SHARPEN

Impact

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"I work closely with the University, I'm a guest lecturer. I've worked on the SHARPEN project at KAMK since the beginning. The university students have been very helpful in collecting data and with resourcing challenges. I'm the only HR specialist in the company so there's a lack of time and resources in SMEs which can be frustrating. We've had some excellent student interns who have become employees. We only have 35 people in the company and each year we have 2-4 students who undergo a recruitment process. Herman IT sponsors a server at the University".

Hanna Turunen, HR Manager, KPO Group, Kajaani, Finland.

Link to an interview with Ms. Hanna Turunen

https://youtu.be/8vquMoY0hwM

"I participated in the SHARPEN project because I am interested in HR area and I wanted to learn new things in practice. Thanks to excellent leadership, cooperating company and awesome team, it was a pleasure and a great experience for me. Intensive study program in Germany was great not only because I met new people from other countries, but also, I could get to know foreign companies and their HR activities. Very often, a problem seems to be huge, but the solution or inspiration can be found just a bit beyond the boundaries. Better self-confidence during the presentation and English practice is just another bonus of this program."

Petra Cubova, SHARPEN student 2017, TUL, Czech Republic.

"In 2016, following redundancy from Sainsbury's I enrolled on a full time Masters' course in SHRM. This felt like a significant career change following 25 years in the retail food industry and I knew that I was going to be faced with some challenging experiences. One of these was the EU funded SHARPEN project which looked at the reasons why students migrated away from university towns once they were qualified.

The project involved a 5 day trip to Zwickau in Germany, visiting local SME's to understand their difficulties in attracting and retaining talent. I was part of a small multinational team made up of predominantly 20 something year olds from a variety of countries and had to learn how to liaise and interact with each member to ensure a successful outcome. This was challenging for me, a 51 year old male and I had to utilise all my skills to communicate effectively. I initially felt uncomfortable surrounded by so many academic students and tutors but my confidence grew as I interacted more as the week progressed.

For me, the trip was a huge success and I received lots of good feedback from my fellow team members and tutors. This gave me immense confidence to complete the Masters' course and begin applying for HR manager roles rather than the admin or officer roles that I thought was my level and am now enjoying my first role as a standalone HR manager."

Antony Edwards, SHARPEN student 2017, UoH, United Kingdom.

"The participation in the SHARPEN project was one of my greatest experiences at the university and I appreciate I was chosen to be one of 5 students who had the opportunity to go to Finland in April 2018. At first, I have to say everything in the intensive study week in Kajaani, Finland was perfect, including activities, food, trips and people from five different countries. But the project wasn´t just about the trips and traveling! The participation involved some preparation for this intensive study week, studying HR topics and last but not least writing case study.

SHARPEN brought me many new friends and useful English practice including HR terms. I value the possibility to link my bachelor thesis with SHARPEN case study. Thanks to SHARPEN, my work could have gone more in depth and I got the Dean´s Award for my bachelor thesis.

My participation in SHARPEN determine my next working and studying on TUL, mainly owing to a good connection with our SHARPEN leader, who was my bachelor thesis supervisor at the same time. Thanks to her, I am working as a Career Counselling Assistant on TUL now. SHARPEN project participation has had a substantial contribution for me."

Gabriela Prokopová, SHARPEN student 2018, TUL, Czech Republic.

"I've joined to the project SHARPEN in the last few months of its operation. Despite this, I've managed to get a wealth of practical

experience in a short period of time. Participation in the 'Intensive Study Program' (ISP) in Lithuania has provided an opportunity to extend

my knowledge about HR practices in SMEs and improve communicational and teamwork skills thanks to the doing practical tasks in the international teams. Cooperation with a real company during preparing a case study has allowed me to find out more about the challenges in human resource management and their impact on overall business results. I found out how important is creative approach and ability to look at the situation from a different angle, especially in case of fast changing business environment and tendencies on a job market. Overall, I find the project SHARPEN useful not only for businesses but also for students because it prepares them to the work in a diverse and dynamic environment."

Anastasiia Mazurchenko, SHARPEN student 2019, TUL, Czech Republic.

