Educational work in the preparatory department for foreign students is one of the key areas. The curators of the groups (and they are always teachers of the Ukrainian language) actually carry out the planned adaptation of foreign students who have started studying, to the Ukrainian socio-cultural realities, traditions, to the city of Kharkiv and, of course, to the Kharkiv National Medical University.

Students together with teachers visit museums (especially Art and History, as well as the Museum of Railway Transport, Museum of Illusions), parks, exhibitions, theaters (most often – Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater), circus, participate in tours (usually all delighted with a bus tour of the city with visits to interesting cultural places, monuments, streets named after famous scientists and cultural figures), skate, celebrate birthdays, participate in charity events (for example, visiting with gifts children from the regional orphanage) and in university competitions.

It has become a tradition to hold Halloween, Valentine’s Day (with the production of photos – “Valentine’s Day”), International Women’s Day on March, 8. And how many joys, experiences, conversations the championship among mini-football listeners caused!

Listeners are happy to talk about their traditions, for example, about the customs and peculiarities of celebrating the New Year in their countries. And on the April Fool’s Day quest, each audience always turns into a separate “territory”, the hostess of which (teacher in an unusual outfit) invites guests to perform unexpected tasks (sing a song in their native language, dance a national dance, make a picture of individual fragments, perform coordination exercises).

The university competition “Photo in an embroidered shirt” leaves no one indifferent. In 2016, according to its results, listener Shiba Bethusile received a diploma of the winner in the category “Dialogue of Cultures”. Embroidery Days are held in the unit itself – they are successfully combined with the National Costume Day, when students have the opportunity to see the prepared exhibition of embroideries, listen to a story about the Ukrainian national costume and traditions reflected in it, create their own photos and posters depicting national costumes.

Great interest of listeners is traditionally caused by Days of a native language when all do various tasks. For example, as the Ukrainian proverb “Seven times measure, and once cut” sounds in Arabic, French and other languages.

In addition to group curators, other teachers are involved in educational work. For example, teachers of mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry together with students organize exhibitions “Famous scientists of mathematics and physics”, “Mathematical creativity of students”, hold days of these sciences (for example, “March 14 – International Day of number PI”), organize Excursions to the Museum of Anatomy of KhNMU, the Museum of Nature, “Landau Center”, produce themed wall posters.

From 2020, listeners of the Preparatory Department for Foreign Students will work online. But the educational work does not subside – interesting tours are conducted on the platform Zoom. Thanks to modern technology, you can taste Easter cake for Easter, visit space on Cosmonautics Day, observe a minute of silence in memory of the participants of the Chernobyl disaster, feel grief on Mourning Day, rejoice in the arrival of spring or summer, and most importantly – learn to read and write.