On December 15, the first inclusive space in Ukraine Veterans Service Center was opened in the 1st academic building of Lviv Polytechnic National University (24 Karpinskoho St., the ground floor), with the support of SoftServe Open Eyes Fund.
The event gathered many distinguished guests and government officials. Among them there were Rector of Lviv Polytechnic National University Yuriy Bobalo, Chairman of Lviv Regional Council Iryna Hrymak, First Deputy Mayor of Lviv Andrii Moskalenko, Director of the Veterans Service Center Olesia Bik, SoftServe Co-Founder and Board Member Taras Vervega, Chairman of SoftServe Open Eyes Fund Viktoriia Mishchuk, SoftServe Senior Vice President Adrian Pavlykevych and many others. Rachel Nachlas, Director of Veteran and Military Services, Frederick Community College, took part online.
The event was moderated by Roman Korzh, Vice-Rector for Education and Social Development, Lviv Polytechnic. He said that the staff of the Veterans Service Center will help veterans with admission, organize psychological counseling, rehabilitation and meetings with other specialists.
«In the center, veterans and servicemen who returned from the ATO / OOS zone or other places of hostilities can socialize, integrate into the educational process, as well as receive appropriate psychological assistance», said Roman Korzh.
Yuriy Bobalo, Rector of Lviv Polytechnic, noted that the opening of this Center was postponed several times due to the situation with the coronavirus.
«The question may arise, what is Lviv Polytechnic for? But more than a thousand people study and work at Lviv Polytechnic and directly belong to the Veterans Services, as well as to the educational activities of students who took part in hostilities. I am convinced that the newly created Center will take a leading position in the rehabilitation of veterans. I especially want to express my gratitude to the well-known company SoftServe, whose representatives are among us today. This is not the only project we are doing with this company, but it started a new page in our cooperation. I would also like to note that the Veterans Service Center and the issues it will deal with are directly related to the Ukraine-Norway project, which has been running at the University for many years. I thank everyone and call for active cooperation with the Center», said Yuriy Bobalo.
The Center was created by the latest models operating in the United States. This was stated by Olesia Bik, Director of the Veterans Service, who three years ago came up with the idea to open such a Center, which, as it turned out, became the first in Ukraine.
Taras Vervega, Co-Founder and Board Member of SoftServe, said he was doubly pleased to be at the opening of this Center both as one of the leaders of the company that joined the project and as a graduate of Lviv Polytechnic.
«I know from experience how Polytechnic can affect students’ brains, their worldview, their skills, their abilities, and their future. SoftServe and Lviv Polytechnic are long-term strategic friends and partners. We cooperate in the fields of education, information technology, and prepare students for the digital world. Therefore, it is especially gratifying that we are moving in the direction of new cooperation and managed to create the Veterans Service Center at the University», said Taras Vervega.
The event was held according to the rules of the yellow quarantine zone, in particular, all participants had vaccination certificates or negative PCR tests.
