives

under the communist system, so they find it difficult to adjust to the capitalist system. They

are unwilling or they don’t have a chance for re-education and qualification changing.

The unemployment in Poland tends to be of structural or long term in nature. As we can see in

the chart there are 34 % of the unemployed who cannot find a job over 12 months; this, in

turn, has an impact on the health and well being of large segments of society.

Despite economic growth during the last 20 years and a large emigration of job seekers,

unemployment in Poland remained at some of the highest levels in Europe.

47

Poor labour laws aimed against employers.

Significant bureaucracy and legal difficulties when employing and dismissing, almost no

temporary solutions for employers to avoid taxes and give them more flexibility to employ

and fire. Such situation prevents the healthy labour market from development.

Poland’s economic achievements over the past two decades should be celebrated. However

the danger is that using the achievements to justify and sustain, inflexible, outdated, labour

system may prevent the long term growth, discourage entrepreneurship and result in high

levels of structural unemployment in Poland for years to come.

Large wage taxes and expensive social security benefits (ZUS) – employers often avoid the

expensive costs for social security and taxes associated with hiring an employee on a

permanent contract, usually they offer short term or temporary contracts.

Influential trade unions prevent change they have a strong political influence and have acted

to prevent modernization of the labour system. Protecting the interests and benefits of their

members in the mining, manufacturing,

Public sector has, in turn, prevented the possibility of a more flexible labour system in the

Polish economy, that affects developing industries.

The years 2002- 2006 belong to the crisis years in the job market in our region as well as in

the country. The slowdown in the economical development in the region and the country

results in the fewer number of job facilities and the increasing number of the unemployed

people. The statistics show a small decline in the number of the unemployed people in the

years 2007- 2012, it’s connected with the job mobility of the unskilled or the low skilled

workers. Over the decade, the largest number of the unemployed have been the young people

25-34 age group. They made 954 people in 2009 in the region, it was the 60 % of the

unemployed registered in the district job centre. The significant is the fairly low number of

the unemployed people over the 50 – 55 years of age, only 168 people, it means these people

enjoy their workplace and are quite safe in the job market, but there aren’t any new places for

the unskilled inexperienced or low skilled workers.

In 2009 there were 157 unemployed registered with higher education among them 100

women. Since that year, the number of people with higher education has been gradually

increasing because the graduates can’t find job after some faculties. They try to take up

another faculty, corresponding to the labour market or start the job under their qualifications,

migrate abroad for a job search there they work out of their profession but for higher salary.

48

Among the registered people in the job office are the ones with elementary schooling , and

lower secondary schooling 1034 people altogether. There were 1039 people registered with

the vocational education. The main problem in the district is the long term unemployment,

people stay out of work up to 12 or longer to 24 months.

The job facilities in the local labour market of Golub – Dobrzyń

49

EMPLOYMENT ISSUES (NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVELS)

There are nearly 6,000,000 unemployed people in Spain. That means that 1 in 4 Spaniards are

out of work, an unemployment rate of 26 per cent. About 3,500,000 jobs less than in 2008,

when the recession hadn’t started yet.

In Almendralejo the most affected population sector is the youths. Many of them have a low

level of education or dropped out of school earlier than expected

50

One of the most affected age groups by unemployment is the youths. The number of 16-24

year old Spaniards out of work rose to 51.4 per cent in December, 2012 more than double the

European Union average.

Reasons for unemployment in Spain: · The effect of the housing bubble. The construction boom and associated industries attracted

a lot of young people that were left without a job after the crisis. Now many of these young

people have a basic qualification and low skills to develop other activities.

· Temporary employment. It has been customary to hire workers for a short period of time

since firing full-time workers involve high costs for the employers.

· Not enough growth. The Euro crisis and the Spanish debt stop the government from finding

solutions.

What steps should be taken? Education:

Flexible education programmes to reduce early school leaving.

Introduction of Dual Vocational Education facilitating the transition to the labour market.

Labour Market:

Creation of a single permanent contract to avoid temporariness.

Promote recruitment of the unemployed.

Programmes to encourage: Self-employment, entrepreneurship and competitiveness

51

Chapter 4 Business Etiquette

Etiquette is an unwritten rule synonymous with manners

Etiquette is variously defined as

Politeness

Consideration

Thoughtfulness

Good manners & behavior

It is treating others as you would like to be treated with consideration, thoughtfulness &

courtesy.

Introducing people

In business, introductions are based on power and hierarchy

Gender plays no role in business etiquette; nor does it affect the order of introductions.

Introduce someone from your firm to a client or customer.

Introduce a junior executive to a senior executive.

As you say each of the individuals' names, look at him or her.

The way you respond to someone else's introduction is just as important as making the

introduction

Always stand for introductions and offer your hand.

If you forget someone’s name

Confess and express sincerity and warmth. Say: „I am so sorry. I have completely

blanked on your name.”

Ask the person to please repeat his or her name.

Ask the person how he or she prefers to be addressed.

Business card tips

Never leave your home or office without

your cards and plenty of them.

Keep your cards in a quality business

card case that protects them from wear

and tear.

Invest in quality business cards.

Know where your business cards are at

all times.

Hand them out with discretion. Never

assume someone wants your card, ask

first!

Never ask a senior executive for his or

her card ; many will exchange cards

with others of similar rank.

Give and receive cards with your right

hand–the hand of discretion.

52

Give the card so the person who is

receiving it can read it without having to

turn it around.

Always make a comment about a card

when you receive it.

Keep your business cards up to date.

Give and receive cards with your right

hand–the hand of discretion.

Give the card so the person who is

receiving it can read it without having to

turn it around.

Always make a comment about a card

when you receive it.

