International cooperation project of Polish universities with the Association of Azov-Black Sea Universities of the Southern and South-Eastern Regions of Ukraine
A delegation of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University headed by Rector Viktor Greshta took part in a study visit to the Republic of Poland of rectors, vice-rectors and representatives of the administration of HEIs of the southern and south-eastern regions of Ukraine.
The aim of the project is to take into account the Polish experience of managing higher education institutions in the context of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
During a meeting at the city administration with heads of departments, the results of the city government’s work on the development of 9 local universities, including 5 state and 4 private, were presented. The development strategy was developed jointly by city administrators and university professors. The main idea was to survive the crisis, to save the city that had lost its industry, faced a demographic crisis, etc. To overcome all the challenges, the city government, teaming up with scientists, took the path of increasing the efficiency of the functioning of institutions not by merging and reducing them, because each institution has its own unique features and focus, but by investing the community in their development and increasing their potential, by implementing image policy programs for institutions regarding their attractiveness in the educational services market.
Implementation of programs to promote Lublin universities, which included holding university open days organized by the city, invitations to guest lectures by professors from leading universities in Europe and the world, and many other educational and scientific events. Universities received new development due to the financial support of the city government for the development programs of all universities and the participation of educational institutions in foreign career fairs. Thanks to joint work, investors from Eastern Europe, Turkey and other countries began to visit the city, which contributed to attracting students from these countries to study at Lublin universities and creating jobs for these students.
The city government financed 400 startups. All this has yielded results: the contingent of students who studied in Lublin in the early 2000s has increased from 8 thousand to 80 thousand students today in a city with a population of 350 thousand.
The first meetings with the leadership of the city of Lublin and heads of departments of local government bodies inspired the participants to initiate and implement joint projects in cooperation between higher education institutions, local authorities, business and public organizations.
Initially, 8 HEIs from 5 regions of the southern and southeastern regions of Ukraine will participate in the international project:
- Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, rector Viktor Greshta, vice-rector Andriy Ivanchenko
- Melitopol State Pedagogical University named after Bohdana Khmelnytskyi, rector Nataliia Falko, vice-rector Tetyana Konovalenko
- Pryazovsky State Technical University, rector Olena Khadzhinova, head of the department of marketing and business administration Tetyana Gorokhovska
- Kherson National Technical University, rector Olena Chepelyuk, head of the department Larysa Sidelnikova
- Odessa National Technological University, rector Larisa Ivanchenkova, assistant rector Olha Olshevska
- Izmail State Humanitarian University, rector Yaroslav Kichuk, professor of the Department of Law and Social Work Oleksiy Hovpun
- Mariupol State University, first vice-rector Olena Bulatova, head of the department Yuliia Demidova
- Admiral Makarov National Shipbuilding University, vice-rector Mykhailo Mykhailov
On the Polish side, this international project is administered by the Management Initiatives Foundation: Chairman of the Board Pavlo Prokop, Lublin.
On the Ukrainian side, the project is initiated by the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, rector Professor Viktor Hreshta.
The coordinators for organizational issues are professors of Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic Petro Gudz, Professor of the Department of Management and Maryna Viktorivna Gudz, Professor of the Department of Economics and Customs.
The Lublin experience proves that the plans of Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic to increase the number of students in regional universities have every chance of successful implementation.
Ready for fruitful work! Let’s build a modern Ukrainian education system together!
