22 guests from three countries at the BOOST meeting

22 guests from three countries at the BOOST meeting

In the framework of the BOOST - Bringing Opportunities and Organisational Success To Small Local Universities in Ukraine project (funded under the Erasmus+ programme, lead organisation: University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia), a LTT (learning, teaching and training) meeting was held at UP Pef, attended by a total of 22 guests from three countries (Ukraine, Estonia and Poland) and 9 organisations (including the host, UP) - one Estonian (University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia), six Ukrainian (Poltava V. G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University, Donbas National Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Izmail State University of Humanities, Kremenets Taras Shevchenko Regional Academy of Humanities and Pedagogy, Mukachevo State University, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University) and one Polish (University of Applied Sciences in Elbląg).

The participants were welcomed by Dr Sona Rutar and Dr Silva Bratož (Vice-Deans of UP PEF), Dr Tina Štemberger (Vice-Rector of UP) and Aleš Oven (Advisor to the Rector), who welcomed them at the opening meeting. Afterwards, the participants will review the status and objectives of the project and listen to both good practices and an overview of possible strategies for translation into practice, especially in terms of curriculum delivery through online tools available both in terms of technology and content challenges for providers, including inclusion. The meeting also aims at setting goals and plans for the continuation of the project work. The meeting started on Monday 27 November 2023 and will run for five days, until 1 December 2023, and will contribute significantly to the success of the project through both substantive and social sessions.

The BOOST project primarily addresses the overarching priority of ‘Digital Transformation' (and also ‘Sustainable Growth and Jobs’ and ‘Migration and Mobility’). Ukrainian universities located in remote towns, who are not able to compete with top educational establishments, face multiple challenges ranging from low technical capacity to falling behind the latest approaches in learning and to underdeveloped soft skills of both staff and students. This is primarily the result of being located outside of central cities and having a limited scope of communication. At the same time, their survivability is vital for their communities as the local universities keep/push the general level up. This project undertakes an ambitious aim to support remote universities that have never enjoyed international project experience. The project will enrich the participating universities with simple tools to increase their performance in different areas ranging from capacity to internationalization.