In October 2024, the study of the course "Healthy Regional Development: Best European Practices" for students of Sumy State University as part of Jean Monet's module "Healthy Economy and Policy: European Values for Ukraine" (101047530- ERASMUS-JMO-2021-HEI-TCH- RSCH) was finished.
This course was attended by more than 50 students of various specialties and educational levels. The course was not only theoretical but also practice-oriented with a combination of lectures-discussions, flipped lectures with creative tasks, training, and case studies, which allowed the students of this course to master critical thinking skills in the strategic development of regions, to explore essential aspects of European values aimed at supporting sustainable development, improving the quality of life of the population, improving the socio-economic indicators of the regions and the country as a whole. In the course, significant attention is paid to the analysis of program documents in the development of the health care system of the countries of the European Union and initiatives related to the issue of cohesion in the EU regions. Involved lecturers from various fields of activity: Olha Skrypnyk (representative of the local development promotion agency), Valeriia Koroshchenko, Oleh Dalechin (business representatives from different regions), Liliia Khomenko (specialist in territorial marketing) helped to enrich the course by sharing their experience and vision regional development in Ukraine.
While studying the course, its students got acquainted with the concept of a healthy region, the principles of healthy development, and the current trends of the EU in this area. At the end of the course, students had the opportunity to compare approaches to regional development in the EU with Ukrainian ones and to apply best practices from the experience of EU countries to develop and plan similar measures in domestic regional policy.
