News

Through the joint effort of Odesa National Economic University (ONEU) and Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (DNU) within the DAAD funding program in the summer semester of 2025, we continue to support our Ukrainian partner universities in implementing distance learning and enabling students to pursue their education digitally.

The semester began with the Scientific Competencies course for students, and the selection committees of ONEU and DNU have already identified the scholarship holders. This semester the Ukraine Digital project is awarding 23 scholarships. Therefore, the preparation of scientific articles for the Ukraine Digital Scientific Contest 2025 has been successfully initiated.

Meanwhile, lecturers have started a new phase of adapting the transferred teaching materials, which will result in the creation of 6 new methodological developments that will be used in their curricula. Additionally, the implementation of seven digital courses will continue in 2025.

In the summer semester of 2025, Ukraine Digital will continue to support educational initiatives and academic cooperation, significantly contributing to strengthening of the project's achievements and identifying opportunities for further collaboration.

As part of the DAAD project «Ukraine Digital» at HSMW, 13.11.2024 was held the online final of the Ukraine Digital Scientific Contest 2024. In the scientific competition took part overall 46 students from Odesa National University (ONU) and Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (DNU). The finalists were 10 students who achieved the best results in the previous stages of the competition.

The jury consisted of Prof. Dr. Serge Velesco, Project Manager of “Ukraine Digital” and Dean for Double-Degree Programs at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering at HSMW; Prof. Dr. Thoralf Gebel, Dean of Bachelor’s and Diploma Programs at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering at HSMW; Prof. Dr. Oleksandr Litvinov, Vice-Rector for Research at ONEU and Local Project Coordinator for “Ukraine Digital” in Odesa; Prof. Dr. Oleksiy Dzhusov, Professor at the Faculty of Economics at DNU and Local Project Coordinator for “Ukraine Digital” in Dnipro; and Valeria Winkler, Research Assistant at HSMW and Multimedia and Public Relations Manager for the “Ukraine Digital” project.

During the competition, the participants presented their research articles, followed by a Q&A session with the audience and the jury. The winners were Anastasia Korovina with the topic “Crisis Management in International Companies: How to Respond to Global Challenges”, a student at ONEU, and Sofia Salamanina with the topic “Strategies for Managing Remote Teams in International Enterprises”, student at the DNU. As a prize for their excellent academic work and presentations, they will receive an additional grant of €400 to continue their research projects.

Participation in the Scientific Contest was a significant achievement for all participants. The Ukraine Digital team congratulates them and wishes them continued success in their future studies and research! We are eager to offer students new opportunities that will enhance higher education in Ukraine and Germany, while also fostering stronger collaboration between our universities.

From October 21 to 26, 2024, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences welcomed a delegation of eight representatives from partner Ukrainian universities as part of the "Ukraine Digital" project. The delegation included the rector and vice-rector of Odesa National Economic University (ONEU) , as well as the vice-rector for international relations and the dean of the Faculty of Economics at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (DNU), and other professors from both institutions as well.

The six-day conference focused on evaluating the current outcomes of the project and discussing future academic and research collaborations. The agenda also featured the awarding of the next round of scholarships as part of a „Scientific Contest”, guided tours of Mittweida and Dresden, and a barbecue event with students from the Faculty WI.

The conference program is available for download here. Further information about the project "Ukraine Digital" can be found here.

From October 17 to 18, Professor Serge Velesco, project leader, and Daria Litvinova, project coordinator from the "Ukraine Digital" team at HS Mittweida, participated in the DAAD network meeting "Ukraine-Projekte" in Bonn, held under the theme "Change through Exchange."

This conference provided Daria Litvinova and Prof. Velesco with an excellent opportunity to engage in discussions and workshops alongside project teams from various German and Ukrainian universities, as well as DAAD colleagues, including Tilman Fietz-Bockard, Lena Wolber from the "Support for the Internationalization of Ukrainian Universities" program, and Dr. Klaus Birk, Director of the Projects Department at DAAD.

Participants attended presentations that addressed current issues in higher education project activities for Ukrainian students. Prof. Hanna Tolstanova, Vice-Rector for Research at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, spoke on developments and tendencies in Ukrainian higher education policy. Christoph Wiktorin, a DAAD representative, discussed the legal status of Ukrainian students and researchers, highlighting topics like financial aid (BAFöG) and labor law. The conference also featured discussions on the future of ongoing collaborations, exploring new opportunities and programs, and strategies for maintaining the established infrastructures and achievements of current projects.

Over the course of the two-day conference, DAAD offered eight different workshops on key topics and our team attended three of them. One of these workshops focused on the Reconstruction of Ukraine: Subject-specific Challenges of Dealing with War Consequences, examining targeted support options for rebuilding Ukraine in specific academic fields and study programs. Other workshops addressed support opportunities through EU and DAAD funding programs.

DAAD speakers shared valuable insights into EU funding schemes and discussed potential support avenues for university partnerships beyond existing or completed funding programs.

This conference was highly significant for the future of "Ukraine Digital," providing new perspectives, ideas, and crucial information on future funding opportunities that we are eager to explore!

The moment has arrived: In September 2024, the Odesa National Economic University (ONEU) successfully launched its new SAP S/4HANA course for students. Prior to this, Ukrainian lecturers completed specialized SAP training (see also contribution from 05/24/2024).

Since September 2024, the “Enterprise Resource Planning based on SAP” course has been offered by seven departments at ONEU, allowing lecturers to share their newly gained SAP expertise with students. The official course inauguration took place at ONEU on October 4, 2024. The event was attended by Professor Anatolii Kovalev, Rector of ONEU; Professor Oleksandr Litvinov, Vice-Rector for Research at ONEU; Denys Belskyi, representative of SAP Ukraine; Professor Serge Velesco, project manager of “Ukraine Digital” at HSMW; and Georgii Litvinov, head of an IT consulting company and ONEU graduate.

Students will now benefit from hands-on experience with the latest SAP technology provided by SAP Ukraine. Furthermore, top-performing students will have the chance to complete a paid internship after finishing the course.

The "Ukraine Digital" project continues to support students by offering modernized curricula that enhance their opportunities in the international job market.

At the meeting, representatives of the DAAD, including the organization's president, Joybrato Mukherjee, and German-Ukrainian higher education institutions analyzed the work done and shared further plans. More than 150 conference participants discussed new ideas for the reconstruction of the country and the renewal of Ukrainian scientific and educational institutions. Among the guests was the Ukrainian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Oleksiy Makeyev.

The DAAD presented ideas for new funding programs at the “Education in Times of War” conference, which was also attended by members of the Bundestag, representatives of the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The aim is to ensure sustainable support for the Ukrainian higher education system.

The Ukraine Digital project has been running at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences since September 2022 with the support of the DAAD. In accordance with the program objective, 17 German scientific materials, which were adapted and translated into Ukrainian, were delivered to Ukrainian universities. In addition, the 98 best students from the partner universities received DAAD scholarships. In addition, the “Ukraine Digital” project is creating strong links that will form the basis for future German-Ukrainian cooperation between universities.