The first day of the All-Ukrainian Forum «Days of Educational Leadership»
On June 10, the All-Ukrainian Forum «Days of Educational Leadership» was held, which brought together over 2,000 participants from all over Ukraine and abroad. This year we are gathering for the third time. Despite the war, to the sounds of air raid sirens, we traditionally choose development!
During the opening of the forum, welcoming remarks were made by the rector of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University Viktor Greshta, deputy chairman of the ZODA Mykhailo Semikin, chairman of the subcommittee on higher education of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovations Yuliia Hryshyna, deputy minister of education and science of Ukraine Andriy Vitrenko, chairman of the National Qualifications Agency Yurii Balanyuk, chairman of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service Nataliya Alyushyna, deputy chairman of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education Ivan Nazarov, and chairman of the Sectoral Council for the Development of Professional Standards and the Strategy for the Development of Professional Qualifications of the Federation of Metallurgists of Ukraine Olena Kolesnikova.
The forum’s discussion platforms covered the most pressing issues in the field.
Platform 1 — University and business: from practice to partnership. Participants discussed the predicted challenges for higher education institutions, overcoming which universities will transform into technologically adapted, innovatively developed educational and scientific centers. This requires a comprehensive approach: interaction with the labor market, new tools for cooperation with business, implementation of dual education, joint inter-university programs, development of startup incubators and industry clusters.
The discussion was attended by rectors of leading Ukrainian universities, representatives of business and industry, in particular, rector of NU «Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic» Viktor Greshta, rector of NTU «Dnipro Polytechnic» Oleksandr Aziukovskyi, rector of ONTU Larysa Ivanchenkova, chairman of the Academic Council of NU «Poltava Polytechnic named after Yurii Kondratyuk» Volodymyr Onyshchenko, rector of KNUBA Oleksiy Dniprov, vice-president of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Andriy Kuts, deputy director for scientific work of JSC «Ivchenko-Progress» Yurii Torba, CEO of Triada Welding Kyrylo Krasnoselskyi.
Platform 2 — Education through action: pro-sociality, projects, partnerships, influence. They talked about the university as a catalyst for social change, project-based education, open campuses, integration into the development of communities and regions. These topics were explored by leaders of university education, representatives of local authorities, NGOs and the city council: rector of Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University Viktor Greshta, rector of Ihor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Anatoliy Melnychenko, rector of DNU Serhiy Okovity, rector of MDPU Nataliya Falko, rector of PDTU Olena Khadzhinova, rector of KhNTU Olena Chepelyuk, rector of KhNU Serhiy Matyukh, acting mayor of Zaporizhzhia Regina Kharchenko, deputy coordinator of the Fundraising department of the Progressive NGO Tetyana Konovalenko and director of the Zaporizhzhia City Development Institute Viktoriya Agentaeva.
The final block of the first day was the case session «From Idea to Result». This part analyzed the best practices of academic and international partnerships, project histories, and examples of the transformation of displaced universities into resources for communities. There were strong speeches on the internationalization of front-line HEIs, in particular on the issues of adaptation and formation of new educational models in wartime conditions. The rector of DNU Serhiy Okovity, the rector of PDTU Olena Khadzhinova, and the first vice-rector of MDPU Nataliia Glebova presented their cases.
Today, the university is about leadership, joint actions, modern projects, and responsibility for the future. Educators, students, community representatives, and entrepreneurs — together we are changing education to meet the needs of Ukraine!
The forum was held with the support of the National Agency for Education Quality Assurance, the National Qualifications Agency, the National Service of Ukraine for Civil Service Issues, the All-Ukrainian Association of Regional Employer Organizations of Metallurgical Complex Enterprises «Federation of Metallurgists of Ukraine», the NGO «Progresylni» and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) «Potential».
Thank you to the forum participants and partners for your activity! Let’s build the future together.
