Today marks 150 years since the birth of Lesia Ukrainka – an outstanding writer, translator, folklorist, public and cultural figure.

Lesia Ukrainka is one of the most famous figures in the history of Ukrainian literature. She left behind a great literary heritage: poetry and prose, journalistic articles, translations of world classics.

Interesting facts from the life of the famous writer:

• – Lesia Ukrainka’s real name is Larysa Kosach-Kvitka

• – Lesia was only 5 years old when she started writing dramatic works

• – At the age of 9 she wrote her first poem “Hope”

• – Spoke 11 languages. Translated works by Homer, Hugo, Byron, Heine, Shakespeare

• – Wrote a total of over 100 poems and 20 dramas. Has released three collections

• – At the age of 19, Lesia Ukrainka wrote a textbook for her younger sister called “Ancient History of Eastern Peoples”.

• – Lesia Ukrainka not only wrote poems, but also created new words, such as “промінь” (meaning “ray”) and “напровесні” (meaning “in early spring”)

• – Asteroid “2616 Lesya” that was discovered on August 28 1970 was named after Lesia Ukrainka.

We would also like to remind that UNESCO together with Ukraine celebrates the 150^th anniversary of Lesia Ukrainka.

On February 25, Ukraine will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding writer, translator, folklorist, public and cultural figure Lesia Ukrainka. Together with Ukraine, the 150th anniversary of the writer will be celebrated by all UNESCO member states.

The decision to include the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Lesia Ukrainka’s birth in the UNESCO Calendar of Memorable Dates was made at the 40th session of the General Conference in November 2019. The conference was attended by 193 member states.

The UNESCO Secretariat has expressed its readiness to spread information on the most important events in honour of the 150th anniversary of the great Ukrainian writer on its web resources, as well as to join the celebrations.

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the writer, UNESCO published an article on its page dedicated to the life and work of the outstanding individual “Lesia Ukrainka: the path of love, fight, and hope.” The publication introduces the world to the figure of Lesia Ukrainka, which will help draw attention to her work and promote mutual enrichment of cultures.

The article can be read in English and French:
Lesia Ukrainka: a path of love, fight, and hope: https://en.unesco.org/news/lesia-ukrainka-path-love-fight-and-hope
Lessia Oukraїnka : la voie de l’amour, de la lutte et de l’espoir: https://fr.unesco.org/news/lessia-oukrayinka-voie-lamour-lutte-lespoir

Innovations in the recruitment of foreign students and features of the international activity of higher education institutions – all this was discussed during the “Internationalization of Higher Education: legal regulation of the process of inviting foreign students for study in Ukraine” seminar. The event was held at Sumy National Agrarian University on February 19, 2021.

The main speaker of the seminar Olena Shapovalova, Director of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education, spoke about the specifics of introducing the Unified Interdepartmental Electronic Platform for the recruitment of foreign students to higher education institutions of Ukraine. The government announced the launch of this platform in the autumn of 2020.

According to Olena Shapovalova, the work of the e-platform will be fully automated, without any interference. Each step can be tracked.

Thus, the applicant will register independently, choose a university and specialty, submit the necessary documents exclusively through the e-platform. The university’s operator will process the application and send an educational proposal, indicating full information about the tuition fee, accommodation, etc.

The next step will be the registration of the invitation, which the head of the institution signs with an electronic digital signature through the e-platform. After that, the invitation for study will be displayed in the account.

Olena Shapovalova emphasizes that all communication between the university and the applicant will be exclusively through the platform.

“The e-platform is the most important change in the process of recruiting foreigners, and in order for the university to understand how to advertise itself, how to work under these new conditions, it is necessary to start preparing now. In order to minimize difficulties for the university at the stage of launching the platform, which is planned for the autumn intake of 2021” – said Olena Shapovalova.

Volodymyr Ladyka, Rector of Sumy National Agrarian University, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor, Academician of NAAS of Ukraine, presented to the audience the international activities of the university and outlined the prospects for international cooperation. Among them is the establishment of the Ukrainian-Chinese college in Xinxiang, China.

“Internationalization is one of the most important issues in the development of Ukraine’s education system and our university in particular. And I thank you for choosing our SNAU as the platform for holding such an important event” – said Volodymyr Ladyka.

The moderator of the seminar Sergiy Kurbatov, Advisor to the Presidium of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, Professor of the Department of Sociology at KNEU named after Vadym Hetman, in summary, emphasized the importance of forming Ukraine as a regional leader in recruiting foreign students.

At the end of the seminar participants received certificates, and a ceremony of awarding student tickets to students from China who came to study this year took place.

You can listen to the seminar at the link.

“Ukraine International Airlines” informs passengers that the sale of tickets for flights Kiev – Delhi – Kiev and Kiev – Tashkent – Kiev has begun. The flight schedule can be found at the link.

The airline reminds that only citizens of Ukraine, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Bhutan and Nepal, as well as citizens of India abroad and persons of Indian origin who have a passport of any country, have the right to travel on flights to Delhi. Citizens of other countries will not be accepted for travel on these flights.

Passengers are also offered connecting flights through the city of Kyiv. In particular, using UIA’s own and partner flights one can travel from/to Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Special attention should be paid to travel recommendations and new tightened security measures posted on the airline’s website.

