From Professional Needs to Educational Content: A Dialogue with Employers and Practitioners in Specialty I10 Social Work and Counselling

On 15 April 2026, a focus group discussion was held on the current educational and professional programme “Post-War Psychosocial Reintegration” and the draft of its updated version. The discussion brought together employers, practitioners, representatives of placement providers, and graduates and took place as part of a meeting of the Employers’ Advisory Board for Specialty I10 Social Work and Counselling.

The meeting was attended by 12 representatives of social service centres and social service providers, civil society, charitable and volunteer organisations, initiatives supporting war veterans, children, families, and people affected by the war, as well as graduates of the programme who currently work in the field. The focus group was moderated by Anastasiia Popova, Academic Programme Coordinator.

The participants positively assessed the programme’s relevance and practical orientation. During the discussion, particular attention was paid to preparing students for case management, documenting social support services, protecting service users’ rights, crisis response, interagency cooperation, and preventing professional burnout.

The employers supported retaining the educational component devoted to social resilience and post-traumatic growth. They also recommended making wider use of professional scenarios, longitudinal case studies, and sample documents. The recommendations developed during the discussion were incorporated into the refinement of the programme structure and the preparation of proposals for updating course syllabi.

Based on materials provided by
the Department of Social Work and Inclusive Education