Keep your business cards up to date.

Don't write notes to yourself on someone

else's business card during the exchange

unless they appear relevant.

Don't write notes to yourself on someone

else's business card during the exchange

unless they appear relevant.

Meeting and Greeting

You only have ONE opportunity to make a good first impression

When meeting someone, shake their hand firmly, look directly into their eyes, and say

their name in your mind three times.

Shake hands firmly with everyone present look directly into their eyes, and say their name in your mind three times: men, women, and children -- at business and social

meetings. Shake hands again when leaving.

Handshakes are light not firm.

Women should extend their hand to men first.

Use last names and appropriate titles until specifically invited by your hosts or colleagues to use their first names.

The goals of small talks

Good small talk is like the tennis game.

Someone receives the ball, answers a question, and then hits the ball, asks a question.

The goal is to keep the conversation alive.

The weather: it affects us all

A good book: this is a sign of an intelligent, aware, curious individual which will reflect

well on you.

Transportation: We all have direct experience.

Your surroundings: This can be anything from the actual room or to the city itself.

Sports

Conversation stoppers

53

Do not ask about:

religious beliefs

financial situation

any illness

details about a divorce or an affair

someone's weight, height, shoe size, age or mental health.

harmful gossip; and

telling racial, ethnic, and sexually oriented jokes

Small Talk Tips

First, observe. Your small talk will be more effective if you take the time to look

for the best possible icebreaker.

Stay safe.

Ask open-ended questions.

Make strong eye-contact, the key indicater of your interest and respect.

Be aware of your body language revealing how you really feel.

Body Language

Words only account for 7% of an initial impression. Vocal quality accounts for another 38%.

The rest of 55% of any first impression is based on non-verbal perceptions of appearance and

behavior.

do not display affection in public, it is not polite to seem back slapper or toucher

Hugging, kissing and touching is usually reserved for family members and very close friends.

keep a certain amount of personal space. Do not stand too close to another person or put your

arm around someone's shoulder.

Staring is considered rude.

To gain and increase respect, first establish your presence in a room, then smile.

Corporate Culture punctuality is important for business meetings. Be on time.

prefer a congenial business relationship, but tend to get right down to business after a few

moments of polite conversation.

Business is best initiated through a well-connected third party.

Expect formalities and protocol to be observed in business

Meetings should be scheduled well in advance.

Meetings generally have a concrete objective, such as: making a decision, developing a plan

or arriving at an agreement.

Presentations should be detailed and subdued.

The Polish are known for being skilled businesspersons.

Dining and Entertainment

54

Summon a waiter by raising your hand. Don't wave or shout.

Most business entertaining is done restaurants or pubs over lunch. The host, the one who

extends the invitation, pays the bill.

An invitation to someone's home is more common in England than in the rest of Europe.

Do not discuss business at dinner in someone's home unless the host initiates the

conversation.

when invited to someone's home, arrive at least 10-20 minutes after the stated time. Never

arrive early.

A male guest of honor is seated at the head of the table or to the right of the hostess. A female

guest of honor is seated to the right of the host.

Wait for your host to begin eating before you eat.

Host or hostess always initiates first toast, which is usually only given at a formal dinner.

Keep your hands on the table at all times during the meal -- not in your lap. However, take

care to keep your elbows off the table.

When finished eating, place knife and fork side by side on the plate at the 5:25 position.

You should leave a very small amount of food on your plate when finished eating.

The guest of honor should initiate leaving a party.

When the host folds his napkin, this signals that the meal is over.

Leave a dinner party shortly after dinner ends.

Write a thank you note to the hostess.

It is considered impolite to ask for a tour of your host's home.

Dress People in the larger cities dress more formally

Men and women wear wools and tweeds for casual occasions. Slacks, sweaters and jackets

are appropriate for men and women.

Avoid striped ties

For business meetings, men should wear dark suits and ties. Women should wear suits,

dresses or skirts and blouses.

Do not wear a blazer to work. A blazer is country or weekend wear.

For formal events men may wear black ties, business suits, morning coats or tails. Inquire

which is required. Women generally wear cocktail suits or dresses.

Gifts Gifts are normally not exchanged in business settings.

When invited to someone's home, always bring a small gift for the hostess. Give flowers,

chocolates, wine, champagne or books. Present the gift upon arrival.

Gifts are opened upon receiving.

It is polite to send flowers in advance of a dinner party.

Helpful Hints Men should open doors for women and stand when a woman enters a room.

Always hold the door for a person following behind you.

Honor rank when entering a room. Allow higher rank to enter first.

Respect the desire for privacy. Don’t ask personal questions, such as where a person lives or

what a person does for a profession or job. Don’t talk about money.

Some rule of thumbs In business, introductions are based on power and hierarchy

Gender plays no role in business etiquette; nor does it affect the order of introductions.

Introduce someone from your firm to a client or customer.

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Introduce a junior executive to a senior executive.

As you say each of the individuals' names, look at him or her.

The way you respond to someone else's introduction is just as important as making the

introduction

Always stand for introductions and offer your hand.

BUSINESS ETIQUETTE IN SPAIN

ADDRESSING A PERSON:

In Spain, people have two surnames, composed of their father’s first surname and their

mother’s first surname. Also like in other countries we can have two first names

We usually say Sr (Mr) and Sra (Mrs) before the name or replace the name when we address

to an older person, a superior or a stranger only if this is not a young person. In this case we

don’t use Señor or Señora, because we speak in one way or another depending on if we are in

a formal or informal atmosphere.

