On November 20, 2024, within the framework of the project "European Studies for Technical Specialties at the National University "Lviv Polytechnic" (EUSTS) with the support of the EU Erasmus + Jean Monnet program, an interactive event "Dissemination of best practices in teaching European studies and creation of interdisciplinary programs in higher education institutions of Ukraine: exchange of experience" was held online. The event was organized by the team of the NSC "European Studies for Technical Universities" of the National University "Lviv Polytechnic" (Lviv) together with teachers of the National University "Odesa Law Academy" (Odesa). The participants of the event shared their experience and their own vision for the implementation of European studies in higher education institutions in Ukraine.
Thus, Prof. Yaryna Turchyn (EUSTS project leader, head of the Jean Monnet Department "European Studies for Students of Technical Specialties of NULP", director of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of the National University "Lviv Polytechnic") focused on the features of the development and implementation of international programs at Lviv Polytechnic, which allows not only to introduce the best European teaching experience, but also to popularize our own achievements abroad, and to implement important scientific and educational projects together with international partners. Among the most promising areas of work, the speaker singled out the development of interdisciplinary programs in European studies on the topics of energy policy, development of digital potential, and climate policy according to EU standards, because such topics are of particular interest to the student community of NULP and are in demand by employers given the European integration prospects of Ukraine.
Prof. Borys Kormych (executor of the Jean Monnet module "EU Comprehensive Approach to Security: Overcoming Threats, Creating a Strong Security Ecosystem", Head of the Department of Maritime and Customs Law of the National University "Odesa Law Academy") shared his own experience in disseminating knowledge on European security, in particular through conducting scientific research on the topic "Ukraine-EU Cooperation in Countering Hybrid Challenges", developing the module "European Experience in Security Implementation" with the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders from Uppsala University, the University of Birmingham, and the University of Catania. After all, together with European colleagues, we successfully developed and implemented several training courses, such as: "Integrated Maritime Policy for Southern Ukraine", "Geoeconomic Policy of the Black Sea Region", etc. The implemented Jean Monnet module mainly focused on the issues of what is the phenomenon of security in the modern world, what are the main challenges and ways to achieve security. The speaker demonstrated how the module's content changed in view of new challenges to European security in the context of a full-scale Russian invasion.
Assoc. Prof. Nataliya Vovk (EUSTS project participant, associate professor of the Department of Social Communications and Information Activities of the Lviv Polytechnic National University) shared her experience in teaching European studies to students of technical specialties through the prism of the main challenges, such as: encouraging students to choose disciplines; making classes interesting; diversifying the educational process; updating educational materials; constantly popularizing news and project results, as well as ways to overcome them by the EUSTS team. She revealed the features of teaching the modules "EU Energy and New Trends for Ukraine", "Ukraine-EU: Digital Transformation", and "EU Environmental and Climate Sustainability" with the broad involvement of project management practices.
LLM Darya Minchenko (Head of the International Relations Department, Associate Professor of the Civil Law Department of the National University "Odessa Law Academy") revealed the features of organizing international work at the Odessa Law Academy, involvement in numerous international projects - Erasmus + Jean Monnet, K2, academic exchanges, UNOPS (training program for SBI investigators), cooperation with representatives of foreign universities and international organizations. She demonstrated numerous collections based on the results of scientific conferences, and manuals (including English-language ones) published within the framework of the implementation of international projects. Darya Minchenko also focused on the challenges in the implementation of grants, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russian aggression, and the lack of energy supply, which, of course, changed, but did not stop the work of project teams.
Assoc. Prof. Tetyana Krasnopolska (Associate Professor of the Department of Political Theories of the National University "Odesa Law Academy") introduced the participants of the event to the best practices of teaching European studies for political science students of the Odesa Law Academy at all educational levels - from bachelors to postgraduates. This was made possible thanks to the high-quality courses on the EU, European integration, ecopolitics, decentralization, and democracy, for example, "European Integration of International Public Administration", "Specifics of Politics Development of Ukraine in the Light of European Integration", etc.
During the discussion, the participants discussed common problems and prospects in the implementation of academic and scientific programs from the EU, ways of cooperation, and further professional plans.
The practical part of the event using interactive teaching methods to form knowledge about the EU as a responsible global actor in the modern system of international relations for students of the National University "Odesa Law Academy" (Odesa) was conducted by trainers in teaching methods, participants of the EUSTS project - Assoc. Prof. Olga Ivasechko (Department of International Relations), Assoc. Prof. Oleg Tsebenko (Department of International Relations).
Assoc. Prof. Oleksandr Markovets (Department of International Relations), Assoc. Prof. Lidia Kasha (Department of International Relations), Assoc. Prof. Iryna Sukhorolska (Department of International Relations), Assoc. Prof. Olena Lukachuk (Department of International Relations).
In total, 51 people participated in the event - students, postgraduates, and teachers of the Lviv Polytechnic National University and the Odesa Law Academy National University.
The EUSTS project team expresses its gratitude to all participants of the event for interesting discussions, professional reports, exchange of best practices, and development of new ideas for the development of European studies in higher education institutions of Ukraine.
More detailed information about the EUSTS project can be found at https://lpnu.ua/yests.
