Ukrainian International Education Forum took place on April 22-23, 2021.

 

The Forum was held as part of the Plan to promote opportunities for higher education in Ukraine for foreign students in accordance with the Order of the President of Ukraine №210/2020 “On the improvement of higher education in Ukraine”.

 

The speakers of the Forum were more than 30 leading Ukrainian and foreign educational administrators, diplomats, scientists, experts and specialists in the field of higher education internationalization.

During the first day of the Forum, participants learned about:
• features of the unified interdepartmental electronic platform for the enrollment of foreign students in Ukrainian higher education institutions
• statistics on the education of foreign students in Ukraine
• Israeli-Ukrainian relations in the field of education, prospects and challenges of international education for Ukraine
• project on remote enrollment of students from China and cooperation of the countries in the field of higher education
• communication strategy and strategy of public diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, as well as ways to form a positive image of Ukraine around the world
• capabilities of the EU’s Erasmus+ program for the internationalization of higher education
• aspects of integrating domestic higher medical education into the international educational space
• the American experience and best practices in the internationalization of higher education
• organizational issues of foreign students’ education and more.

 

The broadcast of the first day of the Forum can be viewed at the link: https://fb.watch/566UCnKuBC/.

 

During the second day of the Forum, participants learned about the promotion of higher education abroad through the historic visit of the Ukrainian delegation of educators led by the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Shkarlet to the Republic of Tajikistan in March 2021, education of Iranian students in Ukraine, international education internationalization strategy as a catalyst for the development of international activities, promotion of Ukrainian universities abroad, joined the panel discussion “International education – a key vector of Ukraine’s expansion in the world” and took part in a master class on diplomatic protocol.

 

The broadcast of the second day of the Forum is available at the link: https://fb.watch/566YoBXwmJ.

 

In total, more than 10,000 viewers watched the broadcast of the Forum on the Ukrainian State Center for International Education’s Facebook page.

 

The organizers of the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum are the state enterprise “Ukrainian State Center for International Education” and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The event was held in cooperation with EducationUSA and the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine (European Union Project).

 

Read more about the speeches of the first and the second day of the Forum on our website.

The Forum was held in accordance with the Order of the President of Ukraine № 210/2020 “On the improvement of higher education in Ukraine”. The event is included in the Plan to promote opportunities for higher education in Ukraine for foreign students.

 

The organizers of the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum are the state enterprise “Ukrainian State Center for International Education” and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The event was held in cooperation with EducationUSA and the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine (European Union Project).

 

During the second day of the Forum, registered participants attended a master class “International Education: Diplomatic Protocol, Communication and Search for Partners”. The participants learned about following the rules of diplomatic protocol, etiquette and features of intercultural communication during international meetings, received effective cases and practical tools for building effective cooperation with foreign partners.

 

Yevgeniya Gaber, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Deputy Director of Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2018-2020), stressed the value of the Forum for all stakeholders involved in the process of international education. She spoke about the specifics of educational diplomacy and the promotion of Ukrainian universities abroad, stressed the importance of developing a strategy in the field of international education.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Tajikistan Vasyl Servatiuk spoke about the details of the visit of the Ukrainian delegation of educators to the Republic of Tajikistan, the importance of the meeting with Tajik graduates of Ukrainian HEIs and the extraordinary benefits of the visit for both countries.

 

Director of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education Dr. Olena Shapovalova presented to the participants the Development Strategy of “Study in Ukraine” and paid special attention to the aspects of the Center’s cooperation with higher education institutions.

Advisor of the Presidium of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine Serhiy Kurbatov presented a report “Internationalization strategy as a catalyst for the development of international activity”. In it, the speaker revealed the essence of the internationalization process, its features and directions, on the example of the internationalization strategy of NAES demonstrated the importance of such a document for the university or academic institution and its indicators.