INFORMAL: (When there is an atmosphere of trust.) friends, family. In this friendly

environment we talk in a relaxed manner, we address people saying “tú” instead of “usted”,

which is very formal and also we use slang, each region has its own way of speaking and

greeting. To greet we can say “hey” or “hola”

FORMAL: We use formal language in more formal situations where we use a precise

vocabulary for example in a job interview, a debate or a ceremony. As opposed to informal

language we use “usted” instead of “tú”

DRESS CODE: In Spain there aren’t strict rules about what to wear or not. Like in all countries we use an

outfit or another depending on what we'll do and where.

In a business: If you want to make a good impression you have to look fashionable. For

business, men should wear a suit with a jacket and with a tie or without it , even in warm

weather, and women usually wear dresses, blouses and skirts with heels.

Parties and celebrations: When we go out we usually get dressed up or try to wear our best

outfits. Men wear jeans with stylish shirts and maybe a jacket, in this type of parties it isn’t

common to wear a tie, but there are men who put it on. Women wear dresses, skirts and also

jeans with tight shirts, boots or heels... Women make up themselves and they usually put on

lots of accessories such as necklaces, bracelets, also hair accessories like ribbons.

A middle-aged or old man doesn’t’ wear the same clothes

to go to a party as a teenager. They prefer more comfort and elegance at the same time.

Finally in Spain not everyone wears“Flamenco” dresses. There are many types of folkloric

costumes, each community has its own, and ied on a specific date.

TIME AND PUNCTUALITY In Spain the working hours for shops and businesses are regulated by the government. Shops

are usually open in the morning and reopen after lunch until about 0830. pm, Monday through

Friday, and Saturday morning. Large department stores are open all day. Professional offices

usually open from 10 to 2, then from 5 to 8. Banks are open from 9 to 2 pm .

Most shops and businesses close at lunchtime to rest and take “siesta” , which is typical in

Spain. The Spanish usually take “siesta” in summer, because it is very warm.

Lunch is between 2 pm and 4 pm. Dinner is generally at 10 pm.

The view of time tends to be somewhat flexible. In social situations it is common to show up

late but being on time for business situations is expected.

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But appointments and deadlines tend to be kept and most transportation services run on time.

As a general rule, in the south, people tend be more relaxed about time than in the north.

AT SCHOOL In most public high schools you do not have to wear uniforms, and students usually go with

casual wear. But in private and government-funded schools students must wear uniform.

Marks at high schools are given on a scale from 0 to 10 with 10 being the highest and 5 being

the minimum passing grade for a given subject.

Mobile phones are not allowed at schools as a general rule. If you need to make a phone call,

you can use the telephone in the main office. If a teacher sees you using your mobile in class

it can be taken away until your parents come to collect it.

MEETING AND GREETING A kiss on both cheeks. Actually you don’t kiss their cheeks, you just kiss on the air while

you’re touching cheeks. From left side to right side. That’s used between girls and a woman

and a man.

Shaking hands. You shake the right hand, this is used between men, and everyone if it is a

serious situation.

Hug. This happens among friends.

Meeting. In meetings Spaniards would like to check if they can trust you, so they will ask you

about things like your family. You should be honest.

CONVERSATION Spanish people love to talk, so you can ask about their family or free time. But you should be

careful with some topics like age or Spanish food, for example. Here in Spain we are very

proud of our cured ham and wine, so maybe speaking badly about that isn’t a good idea. If

you’re a woman probably they will say things like “you look good.”

Then you could say thanks, because in Spain we prefer humble people.

BUSINESS MEALS Doing business in Spain is similar to doing business in the rest of Europe.

While many Spaniards kiss on both cheeks when meeting, this is not common in business

relationships. When doing business in Spain handshakes are standard as with the rest of

Europe and a kiss is appropriate

If you are female, don't be surprised if they compliment you and tell you that you look good.

You can compliment them back if you feel like it or just say thanks.

Several people may also try to speak at once and interruptions are not uncommon. If this

happens it should not be interpreted as rude.

More typically, the deals are done at the office, and then after the successful negotiations, you

all go to celebrate at a restaurant.

The Spanish are great conversationalists. This is how they spend their free time.

The Spanish are proud of their food and wine. Don't be surprised if an evening out lasts until

the late hours.

Spaniards do not, on average, speak English as well as a Northern European. Many companies

in Spain have staff with good English language skills, but try to speak Spanish.

BODY LANGUAGE

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Never touch, hug or back slap a Spaniard you do not know well, unless a friendly Spaniard

touches you first.

Generally, Spaniards stand very close when talking.

Spaniards speak a lot with their hands. In most conversations, hands are waving around giving

emphasis on what is being said. Never mimic them.

It is common to see people hug in public; couples kiss in public, women interlock arms with

men while walking in the street ( del brazo). Public physical contact is considered normal

within certain limits.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS In Spain, when you are considered a friend you will be treated in a familiar way and

politeness won’t be necessary and the rules become relaxed, but you must be more formal

with the older generation.

If you don’t say “please” or “thank you”, it is not considered impolite as a general rule. It is

thought unnecessary among family and friends, or in everyday exchanges in shops and

restaurants.

When some spanish people are in a pub or in a restaurant, they usually say “jefe” (boss),

“maestro” (master), “campeon” (champion), “niño” (boy) , “máquina” (machine) to get

attention the waiter’s attention.

Spaniards do not physically stand in line (queue), but they have a sixth sense about who

arrived before them and who arrived after them, instantly knowing when it’s their turn. Make

sure to ask who’s last when you arrive, especially because Spaniards aren’t afraid to complain

if someone should “cut in line”. With that said, be prepared to assert yourself to get served.

GIVING PRESENTATIONS IN PUBLIC

If this were on a list of the human race greatest fears, public speaking would be right at the

top. Whether it is forgetting your lines or realizing you have a tail of toilet paper hanging out

of your trousers, fear of public speaking really boils down to fear of being ridiculed, rejected,

and publicly humiliated. However, public speaking is something that you can get over.

