https://thepienews.com/news/ukraine-no-panic-universities-operating-as-usual-say-educators
Posted on Feb 16, 2022 by Viggo Stacey

As political leaders continue to seek a resolution to the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border, international education stakeholders in the Eastern European nation have said that the situation at universities remains stable.
 
While the international community has been concerned with tensions around the Russian military build-up, ahead of what some indicate is Russia preparing to invade Ukraine, the director of Ukrainian State Center for International Education told The PIE the “situation in Ukraine is stable, there is no panic”.
“I would like to stress again that there are no dangers, no problems,” Olena Shapovalova, director of the centre within the Ministry Education and Science of Ukraine, said.

“The Ukrainian universities operate as usual,” she noted.

Asked whether international students have left the country – as is the case reported about a UK student returning after the UK foreign office urged all British nationals to leave the country on February 11 – Shapovalova emphasised that any decision should be made by international students themselves.
 
“They always can agree on with the university about online study,” she explained, adding that some universities have introduced mixed or online studies as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 

In 2020, Ukraine hosted 76,458 international students, 15,718 of whom were from former Soviet states. Photo: pexels
 
UK student Haider Ali who is a medical student at Dnipro Medical Institute in the country’s fourth largest city said he bought a flight ticket early to “avoid the panic”. He told BBC News that many his fellow British had also return to the UK during the weekend.
 
However, UK students only make up a fraction of the international student cohort in Ukraine, which at last count in 2020 stood at 76,548 from 155 countries, according to government statistics.
With some 24% of international students from India, other key markets for international students include Morocco (12%), Turkmenistan (3.7%), Azerbaijan (6%) and Nigeria (5.5%).
 
Ukrainian ambassador to India Igor Polikha told India Today that the nearly 20,000 Indian students in Ukraine should keep calm.
“Taking into account active negotiations that are underway, I don’t see any immediate reason for massive evacuation of Indian students in Ukraine. They should monitor the situation but should not panic,” Polikha said.
 
According to Tetiana Kaminska, co-founder & CEO at Education in Ukraine, opportunities in the country are a “worthy alternative” to prestigious universities in Europe and North America, especially for students from the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East.
 
It is one of the “most preferable destinations” for aspiring students who want to study MBBS in areas such as general medicine, paediatrics, pharmacy, dentistry and surgery in abroad, according to the company that provides support to prospective international students.
 
Kharkiv in the northeast of Ukraine – and around 25km from the Russian border – is home to two institutions most popular among international students in the country. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and Kharkiv National Medical University enrolled 4,277 and 4,215 international students in 2020, respectively.
“We remember that all this did not start yesterday”
 
Shapovalova’s comments chime with those of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky who has said he believes “all normal people expect de-escalation”.
“As for the threat, I have said many times that we are calm about any threats because we remember that all this did not start yesterday. This has been happening for many years,” he said on February 16.
 
Over 14,000 people have died fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region in the east of the country in the eight years since the ‘Maidan revolution’ in early 2014.

February 11 marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The holiday was introduced by the resolution of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on December 22, 2015.
 
On this day, the UN calls on all countries and organizations to promote equal participation of men and women in research, their advancement in science and in other fields related to the development of scientific knowledge. This holiday has already established itself as one of the important mechanisms for drawing attention to the issue of gender inequality in society.
 
Ukrainian women have never lagged behind world trends, and we truly have things to be proud of. By following the link you can get acquainted with famous female Ukrainian scientists and their inventions https://rubryka.com/article/ukrainian-women-in-science/
 
Congratulations to all the girls and women who are engaged in scientific research and development, and make this world a better place!

According to the data of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education, more than 65,000 invitations were registered for foreign entrants in 2021, a record for the last 10 years.
The majority of foreign entrants are potential students from India, Nigeria, Morocco, Turkmenistan and Turkey.

The main advantages for entrants are the value for money, recognition of Ukrainian diplomas in the world and the opportunity to apply twice a year.

It should be noted that last year a delegation of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ukrainian State Center for International Education and the Heads of higher education institutions were in the Republic of Tajikistan with an official visit, within the framework of which, educational forum “Study in Ukraine” was held, forum of rectors of the countries’ leading universities and a meeting with graduates of Ukrainian universities.

Similar visits by the MES delegation and heads of institutions take place regularly, and days of Ukrainian education help increase the number of potential students and spread information on the conditions for higher education in Ukraine.

In addition, last year the III Ukrainian International Education Forum took place, which included about 30 educational managers, diplomats, scientists, experts and specialists as speakers.

