Kick-off meetingat the Universities of Alicante (Spain), Sheffield (Great Britain), Graz (Austria) within the framework of project No. 544126-TEMPUS-1-2013-1-ES-TEMPUS-JPHES TEMPUS 2013 UNIWORK "Strengthening career guidance centers in Central Asian universities to expand graduates 'opportunities to obtain and create high-quality jobs"

The first and training meeting of the TEMPUS 2013 UNIWORK project was organized by the main coordinator of the project, Alexandra Mayer, at the University of Alicante (Spain). The meeting was held on March 17-18, 2014 with the participation of partners from the Universities of Sheffield (GreatBritain) and Graz (Austria), as well as partners from Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan).

The main project coordinators are Alexandra Mayer, Virginia Ferrar and Rayman Abdullah. On the first day of the meeting, Alexandra Mayer spoke about the goals and objectives of the project: UNIWORK is aimed at strengthening ties between universities and production. The project will contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of Central Asia (CA) by increasing the capacity of higher education institutions to effectively promote employment of graduates and raise the culture of entrepreneurship among students in accordance with the Bologna Principles and Tempus priorities.

Rakhiman Abdullah spoke about the main tasks of the project, and also distributed all work packages between partners. In turn, Virginia Ferrar spoke about the project's budget and financial issues.

Project partners had the opportunity to visit the Career Center of the University of Alicante, where the head of the Center, Victor Clement, introduced all partners to the work of the Center, its main functions and tasks. Partners were interested in the details of the Center's work, such as signing contracts with employers, a database of graduates, professional practices, and soon.

Kic-off meeting within the framework of the TEMPUS 2013 UNIWORK project "Strengthening career guidance centers in Central Asian universities to expand the opportunities for graduates to obtain and create quality jobs"On March 20-21, 2014, the working meeting was held at the University of Sheffield (Great Britain). Project coordinators from this university are Sarah Pates and Maria Barluenga, who organized a meeting with the director of the Career Center, Stephen Fish. Stephen Fish introduced the participants to the work of the Career Center. Coordinators and representatives of the Career Center organized an excursion to the Student Center, which is equipped with a powerful material and technical base. The Career Center also provides services for volunteering, developing students 'skills, developing graduates' skills in employment, and providing assistance and support when starting a business. CA partners actively participated in the presentations, asking various questions.

On March 24-25, a working meeting of partners was held at the University of Graz (Austria). Project coordinators from this university are Claudia Lindisch and Renee Schenzel. The University's Rector, Karl Peifer, delivered a welcoming speech. Lisa Zimmerman, responsible for the university job fair, was invited to meet with the project's working group. Lisa Zimmerman shared her experience in this work. Claudia Lindisch and Renee Schenzel organized a study tour of the university, where partners from Central Asia had the opportunity to see laboratories, rooms where practical classes of students and undergraduates take place.Each of the above-mentioned universities has a department for website development and dissemination of information through social networks. Representatives of these structures made presentations, showed the sites of Career Centers, talked about the advantages of the site, noting the role and importance of the website and social networks in the employment of graduates.At the end of the training session, all partners received certificates.