Certificates presented to the first generation of trained students and employees at the University of Kragujevac, within the DigiPsyRes project
The ceremony of awarding certificates to participants who successfully completed the training cycle within the DigiPsyRes project rounded off one of the key phases of the project, which contributes to the creation of a more resilient and supportive student community at our university. The certificates were handed out at two locations: in the hall of the Rectorate of the University in Kragujevac on July 4, and in the ceremonial hall of the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Čačak on July 9, 2024.
The expert team of the project handed over certificates signed by all three project partners: the University of Kragujevac, the University of Kazimierz Veliki in Bydgoszcz in Poland, and the University of Foggia in Italy.
At the ceremony in Kragujevac, the project coordinator, prof. Dr. Darko Hinić, expressed his great satisfaction with the commitment and motivation of all participants of these trainings. In Kragujevac, certificates were awarded to participants - students and employees from the Department of Psychology, the Faculty of Philology and Arts, the Faculty of Science and Mathematics and employees of the University. Member of the expert team, prof. Dr. Mirjana Beara Benjak, presented further steps within the project and once again pointed out the importance of active support for the needs of the student population, as well as the special importance of the participation of peers in that process.
In Čačak, certificates were awarded to participants - students and employees of the Faculty of Technical Sciences and the Faculty of Agriculture in Čačak, as well as the Faculty of Pedagogy in Užice, who completed the entire training or parts of the training. The authors of the project, together with other members of the project coaching team - prof. Dragana Bjekić, PhD, Ivana Krsmanović, PhD prof; prof. Marjan Milošević, PhD, Milevica Bojović, PhD, assistant professor, Lena Tica, PhD, assistant professor, as well as teaching assistants Katarina Mitrović and Lidija Paunović - shared their satisfaction with the participants due to successfully implemented training, and especially the students' interest in joining such a network of horizontal support and readiness to be trained to provide peer support.
The program "Step by step from training participant to trainer and student-counselor in the peer support network", lasting 40 hours, was entirely completed by 70 participants of the University of Kragujevac, while only the training workshop lasting 18 hours was completed by five participants, and one participant completed e-courses lasting 22 hours.
Special certificates were awarded for student-trainers, who underwent training in the first and second phases of the program implementation, and in the third phase, they independently conducted parts of the training workshops. Student-trainers will represent basic human resources for the future development of this program and its sustainability even after the end of the project. Nineteen participants even received certificates as student-coaches.
The team's three partner universities are expecting the publication of the Guide for the Support Network for Digital and Psychological Resilience of Students, the Training Manual for Trainers and Peer Counselors for Expanding the Support Network, as well as the international e-magazine that will be promoted at the September conference "Technology, Informatics and Education - TIE 2024" in Čačak, and then at the October Conference on Psychological Resilience in Kragujevac, which represents the finalization of this project by mid-December 2024.
