A solemn opening ceremony took place at the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” for academic Building “F,” the renovation of which was carried out with EU support under the EIB project “Higher Education of Ukraine,” thanks to grant financing from the E5P Fund in the amount of approximately €1.76 million.
The event was attended by the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katharina Mathernova, head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) regional hub Kristina Mikulova, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Bobliakh, First Deputy Head of Poltava Oblast Council Oleksandr Lemeshko, Deputy Head of the Oblast Military Administration Yevhen Konchakovsky, representatives of Poltava City Council, the university’s teaching staff, the student community, and others.
Comfort and safety of the educational process
At the start of the event, President of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” Volodymyr Onyshchenko and Rector Olena Filonych spoke about the scale and uniqueness of the project under which the renovation of academic Building “F” was carried out. It provides for the complete thermal modernisation of academic buildings. The purchase of any additional equipment, whether laboratory or educational, is not envisaged. The focus is solely on renovations to the buildings and ensuring comfortable conditions for students’ studies, teachers’ work, and residence in the dormitories. The uniqueness of the project lies in the fact that it covers work on all structural elements of the building, from the roof, windows, and doors, through thermal modernisation, to waterproofing. A particular feature of the project is that it extends to shelters, which are currently of critical importance for higher education institutions. Poltava University conducts its educational process in an in-person format, so all students are able to continue their studies in the shelter following an air raid alert and avoid interrupting the educational process, the institution noted.
“What I admire most about Ukrainians is their ability to continue living, creating, building, and constructing even in the most terrible moments of war. And where we are right now is a fine example of that. I am very glad that the European Union, together with the European Investment Bank — Europe’s public bank — was able to make its contribution to the renovation of the university. This is a unique project. Every euro we spend on energy efficiency comes back as more than one euro in savings. But the university does not exist for that alone. A university is not just buildings. It is really about the teachers who teach here and the students who study here. And it is very sad that one has to build strong walls during wartime, but this is what allows the educational process to continue at all times,” Katharina Mathernova emphasised.
The EIB representative noted the high operational efficiency and autonomy of the Poltava university in implementing projects.
“We have created a very good combination of guarantees, grants, and concessional support for the university. Here the guarantee of the European Union, as well as of the Commission, works as insurance. We are building during wartime, and what we build may be damaged or destroyed. But this insurance means that we will not stop. And this is a very important message… It is an honour for us to create a space in which people can continue to dream and study even in difficult times,” Kristina Mikulova emphasised.
To date, as part of the cooperation with international partners, academic Building “A” and Dormitory No. 4 have been fully completed and put into operation at the university, which has already allowed the institution to make significant savings on energy costs over the past two years. Work is currently ongoing in Dormitory No. 2, and academic Buildings “7” and “P” are being prepared for renovation. Overall, all phases of the programme are planned to be finalised over the next two years.
Background information
The renovation of academic Building “F” is part of the EIB project “Higher Education of Ukraine,” which envisages energy-efficient renovation of 16 Ukrainian universities. At Poltava Polytechnic, the programme covers 10 buildings, and the total volume of EIB investment is estimated at €10.8 million. Work on Building “F” was carried out with grant financing from the E5P Fund in the amount of approximately €1.76 million; renovation of Dormitory No. 2 is ongoing, and renovation of academic Buildings “7” and “P” is planned.
The National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” is one of Ukraine’s oldest higher education institutions, founded in 1818. Today its academic community numbers almost 10,000 students, researchers, and staff, and more than 100 educational programmes cover engineering, energy, construction, architecture, information technology, cybersecurity, economics, and management.
The European Investment Bank has been present in Ukraine since 2007. After 2022, the EIB Group significantly increased its financial support for the resilience and modernisation of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion — since then, the total volume of EIB financing in Ukraine has reached €4.5 billion. Under the EU4U initiative and the implementation of the corresponding window of the Ukraine Facility, the EIB works closely with the European Commission, the European Parliament, EU member states, and international partners.
The Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Fund (E5P) is a multi-donor fund established in 2009 on the initiative of the Swedish EU Presidency. The volume of the E5P Fund for Ukraine amounts to €240 million; the largest donor is the European Union, the largest bilateral donor is Sweden, and the fund is also supported by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United States; Ukraine is also a donor to the Fund (€20 million). To date, E5P has supported 27 investment projects in Ukraine totalling more than €1 billion.
Author: Violeta Skrypnikova
Source: Novyny Poltavshchyny