Joint projects, including workshops and training, include a partnership agreement between the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów and the Podkarpackie Association for Active Families based in Sędziszów Małopolski.
The Association will be a partner of the Social Work programme. The agreement was signed today in Rzeszów by Monika Marković – CEO of the PSAR Management Board and Rector of UITM dr. hab. Andrzej Rozmus, prof. UITM.
Cooperation between UITM and the Podkarpackie Association for Active Families will consist in the exchange of experiences, implementation of joint projects, in particular workshops and training. As part of the partnership for the field of Social Work, it is planned, among other things, the participation of PSAR specialists in the review and updating of learning outcomes and study programs, conducting selected activities for students by the staff of the Association, as well as the organization of internships and internships in PSAR for students at the University.
PSAR is an independent and apolitical non-governmental organization. Its mission is to support people, in all their uniqueness, so that they can fully benefit from what the world has to offer, as well as contribute to the development of this world. The main objectives and tasks of the PSAR include:
-Protection of children suffering because of armed conflicts, climate crisis and natural disasters. Providing children and their caregivers with mental and psychosocial health support and working for their inclusion and integration in the new environment.
-Identification of people with psychological problems or threatened with suffering. Conducting workshops on building mental resilience, providing therapeutic services, and conducting developmental classes for children and their caregivers.
-Raising awareness and supporting the rights of every person by combatting prejudice and violence against children and women, conducting anti-discrimination training, conducting projects for gender equality for teenagers and their educators, facilitating the creation of support networks in crisis situations.
-Enabling the integration of socially excluded people or threatened with exclusion. Creating conditions conducive to integration, involving various stakeholders to increase the chances of marginalized groups to participate in social life.
“PSAR has over 8 years of experience working with children and young people, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds. Among the pillars of our work are human rights (especially children’s rights and gender equality) and humanitarian aid. We have implemented many projects for young people and refugees. Our “girl projects” are the only such systematic initiative in the region. The TUTU center has become the largest MHPSS center for refugees in the province, serving nearly 7,000 beneficiaries since May 2022. We cooperate with educational authorities and schools in the city, as part of the project “School that connects”. We have experienced Ukrainian-speaking specialists, competent administrative staff, necessary equipment, as well as presence in the media and recognition among the refugee population. We are already cooperating and coordinating activities with many stakeholders in Rzeszów” – explains Monika Marković CEO of PSAR.
“Cooperation with such an active non-governmental organization will be a very valuable experience for us. With its humanitarian, educational and activating local communities, PSAR perfectly fits into the values we want to pass on to our students in the direction of Social work” – says Dr. Monika Struck-Peregończyk, Vice-Dean of the College of Media and Social Communication for Social Work programme – “Thanks to the established partnership, our foreign students will be able to take a closer look at how active and effective Polish non-governmental organizations operate.”
The social work programme responds to the very rapidly changing modern world – an ageing society, an increased frequency of disability and health problems (also mental), growing inequality and an unprecedented increase in the number of refugees. Labour market analyses indicate that a social worker is a profession for which the demand on the global labor market is systematically growing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, the number of jobs for social workers will increase by 12% between 2020 and 2030, which means an average of 78,300 new jobs each year. The University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów has been offering the field of Social Work on the English-language path since 2023.
