Changing Social Work through User Participation

For the sixth time now, the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences hosted the “International University Week” (IUW) of SocNet98, the European Network of Social Work Universities. The event brought approximately 100 international Social Work experts and students together at the St. Pölten UAS last week. The intensive exchange focused on the question of how the active participation of clients and the integration of their experiences with Social Work can help to further develop and improve the discipline.

St. Pölten, 08/04/2025 – Participation is a central concept in Social Work to make sure that services and measures are designed in a needs-oriented manner. The integration of peers plays a key role in this context – peers are people whose experiences or realities of life are similar to those of Social Work users. Both in Social Work practice and in education, this approach helps to question and further develop professional standards and values. The five-day international exchange event of the Department of Social Sciences at the St. Pölten UAS was dedicated to this very topic.

“Our objective was to promote new ideas and broaden perspectives with inspiring best practice projects and initiatives. When students can learn early on that the involvement of peers enhances quality, they will have a different view on discriminating and paternalistic structures. With our programme, we have achieved exactly this. It was incredibly enriching to enter into exchange with so many participants and to provide new impulses together”, explains Andrea Pilgerstorfer, UAS Lecturer and manager of the event.

“International University Week“ of SocNet98 at the St. Pölten UAS

Students from all over Europe seized this opportunity to participate in the International University Week (IUW) of the European Network of Social Work Universities (SocNet98) which took place in Norway, Germany, and Slovakia at the same time. At the St. Pölten UAS, the event was organised within the framework of a Blended Intensive Programme, a type of short-term mobility funded under Erasmus+.

SocNet98 is a dynamic European network that brings together committed Social Work specialists. Through joint activities, it promotes exchange on diverse Social Work-related topics and creates room for reflection and further development. Moreover, the network initiates and coordinates innovative projects in Social Work studies in order to provide new impulses for research and practice. The international exchange of students is at the centre because it allows them to develop a better understanding of societal and sociopolitical relationships, with best practice examples from other countries serving as sources of inspiration.

Interactive Workshops, Best Practice Examples, and Plenty of Inspiration

The Cross-Cultural Expert Julien S. Bourrelle fascinated the participants of all IUWs with his online keynote. He emphasised the importance of being aware that we always perceive the world from our own individual perspective – and that we tend to assess others and their actions based on our own expectations even in intercultural encounters. For collaboration to be successful and real connections to emerge, it is crucial that we watch and listen more – and that we allow for unfamiliar approaches instead of being hasty and distancing ourselves.

The diverse programme at the Campus St. Pölten included interactive workshops with the involvement of Social Work users and peers – for example, on topics such as “housing for all” and “peer support in mental health” – as well as creative activities such as cultural animation, music, painting and cooking together, and exciting excursions, for example to the Sonnenpark St. Pölten. Franz Haberl from the Vienna Social Fund for housing assistance (FSW Obdach) presented his work.

The programme was complemented by best practice initiatives from countries such as Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Denmark, and Switzerland. The event offered the participants inspiring insights and numerous opportunities for specialist and intercultural exchange.

More information is available here:
• The Department of Social Sciences at the St. Pölten UAS
• SocNet98
• Blended Intensive Programmes