Ukraine's universities will harness their potential to contribute to community development
On 11 August, a meeting took place between the team from the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine and 24 rectors of Ukrainian universities. Oksana Desyatnyuk, Rector of West Ukrainian National University, took part in a discussion on developing a new model of partnership between higher education institutions and local communities in Ukraine.
The initiative is being implemented as part of Phase III of the three-tier model for developing the capacity of local authorities in the field of spatial planning, and is designed to bring together the research, educational and human resources of universities with the practical needs of Ukrainian communities.
The creation of a network of partner universities, supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, will provide an opportunity to develop practical solutions for community development. This is a new format for collaboration, within which local communities will formulate concrete practical requests, whilst universities will be able to involve lecturers, researchers, postgraduate students and undergraduates in addressing them. This involves scientific research, the development of spatial development concepts for territories, and the preparation of analytical materials.
Such cooperation will open up new opportunities for universities to develop applied science, strengthen the practical component of their educational programmes and expand their partnerships.
West Ukrainian National University’s participation in this project represents a significant contribution to the training of a new generation of specialists and the development of a modern model of collaboration between education, science, the state and local communities in Ukraine.