The “Education of a New Ukraine 2.0” conference took place in Kyiv, bringing together more than 500 participants: high school students, university students, parents, representatives of the state, educational institutions, businesses, civil society, and international partners.
The conference was attended by Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko, Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy – Minister of Culture Tetyana Berezhna, Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi, and Advisor – Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Fund of the President of Ukraine for Education, Science, and Sports Olha Budnyk.
During the event, participants discussed opportunities for studying in Ukraine, career choices, youth employment, and the role of education in the country’s recovery. Special attention was given to fields where there is already strong demand for specialists: engineering, construction, energy, transportation, manufacturing, healthcare, and the defense industry.
Olha Budnyk presented new steps by the Fund of the President of Ukraine for Education, Science, and Sports to strengthen Ukrainian universities and support young people. This fall, a new call is planned under a program that enables Ukrainian higher education institutions to invite professors from leading universities around the world for lectures, seminars, consultations, research work, and in-person visits. This spring, as part of the UK–UA Visiting Professors Programme, professors from the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, and other leading British universities already worked at Ukrainian higher education institutions.
“Last year at this conference, we said that the Fund of the President of Ukraine was launching a program to invite foreign professors to Ukrainian universities. Today, one of the participants in the UK–UA Visiting Professors Programme is here with us. This is Charles Cockell, Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh. He is already working with Ukrainian students,” Olha Budnyk noted.
Another area of work will be the interactive map “National Network of Talent Hubs of Ukraine.” The Fund of the President of Ukraine for Education, Science, and Sports will provide information on where such hubs will be established in Ukraine. These are educational and research centers that will combine strong academic programs, modern laboratories, research infrastructure, sports opportunities, a student environment, and international ties.
The state is also investing in the renewal of the educational environment. This year, UAH 3.2 billion has been allocated for modern educational spaces in schools and lyceums; more than UAH 1 billion for the modernization of workshops, laboratories, and classrooms in vocational and professional pre-higher education institutions; UAH 6 billion for shelters in schools and kindergartens; and UAH 1.3 billion to prepare universities for the next fall and winter period.