This year's IP Light International Programme for SLT students “Models and systems of service delivery" was held again in Croatia, in sunny Zadar (November 2-7). The program was attended by students and teachers from Croatia (University of Zagreb Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation), which is also the host of the program, as well as from the Netherlands (HAN University of Applied Sciences and Hogeschool Rotterdam), Belgium (Artevelde University College Ghent), Spain (Faculty of Psychology, Education and Sports in Barcelona) and Slovenia (University of Ljubljana). Croatia and the ERF were represented by 11 graduate students of Speech Therapy accompanied by Assoc. Prof. Marina Milković, Assoc. Prof. Ana Matić Škorić and senior assistant Dora Knežević.
Students worked together for a week on case studies, participated in various workshops, and exchanged knowledge and examples of practice in different areas of speech therapy. The program provided them with a unique opportunity to reach a series of conclusions through guided group work on cases that they had prepared before the program itself, which encompass a wide range of different areas that speech therapists deal with - stuttering, voice disorders, autism spectrum disorder, aphasia, bilingualism and developmental language disorder, cleft palate, and childhood speech apraxia. Through this work, many differences and similarities between individual countries could be seen, and each group presented the final conclusions and comparisons to the other participants. Students also had time to explore and enjoy the beautiful and sunny Zadar, to have fun, but also to present countries, cultures, and faculties through presentations and quizzes, and by sharing traditional local sweets and learning traditional dances and songs.
Students of the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences about the program:
Participating in the IP Light project was an interesting five-day experience. Throughout the week, we were immersed in specific speech therapy cases, coming up with concrete answers to the problems of each individual case. In addition, workshops were organized in which they introduced us to some additional tools and techniques useful in everyday work. The professors and lecturers tried to bring their fields closer to us and answer all our questions. Many of them we normally don't have the opportunity to ask, especially not this specifically. In addition to the official part, there was a lot of socializing, talking and getting to know students from other countries, and expanding the network of colleagues and friends. In particular, beautiful friendships developed with colleagues from our faculty, but also with those from further afield in Europe, which we hope will be revived again one day in another project.
I would describe this year's entire experience with IP Light as more than positive. I've only heard good things from older colleagues, and now I can say that the project fully lived up to all expectations. The faculty really did an excellent job — from accommodation, daily schedule, workshops and case studies to the final party program. In addition to the professional and expert knowledge we gained, we also met many colleagues from different countries. We exchanged experiences, heard how their studies work, noticed the advantages and disadvantages of different programs, and got good ideas that could perhaps one day be applied here in Croatia. Although the program was rich, we also had enough time for ourselves; sightseeing the city, socializing, and the weather was kind to us, which made the whole experience even better.
The beginning of this academic year was marked by my trip to Zadar for the international program IP Light - Models and Systems of Service Delivery. During that short period of time spent participating in the program, I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge in the field of speech therapy by discussing various cases as part of case studies, applying the same knowledge in workshops, but also meeting dedicated, motivated and interesting young people from different countries. I would single out these new acquaintances and the exchange of knowledge, experiences and cultures as the part that will leave me with a wonderful memory of this year's IP Light. In addition, this program taught me to believe in myself and my own abilities and to appreciate our teachers who push us in that direction. I encourage students of future generations who will hesitate about applying to dare and step out of their "comfort zone" and embark on this invaluable experience.