“Digital University” project: the first step towards practical implementation

25/03/2024

The launch meeting of the DigiUni – Open Ukrainian Initiative project, implemented within the EU Erasmus+ program, took place at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Organizational issues related to project initiation are now behind, with practical implementation of ideas and strategies currently on the agenda.

The international DigiUni project (Digital University – Open Ukrainian Initiative) was presented in October 2023. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv has been designated as its coordinator.

The initiative has brought together 22 educational and scientific institutions from Ukraine, Germany, Spain, France, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

The meeting of international consortium university participants in DigiUni, held on March 25, 2024, at the Red Building of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, marked the beginning of project implementation. Representatives from all national and international partners participated in discussions both offline and online.

"The “DigiUni – Open Ukrainian Initiative” project is a response to the massive challenges faced by the Ukrainian higher education system due to war and migration. In conditions where a significant portion of Ukraine's educational infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, establishing a digital educational ecosystem in Ukraine will help ensure continuous, high-quality, inclusive education regardless of participants' locations," noted Volodymyr Bugrov, Rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, in his welcome speech.

The Vice-Rector, Kseniia Smyrnova, emphasized the transition to the practical stage of implementing the “DigiUni – Open Ukrainian Initiative” project:

"The project, which won the call open to Ukraine by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ program, is designed for four years. Today, seven work packages have already been formed, strategies for project management are being discussed and approved, a quality assurance and control system is being established. We are also discussing the format of DigiPlatform – a nationwide digital educational environment that will integrate digital capacities for creating relevant content, hosting virtual and remote laboratories, courses and disciplines, educational games, and more. Timeframes for conducting training sessions for teachers from partner universities are being defined, where they will learn how to acquire new digital skills and how to develop additional digital content for their disciplines. Another aspect is the alignment of financial and legal matters. The Ministry of Education and Science, which is also represented as one of the project partners today, is proposing approaches to developing a new regulatory framework for quality assurance in higher education in the context of digital content."

The “DigiUni – Open Ukrainian Initiative” project is made possible by establishing close cooperation among Ukrainian universities, which is extremely important for the development of higher education in Ukraine amidst war, limited resources, and constant changes. This was emphasized by Oleksandra Husak, Director-General of the Directorate for European and Euro- Atlantic Integration at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

"Today, we have gathered partners who already have experience in implementing digital initiatives," said the Ministry representative. "I am confident that the digital environment that will be created will further strengthen our institutions' capacity to provide quality digital educational services. At the same time, it will be an additional resource for students. On one hand, this will allow us to implement the best European practices, and on the other hand, to preserve the national context to adapt existing opportunities and resources to our needs."

Oleksandra Husak highlighted the important contribution of the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine, which facilitated communication between the Ukrainian side and the EU "to give this project such momentum."

For reference:

The team of the "Digital University" project includes the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the Ukrainian Catholic University, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Sumy State University, Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute," Mariupol State University, and Kherson State University.

The project is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of IT Professionals, and the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance.

Among the international partners are the University of Strasbourg, the University of Alicante, the University of Cologne, as well as the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nurenberg, the Leibniz University Hannover, Masaryk University, and Adam Mickiewicz Poznan University.

The project's associate partners include the European University Association, the Ukrainian Association of Students, the Technical Information Library (Germany), and the Public Organization "Ukrainian Scientific and Educational IT Society”.