The most important thing is preparation. You have to search information and write what you

are going to say, it is easier like that. Another point to keep in mind is the impression and your

appearance. We must remember that body language is even more important than the oral

speech sometimes. Your feelings and attitude will depend on the situation or place you are

and the people you are talking to.

Moreover, there are some tips you can follow to be a little bit more relaxed such as drinking

some water, thinking your speech is just a conversation with one person, smiling or even

making a funny comment about the topic you are explaining.

PREPARATION The first thing you have to do if you want to make a good speech is to write what you are

going to say. Of course it will be easier if you know what you are talking about, even though

you have to search information to complete your knowledge about your topic, and that will

make you more competent.

You have to write it with your own words, and not to read everything you are saying.

Before giving your speech you will have to memorize it, but some experienced and talented

people don’t memorize it, they just improvise, but that is best done at informal situations,

besides, it is risky.

A trick is to use slides or notes with the main ideas written on them.

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Moreover, you will have to know where are you going to give your speech. It is better if you

know whether you are going to be standing or sitting, and if you will be on stage you have to

know how to move on it.

IMPRESSION You have to know if you are making a good impression. You have to be relaxed and

confident. Your voice has to be fluid and clear, you have to speak articulating your words, not

thinking in understanding yourself, but in making others understand you.

To improve your voice you can speak in front of a mirror, looking at your gesticulation and

movements.

In addition, you have to try to keep the attention of the public, that’s not easy, because the

interest of your speech is relative, there may be people who really like the topic you are

talking about, and there are others who don’t.

You can use visual aids to illustrate your speech, using them to remember ideas.

VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE You have to speak clearly, as we said before, but what about body language?

That says many things about our personality, if we are nervous or calm people, of if we feel

comfortable in your element.

It is not advisable to use unnatural gestures. You have to smile and look at people in the eyes.

It is not a good idea to walk around the stage either. That may distract the public and not to

keep your hands in your pockets, just make soft movements with your hands to achieve a

better understanding of the public.

CONFIDENCE Many times fear may lead to negative self-talk, especially before you speak, with thoughts

such as "I'll never be good at this!" It lowers your confidence, so you’ve got to avoid it.

Positive thinking can make a huge difference to the success of your communication, because

it helps you feel more confident.

For example, you can use affirmations and visualization to raise your confidence. This is also

important right before your speech or presentation. Visualize giving a successful presentation,

and imagine how you will feel once it is over and when you have made a positive difference

for others. Use positive affirmations such as "I'm grateful. I have the opportunity to help my

audience" or "I'm going to do well!"

Second one, people trust people who look at them in the eye, so look at your audience when

you are speaking to them. Don't look at the floor -- there's nothing down there. Don't look

either at your notes -they will think you haven't prepared it-. You appear more confident

when your head is up, which makes your audience think you to have command of the room.

COPING WITH NERVES How often have you listened to or watched a speaker who really messed up? The answer is

"not very often."

When we have to speak in front of others, we can prevent terrible things from happening. We

imagine forgetting every point we want to make, or doing so horribly that we will lose our

job. But those things hardly ever happen! We build them up in our minds and end up more

nervous than we need to be.

To overcome stage fright we have to prepare our presentation well beforehand. People go to

presentations to learn something, so watch a good successful presentation first. That will help

you have positive thinking

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You can also focus on one friendly face at a time, and talk to that person as if he or she is the

only one in the room.

And also, who doesn't like to laugh a little? You don't have to be a comedian, but a few funny

comments can help humanize you to your audience. Win them over with a smile and a clever

remark, if you can.

Even you can drink some water; you can reorganize your ideas and feel more confident

And one thing really important: relax. You are ready. You have prepared for this speech so

there is no need to be worried. You know the material and you know your audience. Now just

go out and do your best.

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Chapter 5 D I S A B I L I T Y

Disabled persons are persons with limitation

at work caused by longstanding (at least half a year long period) health conditions or diseases,

or/and difficulties in basic activities.

Types of Disabilities: The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) identifies and defines the following categories of

disabilities:

Physical - affects a person's mobility or dexterity

Intellectual - affects a person's abilities to learn

Psychiatric - affects a person's thinking processes

Sensory - affects a person's ability to hear or see

Neurological - results in the loss of some bodily or mental functions

Associations for the disabled: National Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: The association which provides

support and assistance for deaf and hard of hearing children, adults, and their families.

Down Foundation: The organisation which ensures that as many children with Down

Syndrome as possible are brought up within their own families and live an independent life.

National Autism Association: An umbrella body for the various organisations representing

the interests of autistic people and their families.

National Deaf and Blind Association : The association which represents the people´s

interests - deaf and blind disability. It offers training for sign language interpreters and special

education teachers, as well as education and therapy for deaf and blind children.

Daily life: In everyday life we can meet a lot of disabled people everywhere. While we go

out, shopping or just climb stairs without any obstacle, people who live with disability have a

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lot of difficulties with things which are common for us for healthy people. That is why we

must help them with several devices to make their lives easier.

Public places: Our government is trying to help these disabled people to live their life in an easier way. A lot

of places such as shopping malls, businesses, doctors' offices and other public places are

adapted to the needs of the disabled people.

Furthermore every public building like schools, universities, business offices have to

provide a safe incline for anyone with a handicap to enter the buildings. Besides the buildings

it is very necessary special ramps to be placed everywhere for better entry.

Paralympics Games: The Paralympics Games is a major

international multi-sport event involving

all of the sportsmen and sportswomen all

around the world with a range of physical

and intellectual disabilities including

mobility disabilities, amputations,

blindness, and cerebral palsy. There are

Winter and Summer Paralympics Games.

