Report of the first meeting in the framework of the Erasmus+ TechReh (Technology in Rehabilitation) project at the University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy 06-08 July 2016

In the period from 05-09 July 2016 at the invitation of the University of Sannio held a study trip of employees of Innovation Center of Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute in Italy for the Erasmus+ TechReh – Technology in Rehabilitation project meeting. The main purpose of the trip was the holding of the first meeting under the project Capacity Building in Higher Education Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission. The meeting was attended by all project partners TechReh – Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute and its branch in Nukus, Tashkent University of Information Technology and its branch in Karshi, Center for the development of e-learning under the MHSSE and the Republican Research Center of Therapy and Rehabilitation. From the European partners attended the Universities of Sannio (grantholder and project coordinator) from Italy, Vilnius in Lithuania and Plovdiv from Bulgaria and Marie Curie from France, and two non-academic partner is an innovative company Plux from Portugal and the European Association of Care and Rehabilitation of the head office from the Netherlands.

In the first day of the meeting took place the official presentation and introduction of all project partners, where each partner presented its organization and voiced their role in the project. The project coordinators from Italy again presented the project in detail and updated the information on the expected results. The European coordinators presented the project management framework, it financial management and budget. Over the next two days detailed presentation and information has presented the so-called leaders of the working packages of the project. After these presentations were always lively discussions and questions with answers on peculiarities of the implementation of the goals and objectives.

In General, responsibility for implementing the goals and objectives of the project and to achieve all the planned results were equitably and efficiently divided between the Uzbek and European partners. So out of the planned 8 working packages for project 4 was assigned to the Uzbek partners and 4 European. However, the participants once again confirmed that the implementation of the work packages should be carried out in close cooperation, even if the responsibility for achieving project results rests on one of the partners.

An important aspect of the meeting was the decision of the project consortium for some changes in the project, which was written 2 years ago and did not take into account changes of recent years, which could affect the project. In this regard, the consortium has prepared an official letter to the European Commission, which contains the whole list of additions and changes developed by the participants of the meeting.

In addition to working on the project, all participants had the opportunity to establish bilateral cooperation in the sphere of their interests, which may likely to create additional positive effects for the project and for Uzbek universities.

Particularly intensive was the discussion of the choice of laboratory equipment for the universities of Uzbekistan. Therefore the project participants chose experts for the international tender for the selection of equipment for laboratory rehabilitation.

In General, the Uzbek partners are very adequately presented their organizations and have demonstrated their expertise in new technologies and in relation to rehabilitation. The project consortium agreed to hold the next regular meeting in Uzbekistan on the basis of two partners RSCCTR and the Nukus branch of TPMI.

Sherzod Ashirbaev, Igor Vikhrov