Lecturers team from Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution – Povilas Beseckas, a lecturer at the Department of Social Work, together with the lecturers of the Department of Rehabilitation, Milda Gintilienė and Aistė Pranskaitytė-Bielevičienė, visited Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Jordan under the Erasmus+ programme from 15 till 19 of May 2023. The purpose of the visit was to meet with the teachers and leaders of the occupational therapy study programme and to hold classes/workshops for students.

The country welcomed the Lithuanian team with sunshine and the exhausting heat, so lectures at the university became a real refreshment. Povilas Beseckas, together with Milda Gintilienė, involved a large group of future occupational therapy specialists in the practical improvisational self-awareness practices, experimenting with the body language, sounds and creative thinking. Most of the activities were based on the experience gained during five years of international Nordplus project ‘Empowering puppetry. The students’ open communication and willingness to test themselves in different situations created a great working atmosphere. Many thanks to their leader Dr Mohammad S. Nazzal and other faculty members for being with us throughout the practicum!

Teacher Aistė Pranskaitytė-Bielevičienė was focusing on the topics of society’s aging and dementia – increasing challenge in all the world. Her lectures were split to theoretical and practical parts, during which she discussed the current issues of the increasing numbers of people affected by dementia in the world, the possibilities of prevention and specialist help in the case of this disease. The teacher shared practical advice and her experience working with people with dementia. During the practical sessions, the students were offered tasks that help them better understand the feelings and experiences of the elderly, which aroused great interest among the students.

During the teaching visit, learning environments were also visited and opportunities for further cooperation were discussed. The representatives of Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution and JUST agreed that mobility visits alone are not enough – they shared the ideas of applied research being developed, colleagues from JUST were invited to participate in the international scientific conference HESDIA’24 and the International Conference of the Department of Rehabilitation in 2024.