They follow the Olympics Games since the

year 1988. All the Paralympics Games are

governed by the International Paralympics

Committee.

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Henrieta Farkašová

She was born in May 23, 1986, in

Rožňava. She is a Slovak downhill skier

and a five-fold winner of the Paralympics

Games. She is the most successful

Paralympics sportswoman in the Slovak

history. At the Winter Paralympics Games

in 2010 in Vancouver where she won three

gold medals for the visually impaired

disciplines: giant slalom, super combined

and super giant slalom. Then she won a

silver medal in downhill skiing. The fourth

Paralympics gold medal was won by her at

the Winter Paralympics Games in Sochi

(Russia) in 2014 skiing for visually

impaired. She also won the bronze medal

here in the slalom and the fifth gold in the

giant slalom.

Ján Riapoš

He was born in September 28, 1968, in

Heľpa. He is a Slovak Paralympics athlete

and a representative of the Slovak

Republic for the Paralympics Games.

Among his successes belong four gold and

one silver medals. He is our most

successful Paralympics sportsman. He is

also the chairman of the Slovak

Paralympics Committee and the President

of the Slovak Union of disabled athletes. In

2005 he was declared for the Paralympics

sportsman of the decade. He is considered

for one of the best European champion in

the individual table tennis in wheelchair

for last twenty years. On the last Summer

Paralympics Games in London 2012, he

achieved the greatest success when he

triumphed in the individual and team

category .

Polish Humanitarian Action Our mission is to make the world a better place by alleviating human suffering and promoting

humanitarian values. The work of any of us contributes to saving people’s lives.

Janina Ochojska is the founder and president of PAH. She is an extremely modest woman, an

unquestioned authority in the field of humanitarian aid. She was born on 12 March 1955 in

Gdańsk She is an astronomer and journalist by She has always been an active community

worker. Her aim in life has always been helping others She was diagnosed with polio and had

an operation in France in 1984. There she first encountered the idea of a humanitarian

organization.

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EquiLibre, where she worked as a volunteer. She

coordinated the French medical and food aid for Polish

hospitals and she organised support convoys to Bosnia.

Guidelines for language relating to disability

Good terms to use Bad terms to use

Person/people with disability / has a

disability,

the disabled, the handicapped, defectives,

invalids, deformed, crippled

People without disabilities, typical person Normal, healthy, able-bodied

Wheelchair user, uses a wheelchair Wheelchair bound, confined to a

wheelchair

Congenital disability, birth anomaly Birth defect, affliction

Has Cerebral Palsy (CP) A victim of cerebral palsy

People with an intellectual disability Mentally deficient, retardate, a retard,

feeble minded, slow

Person with Down’s Syndrome A Down’s or Mongoloid

Person who has epilepsy, seizure disorder,

fits

The epileptic

People who have mental illness, emotional

disorder, or mental health issues

The mentally ill, crazy, psycho, mental

case

People who are blind or visually impaired The blind

People who are deaf or hearing impaired Deaf mute, deaf and dumb

Person with speech or communication

disorder

Tongue tied, mute

Basic Points of Etiquette

Avoid asking personal questions or referring to someone's disability if it isn’t relevant to the situation. If you must ask, be sensitive and show respect

Be tactful with physical contact. If you are talking or helping the blind, tell them about

your presence, or touch gently, if you are the guide of the person, tell them about the

obstacles, you meet on your way.

Ask if you are not sure how to behave in the presence of the disabled person.

A handshake is NOT a standard greeting for everyone. When in doubt, ASK the person whether he or she would like to shake hands with you. A smile along with a

spoken greeting is always appropriate.

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Be considerate and patient of the extra time it might take for a person with a disability

to do or say something.

Find out, by polite asking if the disabled person needs your help, Be polite and patient when offering assistance, and wait until your offer of assistance is accepted; then

listen to or ask for specific instructions.

When planning a meeting or other event, try to anticipate specific accommodations a person with a disability might need. If a barrier cannot be avoided, let the person know

ahead of time.

Don't use "normal" to describe people who don't have disabilities. It is better to say "people without disabilities" or "typical," if necessary to make comparisons

Never say "wheelchair-bound" or "confined to a wheelchair." People who use mobility

or adaptive equipment are, if anything, afforded freedom and access that otherwise

would be denied them.

While conversation, talk directly to the disabled person, not to their guide or a helper Speak directly to the person with a disability, not just to the ones accompanying him

or her.

Never assume that a person with a communication disorder (speech impediment, hearing loss, motor impairment) also has an intellectual disability. This is not a good

assumption, people with intellectual disabilities often speak well and their limitations

are not always obvious initially.

Ask if you are not sure how to behave in the presence of the disabled person. Never

pretend to understand what a person is saying. Ask the person to repeat or rephrase, or

offer him or her a pen and paper. It is OK to say “I am sorry, I do not understand what

you are saying”.

It is okay to use common expressions like "see you soon" or "I'd better be running along." Speak to a person with a disability as you would anyone else. Don't overreact

and don't help if you are not kindly asked to do so.

Relax. Anyone can make mistakes. Offer an apology if you forget some courtesy. Keep a sense of humor and a willingness to communicate.

DISABILITY IN SPAIN

In the mid 1900’s, people with disabilities were segregated from mainstream society and

confined in mental institutions. Fortunately, things have changed dramatically and now there

is a concern about their situation.

Throughout the 20th century, they still were separated from the others, and, often, rejected.

Even the terms used to refer to them were cruel and inappropriate, but, luckily, at the end of

the 20th century other terms started to be used. Social awareness and the development of

associations composed of parents and disabled people also contributed to normalization and

integration.

