20 new projects to build capacities for 107 organisations in Ukraine under the EU’s Erasmus+ Programme

20 projects involving 58 universities and other organisations from Ukraine have been selected for funding under the European Union Erasmus+ Programme for Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education Action. In total, 159 projects were selected for funding. Ukraine has the biggest number of projects in the Eastern Partnership Region and is among the top 8 Participating Countries of the Programme.

Those 20 projects are concentrated on modernisation of educational programmes in energy efficiency, legal education, political sciences, foreign languages, education for peace, Green Jobs and Digital Skills for Building Sector etc. Strengthening cooperation between business and higher education, building resilient higher education to respond and manage societal crises, inclusiveness, sustainability and internationalisation as well as service-learning for Ukraine’s recovery are in focus of the projects. Several projects are devoted to the digital transformations.

“Capacity building in Higher Education beyond our borders is a particularly important strand of Erasmus+. We all gain from these exchanges and cooperation with our partners across the globe. And I am yet again particularly pleased that Erasmus+ can make a difference for Ukraine’s young people and the country’s education system. We are keen on building on our long and strong tradition of higher education cooperation with Ukraine by investing in its digital future, and I am convinced that the DigiUni project will make a real difference for Ukrainian students” – commented Margaritis Schinas, European Commission Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life.

The European Commission has provided a special window for Ukraine to fund the structural project to support digital ecosystem establishment to respond to the martial law challenges faced by the higher education system. As a result a DigiUni project partnership is selected for the development of the Open University to support Ukrainian students in Ukraine and abroad as well as international students with 5 mln. euro grant.

According to the level of the impact and experience of partners, the projects are differentiated by three stands: 1) Fostering access to cooperation (five projects), 2) Partnerships for Transformation (twelve projects); 3) Structural reforms (three projects).

There are twelve national projects and eight multinational projects among funded. 136 partners from 27 countries are among the project teams representing Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain. 39 associated partners from 17 countries, including Argentina, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and others.

All 107 full partners and 16 associated partners from Ukraine represent 58 higher education institutions, 3 research institutions and a number of authorities and other bodies, e.g. the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, State Administrations and City Councils, the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, National Research Foundation of Ukraine, Ukrainian Association of Students, IT and other business clusters, different professional associations and NGOs.

Six Ukrainian universities acts as project grantholders-coordinators: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv Polytechnic National University, Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, Ukrainian Catholic University.

58 HEIs from Ukraine mainly represent polytechnics, medical, pedagogical, arts, architecture, internal affairs, custom and border guard services from different cities of Ukraine. Eleven partnerships include 8 relocated universities from the temporary occupied territories. Two Universities are in four projects partnerships: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Other four are working in three projects teams: Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukrainian Catholic University, Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, Chernivtsi National University Yuriy Fedkovych, Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University.

The projects will contribute to the higher education reforms in Ukraine based on the innovations, best practices and experience of the partners from the EU Member States Universities.

Additional information: Erasmus+ is the European Union Programme that aims to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond. It provides opportunities for learning mobility, projects and partnerships, policy development and cooperation. The Programme is inclusive for people of all ages and backgrounds and open to different types of organisations.

For more details on the Erasmus+ Programme calls and individual opportunities for Ukrainians, please visit the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine website and Facebook page.