I am very glad, that I had an opportunity to be part of the SHARPEN project in ISP program. I had deepen my knowledge of HR. During the project I faced lot of challenges, but it helped me to develop personality and gave me more confidence. I had the opportunity to meet new people, other cultures and traditions. During the workshops, we developed problems in teams and found solutions to improve HR management system of Lithuanian companies. SHARPEN provided me additional insights in human resource management that helped me at my new job. Today, I successfully continue to apply these new knowledge gained through the SHARPEN project.

Gabriele Liatukaite, SHARPEN student, SMK, Lithuania.

For me, the participation in the SHARPEN project, was one of my best decisions so far. Not only that I broadened my horizons, I also met amazing people who are professionals in their field, as well as new friends for life. The participation in the project surely helped me in getting a job in an HR department as an HR Assistant. I only had a basic knowledge of the HRM before joining the project, but now I am confident to say that my knowledge had grown, especially in the topic of Employer Branding.

I really enjoyed the whole ISP week in Lithuania during which we had a chance to discuss real challenges which SMEs face, we got involved in interesting workshops, we visited several SMEs and what is very important – we had fun.

Thanks to the project I could write my Master thesis on a topic which really resonates with me. And furthermore, I could extend the cooperation with my company to help them solve other challenges which they may face. I am also incredibly thankful for writing my thesis under the guidance of the SHARPEN international project manager, who supports me and believes in my work.

Overall, the SHARPEN project was a huge success for me and I am glad for taking a part of it. I also believe that all the outputs had helped and will continue to help many companies not only in the Czech Republic.

Tereza Horáková, SHARPEN student 2019, TUL, Czech Republic.

For 20 years S. Jokuzis Publishing-Printing House has been cooperating with the SMK University of Applied Social Sciences. The SHARPEN project has inspired partnership between high school and a business company in every possible area. SMK students did case-studies and made valuable comments for improvement of HR in our company. Lithuanian and foreign students visited our printing house and got acquainted with our activities. In working groups, they made HR proposals based on examples and experiences from their own country. We are excited about the opportunity provided by the project to improve our HR activities based on international insights.

Aurelija Undziene, Sales Manager S. Jokuzis Publishing-Printing House, Lithuania.

I have decided to apply for the Sharpen Project because I wanted to get some new experience in the HR management studies. But in the end, I got more than that. Sharpen taught us how to be pro-active in its unique way. We wanted to get more and more. I've understood the importance of being a team player. I've seen the differences in how it works in theory and how it works in practice. The difference was diametral. Also, I've learned how much does communication mean and how important the art of good preparation is, this was especially important in ISP week in Lithuania. I find the project very useful not only for students but also for the companies. Human resources management all over the world is dealing with more and more challenges and students are bringing new ideas and innovation to this field. I would like to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to participate in Sharpen.

Renáta Holcová, SHARPEN student 2019, TUL, Czech Republic.

In my study contents (Bachelor and Master) Human Resource Management was only a very small component. However, during my studies I became aware of the great importance of dealing with personnel. That's why I decided to participate in the project. I was also attracted by the international context and the solution of problems in this area. As team leader, I had a great responsibility, as I wished. This has strengthened my own existing skills, but it also gives me the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills. Besides the cooperation with a regional company, a special challenge was the stay abroad in Kajaani. This required from our entire team a mutually complementary cooperation and trust in each other. During the coordination of the team before the trip, but also on the trip itself, I was able to apply my learned skills and recognize in which areas I can already manage a team and how I can develop further in this skill. My stay in Kajaani with the other international students has considerably broadened my perspective on HRM issues. Another positive effect of my participation in the project can be seen in the course of my current application phase. Even if I don't apply for jobs in HRM, the job interviews always return to the topic of the SHARPEN project. On the part of the HR department with whom I have held job interviews so far, there is a great interest in the project content and also in the development opportunities that the project offers the participants. In general, I can say that the project gave me a lot of technical input. I can always recommend participation.

Anonymous, SHARPEN student, Germany.

I took an interest in participating in the 2019 SHARPEN Project after realizing that my Master's program did not incorporate a 'Human Resource Management course'. Having no experience in HRM, the project was a full on learning course.