On the other hand, there are still some problems, such as in rural areas, or when they have to

ask for a sign language interpreter or the expenses families have to face because there isn’t

enough funding for disabled people.

If we talk about employment, sometimes there’s a lack of concern. It is, because they don’t

really know that disability. There are workplaces or jobs where they don’t want to admit

people with disabilities or maybe just be responsible for them. But not everything is so

negative; there are a lot of employers who hire people with disabilities and benefit from a

range of grants and other funding.

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And, of course, there are some laws related to the disabled people’s situation, such as LISMI.

This is a law, passed on 7th

April 1982, for the Social Integration of Handicapped People,

which claims that all the Spanish companies with a workforce of over 50 workers must “have

a reservation quota for disabled people ".

Its goal, among others, is to stimulate and to promote the disabled labour integration.

In spite of the existence of this law, there were a number of companies that didn’t fulfill this

legal obligation, so new measures had to be taken to implement the law thoroughly. That way

the advantages people from general population have over disabled people are reduced.

In terms of education different laws were developed at the beginning of this century to fight

against discrimination and encourage inclusion, which means equal education of all students

in regular classes and appropriate educational classes for every student, so everyone is

accepted and supported.

Breaking down barriers People with disabilities face many barriers every day – from physical obstacles in buildings to

systemic barriers in employment. However, the most difficult barriers to overcome are

attitudes other people carry regarding people with disabilities.

We can see these attitudinal barriers through pity. People feel sorry for the person with a

disability, which tends to lead to patronizing attitudes. People with disabilities don’t want pity

or charity, just equal opportunity to learn their own way and live independently.

Unlike physical barriers, attitudinal barriers that often lead to discrimination cannot be

overcome simply through laws. The best remedy is familiarity, getting people with and

without disabilities to mingle as co-workers, associates and social acquaintances. In time,

most of the attitudes will give way to comfort, respect and friendship.

Etiquette: What can we do to interact with people with disabilities? Listen to the person with the disability. Do not make assumptions about what that person can

or cannot do..

Extend common courtesies to people with disabilities as you would do with anyone else.

Shake hands or hand over business cards. If the person cannot shake your hand or grasp your

card, they will tell you. Do not be ashamed of your attempt, however..

It is okay to feel nervous or uncomfortable around people with disabilities, and it's ok to admit

that. It is human to feel that way at first. When you encounter these situations, think "person"

first instead of disability; you will eventually relax.

Foundations in Spain One of the main associations in Spain working hard on the representation and defence of

people with disabilities is CERMI. How can CERMI achieve this purpose? They try to group

the entire people with disabilities sector and make social pressure. With this they have higher

strength and representation before the government, this is very important to achieve the

objective of non-discrimination and full citizenship for people with disabilities.

This organization works in the entire Spanish state, but just CERMI can’t cover all so it is

divided into separate platforms and so they can focus on more specific cases. There are also

other associations that support and help CERMI with its functions and objectives. We can

name some of them: Down Extremadura, FEAPS, ONCE (which is an organization for blind

people that runs the most popular charity lotteries in Spain and its main source of income.

Nowadays CERMI groups turn to 7000 associations and organizations which together

represent more than 3.8 million people, 10% of the total population.

High-skilled people with disabilities. Appropriate and inappropriate terms Perhaps Stephen Hawking is the best-known person with a disability. He was born in Oxford

and he is one of the most important scientists in human history, he is an English theoretical

physicist and cosmologist.

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Hawking has a disease called neuro-muscular dystrophy, an important disability that made

him lose mobility and later the ability to speak..

He has a quality which is perseverance, and as a result of it, he provided new knowledge to

modern science, especially about the universe, the Big Bang theory, and the black holes.

Another high-skilled person with a disability is Teresa Perales, a Spanish professional

swimmer, who has won a total of 22 Paralympic medals (six of those were won at the 2012

London Games).

She is paraplegic, nevertheless, she has been strong enough to become a professional

swimmer.

A person really surprising is Miguel Galindo, a Spanish skier and a ski coach who teaches and

helps blind skiers by telling them how to go on a mountain. It is incredible because people

who don’t have any disability wouldn’t be able to go through a mountain without seeing

anything, so they must have very high developed senses.

There are many other high-skilled people who have become professionals in their field, and in

spite of their disability, they have fulfilled their wish, with determination, patience and a very

high mental strength..

Concerning RESPECTFUL DISABILITY LANGUAGE, it consists of using terms which

don’t cause an offense to disabled people.

The problem is that we don’t know when a word offends a disabled person, because we don’t

pay attention to the meaning behind the word. However, we have to be careful with our

vocabulary, because if we were disabled, we wouldn’t like to be called with terms that might

sound offensive or pejorative.

For example, it is correct to use terms like “disabled”, or “people with disabilities”, but to talk

about people who are not, we shouldn’t use “normal people” or “healthy people”.

That way, we would address to a blind person, using “blind”, but not “dumb” or “invalid”.

Other terms we shouldn’t use are words like “retarded”, “insane”, “deformed” and many

others.

Instead, we should use terms such as “person with learning disability”, “wheelchair user” or

“person with a speech disability”.

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Chapter 6 FIRST AID

When an accident happens it is very important to act very fast and mainly right. Of course, it

is very complicated and difficult when there is a lot of blood, noise, chaos and you are under

the pressure. We should avoid mistakes like dragging out a person in unconsciousness when

there is no fire or it is not necessary. We should not start saving life before we insure vehicle

or we should not provide first aid before we check breathing and other vital functions.

Assecuration of the place of the accident

Stop in a safe distance in front of the place

of the accident.

