The first workshop of the international project Bridging V4 Universities and Business through Design Thinking was held in Wrocław, Poland, from 21 to 23 October 2026. The project is supported by the International Visegrad Fund.
Five students from Palacký University Olomouc joined the workshop, together with our lecturers Pavla Slavíčková and Dana Ondrušková. They met students from Wrocław University of Economics and Business, Comenius University Bratislava and Edutus University in Budapest for an intensive three-day programme focused on finding innovative ways to connect higher education with the needs of the labour market.
The central question of the workshop was: How can we make the transition from university to a first job easier for students? Participants explored how to better understand employers' expectations, identify and develop the skills and competencies needed in the workplace, and present their abilities effectively during job interviews and recruitment processes.
Working in international teams, students used the Design Thinking methodology to look at the challenge from different perspectives, share their experiences and develop solutions together. Representatives of the partner universities also took part in the workshop activities, facilitated by Kamila Łuczak and Maciej Krahel. QIAGEN was an important partner of the workshop, represented by Małgorzata Koczerga.
The workshop provided an opportunity not only for teamwork and sharing experiences, but also for gathering valuable feedback from the participants themselves. Their insights will help shape the next project activities and contribute to the development of a practical toolkit presenting the methodology, individual tools, key findings and recommendations.
The first workshop has come to an end, but our international collaboration is just getting started! If you would like to take part in one of the next three workshops, which will be held in Bratislava, Olomouc and Budapest, you can register using this registration link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T_Cm-HLVELdrQzONPgV9QKatbm-mvtFL9bRkoAD_8Y4/edit?gid=0#gid=0
The project is co-funded by the governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants awarded by the International Visegrad Fund. The fund's mission is to promote ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.