The “Internationalization of Higher Education: legal regulation of the process of inviting foreign students for study in Ukraine” seminar will take place on February 19, 2021 at 10:00AM. The event will be held at Sumy National Agrarian University.

In particular, the introduction of the Unified Interdepartmental Electronic Platform will be discussed.

Main Speaker – Olena Shapovalova, director of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education.

Moderator – Sergiy Kurbatov, advisor to the Presidium of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Professor of Sociology at Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman.

A Q&A session is scheduled during the event. Participation in the seminar is free.

#INTERADIS On February 11-12, 2021 on the basis of Sumy National Agrarian University the first inaugural meeting of the participants of the #Erasmus+ KA2 (Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education) INTERADIS – “International Students Adaptation and Integration” project took place. All partners joined the kick-off meeting – some online, some came to Sumy. From “Study in Ukraine” a part of the project group arrived at Sumy: Olena Sulyma and Kostyantyn Komisarov. Many interesting and useful things are planned for both foreign students and Ukrainian educational institutions.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelensky is preparing a Strategy for the Development of Higher Education for the next 10 years and a plan of measures to promote opportunities for higher education in Ukraine for foreign students by 2025.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke on this during his speech at the forum “Education of Ukraine 2021: Strategic Goals and Priorities”.

“We will fight for our excellent students and for foreign students, Ukrainian universities must educate people who are competitive in the modern world” – stressed the President.

“I want to assure you – our education will always have a reliable ally in the person of the President of Ukraine. If anything – a lobbyist for the interests of our educators. For my part, I am ready to help implement all your initiatives, all your steps, all reforms for the development of Ukrainian education” – said Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian State Center for International Education also joined in the development of the plan.

The draft document provides, in particular, for the organization of advertising campaigns, events for foreign audiences, regular educational exhibitions “Study in Ukraine” abroad, as well as the Ukrainian International Education Forum.

We would also like to remind that more than 50% of foreign students studying in Ukrainian universities will recommend studying in Ukraine to their acquaintances.

“Any time we meet someone different from us, we need to start by looking at ourselves”.

An intercultural project took place for Sumy State University’s students between 4th -16th of December: “Intercultural Communications & Leadership: a Dialogue for Successful Cooperation”. Coach and developer of the project – Tetyana Mayboroda, lecturer at the University.

The intercultural team was represented by students from Ukraine, Zambia, Nigeria, Turkey, Ghana, Angola, Namibia and India. Moreover, it was also an interdisciplinary team, consisting of students majoring in Medicine, Management, Law, and International Economic Relations.

It was a truly exciting experience that broadens the horizons. Students gained new knowledge in intercultural communications and leadership, met new friends and gained new skills on building a successful dialogue in intercultural teams. Such work is directed towards synergy, effective communication and mutual understanding, as this way we focus more on our similarities than our differences.

In addition, such projects and workshops give us a hope of bringing up the leaders who will be able to unite the community of Sumy State University, Sumy city and the whole world, create an atmosphere of mutual understanding in our intercultural environment.

On January 29, Ukraine commemorates the events that took place at the end of January 1918, when the young defenders of the Ukrainian People’s Republic stopped the Bolshevik army’s offensive at the cost of their own lives.

The coming to power of the Bolsheviks in Russia in November 1917 posed a threat to Ukraine. They sought to establish control over our country. Finally, in January 1918, the Bolsheviks declared a general offensive against Ukraine.

On this day in 1918, at the Kruty railway station in the Chernihiv region, about 300 students entered into battle against an army of six thousand Bolsheviks. Many students were killed in the unequal battle, but the Ukrainian resistance delayed the Russian offensive on Kyiv.

The battle at Kruty was not mentioned for a long time. Only during the years of independence in Ukraine did they start talking about the courageous feat of the students. At the state level, the memory of the heroes of the battle began to be honored in 2004.

In 2006, the Kruty Heroes Memorial was unveiled at the scene of the events. To mark the 80th anniversary of the events at Kruty, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative coin. Events in honor of the heroes, people’s councils and reconstructions of the battle are held in different cities of Ukraine.

The tragic death of the students at Kruty became a symbol of patriotism and sacrifice in the struggle for independent Ukraine.

The first online course about Ukraine in English “Ukraine: History, Culture, and Identities” has been launched. It was developed by the Ukrainian Institute, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and EdEra online education studio.

The course will help one gain basic knowledge about Ukrainian history and culture, reveal the role of Ukraine in European and world history. It will be interesting for foreign students studying in Ukraine, potential applicants, and anyone who wants to learn more about Ukraine.

Tuition for the course “Ukraine: History, Culture, and Identities” is free. Register at the Udemy link: https://www.udemy.com/course/ukraine-history-culture-and-identities/

The online course “Ukraine: History, Culture and Identities” consists of 5 modules:

• – Independent Ukraine
• – Kyivan Rus’ in Middle Ages
• – Ukrainian lands in the Early Modern Age
• – Ukraine in the long 19^th century
• – Ukraine in the 20^th century

You can learn more about the course from the organizers, as well as ask them your questions during the online presentation of the course – January 28 at 16:00 on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian Institute: https://www.facebook.com/UkrainianInstitute