Then place the warning triangle in assured

clear distance ahead.

Turn off the engine of the crashed car and assure the vehicle against to movement or back lift

(do not turn back reversal car)

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Life saving acts

At first we must check vital functions of the patient if he or she breaths and he or she

does not growl stop intense bleeding. We cover the open wound of chest. We ensure patency

of air passages.

Check by sight for :

Breathing

Bleeding Body position

Look and colour of face

Check by ear for:

Breathing bruit

Badges of the stricken (moan, answer on

the questions)

Check by touch:

Breathing movements

Pain of stricken area

Deformations

Temperature of the skin, sweat etc.

How to stop powerful bleeding:

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Pick up the wound above the level of the heart, push it by fingers or put a tampon there. Then

do a treatment with a bandage and if the bandage leaks add another layer.

Dragging out:

Drag out the wounded person only if

There is another danger like fire, falling down the hillside etc

If the person blocks helping the other wounded person

It is not able to provide first aid at that position of person

Rauket´s maneuver: Keep in mind potential damage of spine- beware of spine rotation. If you cannot drag out

wounded person on your own.

Taking helmet off: Carry out in pair

First the rescuer must keep head position in the ax of the body

Second one turns off the helmet also in the ax of the body

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Unconsciousness: The wounded person does not react on the

accosting or shaking.

Take out freely laying objects in mouth

Slump over his head

Push forward his jaw

Put him into stabilized position

If he or she does not breath, begin to

resuscitate

Keep watching the wounded person all the

time

Stabilized position: If the wounded person breaths and we feel the heart actions (we must check it every

minute)

we kneel down to the wounded person and:

Bend the leg (that one which is further from you)

We put the hand on the abdomen (again

the further one)

We catch patient´s bended knee and

shoulder on the other side from us and roll

him over a side

We push on the forehead and bend his

head back for better breathing

We also bend his arm in the elbow and put

in under the face

Resuscitation:

Do it if you cannot hear breathing after slumping over his head and if you cannot see

breathing movements after slumping over his head30 times push the chest right in the middle

(after 30 times there comes two in breath but it is not necessary but in that case do not stop

pushing)

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Anti shock steps: Anti shock position

Make sure that he or she is in warmth

ADMINISTERING FIRST AID

Following the Spanish Red Cross advice, in case of emergency it is crucial to adopt the PAS

approach to avoid that lack of knowledge or panic doesn’t let us take correct emergency

actions . In Spanish, P.A.S. stands for protecting (proteger), warning (avisar) and helping

(ayudar).

The first one is to protect, which means that you must move the person out of the road and

protect their spine. Also you should keep calm and put on the reflective vest.

Next, go out of the vehicle and place the warning triangles in the correct

distance.

The next step is help. Alert emergency services by calling 112 to request the

presence of an ambulance and qualified personnel at the site.

If more than one person is there one should attend to the victim and the other

one should call 122 for help.

When calling 122, indicate:

Whether the victim is unconscious.

Approximate age

Exact location

Administering first AID. Different cases:

Check for breathing: You must check the airways, if there´s no response, you must shout

for help and you must start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

Clearing the airway

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Initial evaluation. Examination of the mouth, consciousness and breathing.

If the victim coughs strongly and is breathing well: encourage him to cough and do not

perform any manoeuvres

If coughing is weak and breathing is difficult, perform manoeuvres to clear

the airway like this:

Five blows on the back with the heel of the hand (between the shoulder and

blades), with the adult leaning slightly forwards.

Then perform five abdominal thrusts (Heimlich manoeuvre)

Mouth to mouth ventilation Cover the victim’s mouth with your lips.

Pinch the victim’s nose between the thumb and index finger of the hand that

is on the victim’s forehead, keeping the airway open.

Breathe your air into the victim’s mouth, making sure that the chest rises. If you cannot make

the chest rise on breathing in air, check that the airway is open

Cardiac massage It consists of rhythmic compressions of the chest which make the blood flow towards the vital

organs such as the heart, lungs and brain. We must follow these steps:

Put the victim on the floor face up. Locate the centre of the chest and place the heel of one

hand on the lower third of the sternum. Place the heel of the other hand on top of the other

hand, interlocking the fingers of both hands together.

With your arms straight, press the weight of your body, pushing the victim’s chest down

about 4-5 cm.

The arms should be vertical over the centre of the chest in order to apply the pressure more

easily and the fingers should be raised so as to avoid damaging the ribs

Moving an unconscious person If the victim cannot stand, is unconscious or they are in a room filled with smoke, you can

move the victim:

By crawling while the victim holds onto your shoulders/neck (conscious victim).

By grabbing their shoulders/shirt, cradling their head in your arms and pulling.

By rolling them onto a blanket or sleeping bag and pulling.

Shock It is the body's reaction to a serious injury. It is a general term that describes a weakening of

the

body's systems, especially the cardiovascular system.

How to treat shock: Have the victim lie down and be calm. Start with no pillow.

Cover them with a blanket.

If their face is pale, raise feet. If their face is red, raise their

head.

Monitor his condition and write down what you see:

Take his pulse every five minutes.

Note the breathing pattern: shallow/deep, quick/slow

Check the injury and change dressings or make adjustments as needed. Look for

additional injuries.

Ask the victim for medical information: medical history, allergies, phone numbers of people

to contact, etc.

Talk to the victim and reassure him.

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Chapter 7 MY COMENIUS

EXPERIENCE

Manuel Macho Becerra

Luckily I have taken part in three meetings in the Comenius project so I will write about all of

them.

Firstly, the second meeting and the first I participated in took place here in Spain and it was a

good experience to help the other Comenius students to learn about our culture and

personally, about first aid. Obviously I made new friends and I could meet some of them in

the other two meetings. Here we had the chance to go to an adventure park in Hornachos near

my town.