 

The second part of the program for the Forum’s final day was dedicated to a panel “International education – a key vector of Ukraine’s expansion in the world”, moderated by Violeta Moskalu – Founder of the Global Ukraine Foundation. The speakers of the panel presented community building practices at the Center of University Development Strategies in Israel, shared modern practices of learning foreign languages that are successful methods for integrating foreign students, on the example of the University of Paris-Est Creteil. Listeners learned about the development of a global platform of Ukrainian ambassadors to the world based on a network of graduates of Ukrainian HEIs, as well as received recommendations from the Global Ukrainians network.

 

 

At the end of the Forum, Director of “Study in Ukraine” Dr. Olena Shapovalova thanked all the speakers, participants and partners for their interest in the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum and called to join in on the creation of the Forum resolution.

 

“This document will be of extraordinary value. After all, in the resolution we will unite all of the most important proposals that are necessary for the development of international education in Ukraine, and we will make every effort to implement them and make Study in Ukraine better!” – noted Dr. Olena Shapovalova.

What are the specifics of business ethics, what is diplomatic protocol, how to search for partners during the pandemic – all this was discussed during the master class “International Education: Diplomatic Protocol, Communication and Search for Partners”. The event took place within the framework of the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum on April 23, 2021 for registered participants.

 

The master class was divided into 3 thematic blocks and a Q&A block.

 

During the first part, educational consultant (University of Hong Kong) Yelyzaveta Shchepetylnykova told the participants about searching for partners, postulates of official correspondence and resources that can be used for effective communication. Listeners had the opportunity to share their own experiences and received practical tools for having effective interactions with foreign partners in the new environment.

 

The speaker of the second part was professional consultant on etiquette and protocol, founder of the educational center “Business Ethics and Etiquette School” Olga Nakonechna. She outlined the topic of diplomatic protocol as an important component of establishing international communications, spoke about the requirements for clothing and behavior in the context of national and religious specifics.

 

During the final block, Ukrainian diplomat and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine Boris Bazylevskiy noted the importance of the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum as a platform for promoting important aspects of higher education internationalization and exchange of experience. Listeners learned about types of protocol, its components and the intricacies of complying with the protocol during meetings with foreign delegations and official receptions.

 

Participants of the master class will receive by mail a certificate of its completion, as well as other informational materials of the Forum.

During the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine Joel Lion made a report on the development of Israeli-Ukrainian educational relations.

 

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine Joel Lion thanked for the care extended to Israeli students who come to study in the Ukrainian Higher Education Institutions.

 

As of January 1, 2021, 2107 Israeli citizens are studying in Ukrainian higher education institutions. The most popular HEIs among them are:

 

1. Odesa National Medical University
2. Kharkiv National Medical University
3. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
4. Dnipro Medical University
5. Uzhhorod National Medical University

 

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine Joel Lion noted the positive cooperation between the universities of both countries.

 

Director of “Study in Ukraine” Olena Shapovalova stressed the value of the visits to Israel, during which a number of agreements and memoranda that expand opportunities for cooperation and development of Ukrainian-Israeli relations in the field of education were signed.

Today, on April 22, 2021, the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum has begun.

 

The forum is held in accordance with the Order of the President of Ukraine №210/2020 “On the improvement of higher education in Ukraine”. The event is included in the Plan to promote opportunities for higher education in Ukraine for foreign students. It will be held on a regular basis.

 

During the first day of the Forum, participants listened to speeches by leading Ukrainian and foreign educational administrators, diplomats, scientists, experts and specialists in the field of higher education internationalization.

 

“I am glad that the Ukrainian International Education Forum has become a communication platform for professional growth, learning and exchange of experience” – noted Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitization Artur Seletskyi.

 

Artur Seletskyi stressed the importance of such events that promote educational opportunities of Ukraine, spoke about the specifics of introducing the unified interdepartmental electronic platform for the recruitment of foreign students in higher education institutions of Ukraine and presented its updated interface.

 

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine Joel Lion spoke about Israeli-Ukrainian relations in the field of education, noted the work of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education in their development and positive impressions of Israeli students from studying in Ukraine.