Having participated in various aspects of the project from collaborating with a local company in the Liberec Region to visiting SME's in Klaipeda, Lithuania and the ISP, I can confidently say that the benefit for me was more than I anticipated. Currently working for an SME in Prague even though my position is unrelated to HR, I know and understand better how small organizations are managed and can proactively contribute to the day to day operations of a successful business.

Working in teams and acquiring knowledge from the 4 other participating countries/regions was the most rewarding aspect of this project. It was surprising to learn that most SME'S face similar or related challenges no matter what region they were located. Later, finding feasible solutions to address the problem made the entire program worthwhile.

Overall, the project not only created lasting friendships but taught valuable lessons from experienced practitioners, companies and thought leaders in the HRM/SME spectrum.

Mukelabai Mundia, SHARPEN student 2019, TUL, Czech Republic.

What will I remember about the SHARPEN Project? Lots of work, many challenges, a perfect team, new friends and a cool experience abroad!
We were able to apply our previously acquired knowledge in Finland while working with students from many different countries. We are all much better at presenting now, the same goes for our English ;)
The week in Kajaani will remain the best week of my studies for me! Getting to know the other cultures, many open-minded students and a very well equipped university did the rest.

Anonymous, SHARPEN student, Germany.

We have participated in various aspects of the Sharpen project and now look back – after a period of intensive Cooperation – on exciting challenges, positive experiences and important achievements within the framework of the project. The Student groups were involved at all times – be it in the context of project work or during excursions to our Company location – inquisitive, eager to learn and extremely interested in HR work in practice.
As a regional SME in a very traditional branch at the Chemnitz site, we were able to provide insights into human resources work – especially in connection with the growth of a Company and the associated structural and process-related challenges. This was one of our most important goals – to prompte the intensive exchange between Science and industry, thus between theory and practice, and to discuss it with concrete examples.
Due to the research work of the students and deduction of recommendations for our Company in the context of project work we were, amongst others, able to gain access to new international job boards and a good overview of the international job market. At the same time, the students were able to experience the processes involved in the recruitment process in an international Company. And this is the second intention that we pursued with the Support of the project – the famous view "outside the box", concretely beyond national borders and towards the internationalization of personnel work – always with the focus on SMEs and a shortage of skilled workers and increasing demands on the potential employees /Inside. For example, during the project period we also recruited a leader in an international environment and were able to continuously compare theory and practice as well as national and international expectations in the application process. In addition, we developed concrete collaborations with students within the framework of Student activities, which enabled us to achieve the third goal – a close Cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau.

Anonymous, cooperating SME, Germany.

Anonymous, SHARPEN student, Germany.

I am a student of Technical university in Liberec, who decided to join SHARPEN project in order to learn new things and meet new people. I am always open to new opportunities and this was a huge one.

Throughout this project I was cooperating with a family company oriented on organizing wide spectre of activities. I had the chance to have many interviews with human resource manager of the firm focused on the communication situation there. For the SHARPEN project I was preparing a few presentations about my findings. Thanks to having meetings and discussions with my colleagues, I was able to put up with happenings inside of the company and detect solutions.

With our Czech team, we also went to Klaipeda in Lithuania to meet with SHARPEN teams of other nationalities. During this week, we have been learning many ways of how to deal with different kinds of problems while managing small and medium sized enterprises. Each one of us had prepared a presentation for the participants. Thanks to these interactive presentations, I could learn more about effective recruitment, how to correctly handle employee turnover, reward management, employer branding or for example corporate social responsibility. You would think, it is impossible, but there was even a lot more – always in an amusing and a learnable way! To mention also, we needed to be coworking in different teams a lot of times, therefore it was profitable for us to use the need to communicate but also to listen.

This whole project benefitted me a lot due to trying to find the best and also suitable solution for the company's issues. I could not learn more from each person who was included.

Lastly, I am very grateful for having participated. I feel very proud to know, that my effort had contributed to a written handbook (A Good Practice Guide to managing Human Resources in regional SMEs) and I could not be more glad that my case study was this effective.

Barbora Homolova, SHARPEN student 2019, TUL, Czech Republic.

Anonymous, SHARPEN student, Germany.

Technical University in Liberec, Faculty of Economics