The second meeting in Finland was exciting because I wanted to go to Finland before

knowing about the Comenius project. At first, I was surprised by the way the Finnish take

care of the public stuff because here most of us take care of that stuff but there are still people

that don’t take care of them. The people we met there, were very friendly although we thought that they weren’t so friendly. About the meeting, the presentations we watched there

were a little bit boring but I had a lot of fun there and we learnt a lot about the Finnish culture.

Last but not least the meeting in Poland made me think about my personal life so it was a little

bit strange experience but a good one because there I had fun mostly with my friends and also

with some Poles. I learnt about the history near the zone we were and it is an amusing history

that you can have fun learning about it.

Summarizing I think that the main objective that everyone must have in these experiences is

just having fun while you try to learn about what is around you.

Anastasia Altukhova

Fortunately, I had two Comenius experience in only two years and I have to say that they

were the better travels in all my life. I was in Slovakia (the first Comenius trip) and in Poland

(the last Comenius trip). The first travel was a year ago, in January 2013. My six classmates

and me were selected for the first trip and the true is that we were very nervous because we

didn’t know the people, the countries and in general, Comenius was the first program that we

did in our class. The first impressive news about Slovakia was the person in who’s house I

lived. I was waiting for a student, but one day I received an Email from Monika Krileková, a

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English teacher in Slovakia. I was so surprised! Monika has three children, however I was a

little scared to stay in her house. The second unexpected news was that also Karoliina Perho,

a Finnish student, will live with me in Monika’s house. I don’t remember very well the flight

because for me travel in plane was a normal thing, so I was sleeping for all the trip.

When we arrive to Nizna, I forget my English! In the moment when I sat down in Monika’s

car I couldn’t even explain how was the trip. Luckily, Karoliina aided and was speaking with

Monika. Later, we arrived to home, because we lived near to Nizna, in other town. When I

met Monika’s family all my fear disappeared. I love that family!

In summary, my first Comenius experience passed so fast. I met a lot of new people, I learnt

very interesting worlds like “Prst” which mean “finger” in slovak, I improved my English,

etc, etc, etc. But the most exciting thing was the snow! I’m from Ukraine and the last time

when I have saw the snow was when I was seven years old. So I was so happy to see it again!

When we came back to home I didn’t think that I couldn’t repeat another Comenius trip, but I

was wrong! Happily I was wrong! Only one month ago I was in Poland!

This time I was more calm and more excited for the travel. In Poland Daria Behling, a Polish

student, was my host. We were speaking on Facebook so much and I was so happy to be in

her house. The week In Poland pass also so fast and this time we knew a lot of people from

other countries, so we were more aroused. We met a new very interesting culture, we were in

differents and beautifuls cities, we very in Polish army (the better thing for me in all my

Comenius experience) and other many things.

The worst moment was the farewell, we knew everybody that this was the last trip, the last

experience and probably we couldn’t see each other many times... But I have to say that this

experience was unforgettable!!! I’m so happy to know all these people that I met, to see two

different and amazing cultures and countries, to start speak better in English, to had

this trips!!!

Maria Sanchez Esperilla

How can I describe these amazing experiences?

I've travelled abroad for the first time with the help of this great project: “COMENIUS

SKILLS FOR LIFE SKILLS FOR FUTURE”. After this trip, Comenius gave me another

second opportunity to travel abroad again..

I've discovered new cultures, new different lifestyles but the most important thing.. I've met

amazing people that I'll never forget. They made me happy during a week in Finland and

during another week in Poland again.

What beautiful landscapes in Finland! I'm in love with this country! Enni Linnoja was my

host in Finland and she showed me how finnish people are : polite, happy and thoughtful.

Just over a month ago I was in Poland. Last meeting. Asia Mierzejewska was my host and I

was her host in Spain so we go on with our friendship. It was fantastic to see her again!

Poland has beautiful monuments that I want to visit in future!

This project has changed my life, really. Now I'm an open minded person and I´m waiting

hopefully for more opportunities to travel around the world, learn languages and have more

experiences. Thanks for everything Slovak, Finnish, Hungarian and polish people. Many

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feelings around me when I think about this experience that just people that have participated

in this project can feel it.

“Never say never” See you in future.

Blanca García Pérez

There’s no doubt that the Comenius Project gave me the best experiences of my life. At first,

everyone in my class was so excited, we wanted to go to all the countries, even when we

knew that we couldn’t. We have been working hard for two years, and today we can say that

it has been worth it. I would always remember the first day in Almendralejo for the other

comenius partners. I was afraid that I wouldn’t know what to say, how to say it, and I will

forget all that I know about English. Luckily, I was wrong. A Polish girl called Paulina,

stayed at my house. It was nice, as the days passed by, we became friends. I think that

everyone became more confident speaking English here, we understood that you can make

mistakes. It doesn’t matter. You have to make them for to improve.

The day they had to go, was so sad. But we wished that maybe we can see them again in

another country. Fortunately, I went to Finland. I say fortunately, because I stayed at Kerttu’s

house, who has an amazing family. Also, it was nice to see again people that we meet in

Spain.

I was really surprised by the landscape, it was like a movie, so beautiful. And I should

mention the lazer fight, I haven’t seen that before, and we had a great time there. I can’t talk

about everything because it’s too much, but I’m glad to keep these memories.

With this project I have learnt English, of course. But I have learnt more interesting things,

like the culture of another European countries and a little bit of Suomi, for example. And the

best of the Comenius Project is the people I have met. I have to say thank you to everyone,

you have a friend in Spain.

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Comenius Meetings

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