 

Olena Shapovalova, Director of “Study in Ukraine”, presented statistics on education of foreign students, spoke about the results of the marketing study on the attractiveness of Ukrainian higher education for foreign citizens and the measures that are proposed to be taken based on its results.

 

In addition, participants learned about the results of the visit of the Ukrainian delegation of educators led by the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Shkarlet to the Republic of Tajikistan, legislative changes in higher education, organizational issues of foreign students’ education and more.

 

Director of the Department of Communications and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Alla Polyova spoke about the newly created communication strategy and strategy of public diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as important guidelines in the formation of a positive perception of Ukraine around the world.

 

In the second part, the participants had an opportunity to listen to a panel discussion “Internationalization of Higher Education: American Experience and Best Practices”. Among the speakers of this panel was John Hudzik, a well-known researcher in the field of international education. He presented modern trends in the internationalization of higher education, stressed the importance of internationalization in every university in the world, demonstrated examples of successful cases and gave valuable advice.

 

After the speeches, forum moderator Olena Shapovalova thanked all the participants and asked to join the development of the Forum resolution.

 

“We are very pleased that the Forum aroused such interest – almost 10,000 viewers watched our Facebook broadcast. And the speeches, the activity of the participants, interesting and meaningful questions inspire us to develop and improve the work of “Study in Ukraine” – noted Olena Shapovalova.

 

 

 

Which specialties and universities are the most popular among foreign students, how many invitations for study have been registered, from which countries do the most students come to study at Ukrainian universities – all this was discussed during the opening of the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum.

 

“We are very pleased to note the rapid growth in the number of foreign students since 2011. This is the result of our joint work with you. And, I hope, by 2025 we will be able to reach the figure of more than 100 thousand” – noted the director of the Center Olena Shapovalova.

 
Olena Shapovalova noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the termination of invitations of foreign citizens for study or internship in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science from March 16, 2020 № 406 for almost 5 months, last year there was a slight decrease in the number of foreign students in Ukraine. But thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in July, amendments were made to the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science №1541, which extended the terms of enrollment until December 15, 2020 and April 15, 2021 and returned the possibility of distance learning for foreigners.
 

Most students come from countries like India, Morocco, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, China, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Uzbekistan.

The large number of students from India and Turkmenistan, as Olena Shapovalova explains, is due to the ease of receiving a visa.

Among the specialties chosen by foreign students, the most popular ones are medical – almost 50%:
1. medicine (36,81%)
2. dentistry (6,46 %)
3. medical practice (4,02%)
4. management (4,04%)
5. pharmacy, industrial pharmacy (4,00%)
6. secondary education (2,32%)
7. law (2,01%)
8. architecture and construction (1,72%)
9. finance, banking and insurance (1,7%)
10. economics (1,60%)

The most popular higher education institutions among foreign students in Ukraine are:

 

1. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
2. Kharkiv National Medical University
3. Bogomolets National Medical University
4. Odesa National Medical University
5. Zaporizhzhia State Medical University
6. National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsia
7. Dnipro State Medical University
8. I.Horbachevsky Ternopil State Medical University
9. HSEE of Ukraine “Bukovinian State Medical University”
10. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

“What unites these universities is that they have a medical faculty. After all, the most popular specialties among foreign students – which is almost 50% – are medical” – explains Olena Shapovalova.
The regions that lead in the number of foreign students are Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odesa, which is due to the most popular educational institutions being located in them.

Olena Shapovalova noted the positive growth in the number of registered invitations for study for foreign applicants. Thus, since 2015, their number has increased by almost 2 times – from 19 647 to 37 523 persons.

The leaders among the universities that registered the largest number of invitations as of 2020 are:

1. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University – 1737
2. Kharkiv National Medical University – 1287
3. International European University – 1283
4. Limited Liability Company “Dnipro Medical Institute of Traditional and Nontraditional Medicine” – 1194
5. Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics – 1121
6. National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” – 867
7. Zaporizhzhia State Medical University – 866
8. Dnipro State Medical University – 801
9. Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University – 777
10. State Higher Education Institution “Uzhhorod National University” – 771

“Despite the challenges of this difficult year, we have more than 35,000 registered invitations for study. This means that all of us together – Ministry of Education and Science, “Study in Ukraine”, universities – have made great efforts and done everything possible to make Ukrainian higher education interesting and accessible to foreign entrants this year ” – summed up Olena Shapovalova.

