On May 12, 2023, the interactive event «Eurodoc as a tool for the European integration of young Ukrainian scientists» took place within the framework of the project «European studies for technical specialties at Lviv Polytechnic National University» (EUSTS) with the support of the EU Erasmus+ programme directed by Jean Monnet, with the participation of Oleksandr Berezko, President of Eurodoc, Associate Professor at the Department of Social Communication and Information Activities, the Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Eurodoc (European Council for Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers) is an international federation of 26 national associations of young scientists from 24 EU countries and the Council of Europe. It is a large European network from Ireland in the west to Azerbaijan in the east, which represents the interests of about a million scientists. Eurodoc communicates and cooperates with all key stakeholders in Europe in the field of science and education, including the European Commission, the European Parliament, pan-European associations of universities and research institutes. Today, the organization is primarily focused on the career development of young scientists, their mental health issues and open science, although the range of topics which Eurodoc works on is much wider.
Oleksandr Berezko told the students of technical specialties about the history of Ukraine's entry into Eurodoc in 2014 and emphasized that the role of Lviv Polytechnic in this process was extremely important, as the preliminary negotiations about the entry took place at our University within the framework of the International Youth Scientific Forum Litteris et Artibus a year before. Today, Ukraine is represented at Eurodoc by the Council of Young Scientists at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, where Oleksandr is a consultant.
The speaker dwelt in detail on the achievements of Ukrainians within the organization and gave examples of how our compatriots can not only gain access to the latest knowledge and trends in the development of the scientific field, but also influence decisions by joining the joint creation of key regulatory documents that shape the rules of the game in Europe.
In general, the participation of Ukrainians in Eurodoc is a good example of scientific diplomacy, which helps to defend the interests of Ukraine. An example of this is, for example, that on February 25, 2022, Eurodoc published a statement supporting Ukraine and condemning the actions of Russia. Lots of member organizations did the same. After that, a special working group was formed to find the best ways to help Ukrainian scientists, and later published an open letter to European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel with clear recommendations, which have already been partially implemented.
Oleksandr urged students to be active members of civil society, which is currently actively forming in Ukraine, and to join international organizations, thanks to which it is possible to effectively represent our state in the world and establish fruitful relations in Europe and the world.
Students actively participated in the discussion and showed interest in the possibilities of realizing their scientific research both at the University and with the support of European partners. The event was held in a hybrid format, more than 50 students from the Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Institute of Power Engineering and Control Systems joined it.
The EUSTS project team expresses its gratitude to all the participants of this event and continues to work on other not less interesting events on the current topics of European integration of Ukraine and cooperation with the European Union. We invite everyone to join our events!