On October 26–28, 2026, the HEROES University Alliance Design Days took place at the Lier campus of Thomas More University of Applied Sciences (Belgium). The goal of the Design Days was to jointly discuss ideas for collaboration between study programs, begin developing joint 15-credit modules or 30-credit minor programs, and explore opportunities for dual-degree programs.
Among other VIKO representatives, Aušra Simoniukštytė, a lecturer and project manager at the Faculty of Pedagogy, participated in the “Heroes” Design Days. The outcome of the visit was a commitment to develop, together with partners from Thomas More University of Applied Sciences (Belgium) and Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (Finland), a 15-credit module titled “Diversity and Inclusion in Social Care”, intended for students of social work, nursing, applied psychology, and education.
“Diversity and Inclusion in Social Care” is planned to be a blended module taught in English, in which students from different disciplines will gain insight into diversity, inclusion and global challenges within care and welfare contexts. The module consists of five course units of 3 ECTS each.
Following the visit to Belgium, lecturers from VIKO, Thomas More, and Seinäjoki Universities of Applied Sciences committed to continuing their collaboration remotely and further developing the content of the joint module.