The Third Ukrainian International Education Forum is the largest event on international education in Ukraine that brings together key experts with the goal of expanding Ukraine’s educational opportunities for foreign citizens.

 

It is taking place on April 22-23. The broadcast is available at the link: https://bit.ly/3sGlt2m

 

Participants can expect interesting speeches from leading Ukrainian and foreign government officials involved in education, diplomats, scientists, experts and specialists in the field of higher education internationalization.

 

Join in!

20 April 2021 the Online Part of Study Visit “Introduction to Intercultural Communication” by Netherlands Business Academy, the Netherlands, was held in the frameworks of the project INTERADIS “International Students Adaptation and Integration”.

 

The program of the online visit included:

 

– Opening by Jan van Zwieten and Steve Austen “Short and long term ambition on internalization”
– Presentation by Jan van Zwieten “why internationalization”
– Panel discussion
– Group discussion, answering the questions: “Why going international”, Short and Long term goals”, “What kind of organizational changes does it require”.

 

Presentations of panelists:

– Taras Finikov “How to acquire intercultural competences”
– Izabella Agardi “Aspects of image building and identity construction”
– Mario Neve “The context of place and environment”
– Hala Naoum Nehme “European citizenship issues, a personal experience”.

 

The project INTERADIS – International Students Adaptation and Integration 619451-EPP-1-2020-1-NL-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP aims to integrate international students into Ukrainian and European educational space by the means of cultural, ethnic, social and academic assets.

 

The Project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.

16 April 2021 the Online Part of Study Visit “Data outcome from surveys. Admission and Integration practices” by Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden, Germany was held in the frameworks of the project INTERADIS “International Students Adaptation and Integration”.

 

The program of the online visit included:

 

– Virtual “Kaffeerunde” with wonder.me.
– Data Analysis of survey outcome (group work – allocating the responses to work packages).
– Best Practice@OTH AW with the head of the international office Dr. Annabelle Wolff.
– Tools for coordinating the international student life cycle: Mobility Online, Orientation Days, Buddy Program
– Networking possibilities for international offices in German.

 

Many thanks to Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden, Germany for organization oft he fruitful and efficient study visit.
The project INTERADIS – International Students Adaptation and Integration/ INTERADIS619451-EPP-1-2020-1-NL-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP aims to integrate international students into Ukrainian and European educational space by the means of cultural, ethnic, social and academic assets.
The Project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.

 

Ukrainian State Center for International Education invites you to a master class “International Education: Diplomatic Protocol, Communication and Search for Partners” that will take place on April 23 at the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum.

 

During the master class, participants will receive practical cases and useful tools for building effective interaction with foreign partners. In particular, listeners will learn about compliance with the rules of diplomatic protocol, etiquette and features of intercultural communication during international meetings.

 

Speakers of the event:

 

• – Olga Nakonechna – Professional consultant on etiquette and protocol, founder of the educational center “Business Ethics and Etiquette School”
• – Boris Bazylevskiy – Ukrainian diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine;
• – Yelyzaveta Shchepetylnykova – educational consultant, University of Hong Kong.

 

The master class will be useful for heads of HEIs, specialists of international offices and organizations for building effective cooperation with international partners in the educational process.

 

Only registered participants of the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum on April 23, 2021 will be able to take part in it. They will also receive by mail a participation certificate, all statistical and informational materials of the Forum and access to a Zoom-conference with simultaneous translation of speeches. Such participation in the Forum costs 1,800 UAH. Registration at the link: https://bit.ly/31YOWcV

 

We would like to remind that everyone can watch the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum for free on the Facebook pages of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (https://www.facebook.com/UAMON) and Study in Ukraine (https://www.facebook.com/studyinukraine.gov.ua/).