On September 8, 2026, the first online meeting of the international consortium of the WELLBEING-STEAM project: Innovative Digital Storytelling for Inclusive and Flexible Vocational Education and Training took place, which is implemented within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA220-VET program — Cooperation Partnerships in Vocational Education and Training. The project is designed for 24 months — from September 2026 to August 2028 — and brings together partners from Portugal, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Spain. The project coordinator is the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém (Portugal).
The goal of WELLBEING-STEAM is to develop and test a modern competency-based model of vocational education that combines STEAM approaches, digital storytelling, inclusivity and support for the psychological well-being of participants in the educational process. The project includes the creation of a WELLBEING-STEAM methodological framework, a digital toolkit for developing educational stories, a set of educational materials and scenarios, a blended learning course, open multilingual educational resources, as well as pilot training and evaluation of its results in partner countries.
Ushynsky University was represented at the meeting by Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Svitlana Skvortsova, Professor of the Department of Mathematics and Methods of its Teaching; Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor Yana Gayevets, Head of the Department of Mathematics and Methods of its Teaching; and Associate Professor Volodymyr Chernykh, Director of the Center for International Projects and Programs of Ushynsky University.
During the first working meeting, the partners introduced the project coordinators, reviewed organizational information and a documentation package prepared by the coordinator's team. The meeting was the actual start of the consortium's joint work and the transition from the preparatory stage to the practical implementation of the planned project tasks.
Ahead are two years of joint work on methodological, digital and educational solutions, their testing, international comparison of results and dissemination of best practices. The first meeting took place - WELLBEING-STEAM officially moves from a project application to the joint work of an international team.