We remind that a rating of the best Ukrainian universities has been published by Webometrics.

President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Kyiv on February 3 with an official visit.

Photo: www.president.gov.ua

The Ukrainian State Center for International Education informs that around 4,000 students from Turkey are studying in higher education institutions of Ukraine.

The most popular specialties among them are medicine, software engineering, international law, river and sea transport, dentistry.

Top 5 universities where Turkish students are studying:
• V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
• National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”
• National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”
• Odesa National Maritime University
• National Aerospace University named after Zhukovsky “Kharkiv Aviation Institute”

Evidence for the significant interest of Turkish youth in obtaining higher education in Ukraine is the growing number of registered invitations for study. Thus, in the period of 03.01.2021 – 04.01.2022 their number was 2392, while for the previous respective period – 2233.
Among the registered – 851 persons studied for Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees and 1541 for the preparatory department (language training).

Since 2018, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine annually allocates 5 state scholarships for Turkish citizens to study in Ukraine. This program allows you to obtain Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Ukrainian state universities. In addition, research and educational institutions in both countries are improving their educational cooperation, which, in particular, allows students from both countries to participate in summer and winter schools and study programs.

January 22 marks Ukraine’s celebration of the Sobornist Day. This holiday symbolizes unity of the Ukrainian state and has great historical significance.

It was on this day in 1919 that the Act of Unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic was proclaimed on Sophia Square in Kyiv – a historic act of unification of Ukrainian lands into a single state. And though due to the failures of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921, statehood could not be preserved, it was a fundamental event for Ukrainian statehood.

The main tradition of the holiday is the “living chain” of unity. The first such mass event took place on January 22, 1990, on the 71st anniversary of the Unification Act. Then over a million people joined hands and formed a continuous chain from Kyiv to Lviv. The event became a bright manifestation of unity and the desire of Ukrainians for freedom. Since then, “living chains” have been created repeatedly in different cities of the country, symbolizing the unity of the Ukrainian people. The slogans of the Sobornist Day became: “Strength in Unity!” or “Stronger together!”.

The results of work for 2021, prospects for 2022, as well as new services of «Study in Ukraine» were discussed during the seminar of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education. It was conducted online by the Director of «Study in Ukraine» Dr. Olena Shapovalova on January 20, 2022. The event gathered more than 200 participants.

In the first part of the seminar, Dr. Olena Shapovalova spoke about the work of «Study in Ukraine» during 2021. Among the key achievements was the involvement in the development and further implementation of the Action Plan to promote opportunities for higher education in Ukraine for foreign students, adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on April 21, 2021 in accordance with the Order of the President of Ukraine from June 3, 2020 № 210 «On improving higher education in Ukraine».
 
“The Promotion Plan is the first strategic document developed at the state level in independent Ukraine in the field of international education. And we are glad that «Study in Ukraine» as a key structure and leading player on the market of educational services for foreign students in Ukraine over the past year has been deeply integrated both into its development and further implementation” – said Dr. Olena Shapovalova.
 
Thus, within the framework of the Plan in 2021, the delegation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine headed by Minister Serhiy Shkarlet visited the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, exhibitions on studying in Ukraine took place abroad, the “Days of Ukrainian Education in Nigeria – 2021” (Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria) event was organized.
 
Dr. Olena Shapovalova also noted the success of the Ukrainian International Education Forum in 2021.
 
“Ukrainian International Education Forum is the largest event on international education in Ukraine, it brings together key experts in order to expand Ukraine’s educational opportunities for foreign citizens. The speakers of the Forum were more than 30 leading Ukrainian and foreign educational administrators, diplomats, scientists, experts and specialists in the field of internationalization of higher education. The event’s broadcast on Facebook garnered more than 10000 views” – said Dr. Olena Shapovalova.
 
Director of «Study in Ukraine» also noted that in 2021, together with the educational community, the Strategy for marketing higher education services in the international education market for the period of up to 2025 was prepared, and a repeated online marketing survey on studying in Ukraine was conducted among foreign students.
 
The second part of the seminar was devoted to the new services that «Study in Ukraine» began providing in 2022. Dr. Olena Shapovalova commented on some items from the updated list of services, and explained the specifics of their provision in normal, accelerated and emergency modes. For emergency services, Dr. Olena Shapovalova announced the «Study in Ukraine» hotline, which will be open on weekdays from 8am to 5pm.
 
It was also announced that in the near future the entry into the “Electronic Journal” will take place exclusively with the use of a qualified electronic signature (QES).
 
