A meeting was held at UzhNU with Svitlana Shytikova, coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine

Recently, the team of the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine came to Uzhhorod with a two-day working visit as part of a high-level meeting of representatives of educational and scientific institutions of Austria and Ukraine. On the occasion, Ms Svitlana Shytikova met with the University staff to discuss the programme's promising areas, priorities for deepening cooperation and the main challenges due to the war in Ukraine. The conversation with Vice-Rector Myroslava Lendiel and Head of International Relations Oksana Svezhentseva focused on finding new ways to spread awareness of the Erasmus+ programme and increase the motivation of potential participants in international academic mobility and project activities. The meeting allowed us to learn more about the specifics of the current Erasmus+ competitions - we talked about the specifics of international mobility areas, cooperation projects and capacity building, international consortia and alliances of European universities to attract innovation, etc.

Ms Svitlana Shytikova explained the innovations in project funding under EU programmes and outlined new opportunities for academic mobility participants, male higher education students.

The executors and coordinators of some university projects joined the meeting and discussed with Ms Shytikova the current challenges that arise at all stages of project implementation. Particular attention was paid to the projects of Uzhhorod National University, which are at the final stage and already have significant results. Svitlana Delehan, Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, coordinator of the project "Support to the Higher Education System in the Context of Climate Change Mitigation through the Regional Carbon Footprint of Production, Construction and Organisations" (KA2 Cooperation Partnerships), spoke about the urgency of the project and its results. Tetiana Buturlakina, Director of the Career Centre of UzhNU, University Coordinator of the project "Integration of Dual Higher Education in Moldova and Ukraine" (Higher Education Capacity Development), spoke about significant international experience in the implementation of dual education and stressed the importance of partnership support and teamwork for the successful implementation of educational projects and initiatives.

Recently, three projects by UzhNU students with the support of the Erasmus+ programme have become winners: "Europeanisation of Public Law in Ukraine: Methods, Drivers and Influences" Jean Monnet Module (coordinated by Prof. Tetiana Karabin), "Gender, Digitalisation, Sustainability: Ensuring a Sustainable Future for All in Europe" (coordinated by Prof. Oksana Mulesa) and the project of the team of the Department of International Studies and Public Communications "Rethinking Higher Education in the Digital Context and Integrating a Common Inclusive and Ecological Framework Based on EU Best Practices and Policy Recommendations" (RE-DIRECTION), coordinated by Associate Professor Vitalii Andriiko.

"Participation in projects is an invaluable experience that will have a favourable impact on the academic community not only of the faculties or departments directly implementing the project, but also of the university as a whole, because by establishing and deepening contacts between foreign and Ukrainian partners, there are opportunities to generate and borrow new scientific, educational, and social ideas and implement them," Oksana Svezhentseva said at the meeting. "That is why we are interested in new partnerships, ready to work on improving university policies, on attracting innovative methods of organising the educational process and open to new ideas.

We hope for positive results of the projects submitted by university teams in February-April this year. They are interesting, diverse, and aimed at supporting young people, developing new relevant courses, and expanding the potential of higher education in general.

We are grateful to the coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine, Ms Svitlana Shytikova, for the meeting, advice, motivation and constant highly qualified support! Together we will win!

 

• International Activities