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Article History

Received: 30 April 2024

Accepted: 23 June 2025

First Online: 3 July 2025

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This research was conducted in spring 2020 as a small sample study within an MSc course at a European university. The name of the university is shared with the journal editorial team but not disclosed here to ensure the anonymity of the participants. The research was part of a university-organized higher education teaching and learning program in which the first author participated. In accordance with the guidelines of the University, the study did not require ethical approval (automatic exemption) as it did not involve personally sensitive data (e.g., relating to gender or religion), did not address politically or otherwise sensitive topics, and relied exclusively on data that were anonymized at the point of collection and remained fully anonymized throughout the research process. In line with this, there is no practice of ethical reviews for the studies conducted as part of the higher education teaching and learning program. While the study did not require formal institutional review board approval, all research activities adhered to established ethical standards. Data collection and handling procedures followed the fundamental principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (1964) and were conducted in compliance with the ethical guidelines set forth by the host institution. Participant protection measures included comprehensive informed consent processes and rigorous data anonymization protocols.

: All research participants provided informed consent before participating in data collection activities. The consent was given orally at the beginning of each of the interviews in April 2020. Participants were fully briefed on the study’s purpose, procedures, potential risks and benefits, and their rights as research subjects, including the right to withdraw at any time without penalty. Following completion of data collection, all identifying information was systematically removed from the dataset to ensure participant anonymity. These safeguards were implemented to uphold the highest standards of research ethics and to protect participant confidentiality throughout all phases of the study.