In the final part of the seminar, Dr. Olena Shapovalova answered the most common questions received at different times from higher education institutions, as well as commented on and answered questions directly asked by the participants during the seminar.

Ukraine celebrates Epiphany on January 19 – the third and final great Christmas holiday. The baptism of Jesus Christ is associated with this holiday.
 
On the eve of Epiphany, Ukrainians have long celebrated the second holy evening. Believers fast throughout the 18th of January. Dinner can only begin after the first star appears in the sky. Fasting dishes are served to the table – fish, cabbage varenyky, kutia, uzvar, etc.
 
Water is an important symbol of the holiday. These days it is customary to consecrate it. Water consecrated during Epiphany is called Jordanian and is believed to have healing properties throughout the year. Many Ukrainians follow the tradition of swimming in icy water.
 
On Epiphany, children and young people sing carols for the last time – they go from house to house and sing songs with well-wishes.
 

Dear colleagues!

The team of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education sincerely wishes you a Happy New Year!

Thank you for your cooperation throughout 2021! Thanks to our joint efforts this year we have done a lot to increase Ukraine’s competitiveness in the international market of educational services:

✅ popularized Ukrainian education abroad (despite the pandemic, educational exhibitions were organized in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Nigeria; together with the educational community we developed a Strategy for marketing higher education services in the international education market until 2025);

✅worked on the formation of lasting relations with foreign graduates of Ukrainian higher education institutions (in particular, to the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence implemented the “Success Stories. To the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence” project, which collected stories of famous foreign graduates);

✅contributed to the socio-cultural adaptation of foreign students in Ukraine (in particular, we participated in the “Integration and Adaptation of Foreign Students/INTERADIS” project. “Study in Ukraine” is the only enterprise in Ukraine that received a grant from the European Union Erasmus+ Program);

✅developed partnerships and strengthened international cooperation (in particular, held an online large-scale Ukrainian International Education Forum, which was viewed by over 10,000 people on Facebook);

✅worked on the formation and organizational implementation of state policy in the field of providing educational services to foreigners (in particular, participated in the development and active implementation of the Plan for promotion of higher education in Ukraine for foreign students – the first strategic document in independent Ukraine in this field; worked on the Unified Interdepartmental Information System on the recruitment of foreign entrants to higher education institutions; joined the work of the President’s Fund for Education, Science and Sports, which was created to encourage the development of talented youth).

We hope that next year will be no less productive and full of excellent projects and initiatives!

Thank you very much for your cooperation in the development of “Study in Ukraine”!

We wish you successes and prosperity in 2022!

Ukrainian State Center for International Education is organizing an educational mission Ukraine-Republic of Tajikistan. Within its framework, a number of meetings of specialists of the State Establishment “Center for International Programs” of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan with Ukrainian colleagues are scheduled for December 20-27, 2021.

“Study in Ukraine” conducts such events in order to promote higher education opportunities in Ukraine. Such an initiative is implemented within the framework of the Plan for the Promotion of Opportunities for Higher Education in Ukraine for Foreign Students in accordance with the Order of the President of Ukraine № 210/2020 “On Improving Higher Education in Ukraine”.

During the first day, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, where parties discussed cooperation in the field of international student exchange.

Tajik colleagues also visited Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. During the meeting, the parties worked on issues of bilateral cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture.

In addition, a delegation was received at the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in Ukraine.

“Such visits are of great importance for the development of relations in the field of education between the states. They expand opportunities for cooperation, allow to build ties between educational institutions and to promote Ukrainian education!” – emphasized Director of “Study in Ukraine” Dr. Olena Shapovalova.

Ukrainian State Center for International Education is grateful to the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in Ukraine and the Embassy Attaché Zuhro Saidzoda for their assistance in organizing the visit of the delegation of the State Establishment “Center for International Programs” of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan.

On December 23, 2021, at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, specialists of the Department for International Cooperation and Protocol held a meeting with the delegation of the State Establishment “Center for International Programs” of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Director of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education Olga Boyko.

The parties discussed cooperation in the field of international student exchange.

Thus, as of January 1, 2021, 134 citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan are studying in Ukrainian higher education institutions.
Among the specialties chosen by Tajik students, the most popular are:
– air transport;
– medical practice;
– dentistry;
– telecommunications and radio engineering;
– nursing.

We remind that in April 2021, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Shkarlet visited the Republic of Tajikistan. A number of important events took place during the visit. Among them was the educational forum “Study in Ukraine”, organized by the Ukrainian State Center for International Education. It was attended by the Ministers of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Republic of Tajikistan, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Tajikistan, representatives of almost 80 leading Ukrainian higher education institutions.