Modernisation of higher education in Ukraine: vision and priority steps
Vadym Popko is a professor of the Department of Comparative and European Law of the Educational and Research Institute of the International Relations of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University
As part of the modernisation of Ukrainian higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education and Science has announced plans to train about 1000 middle managers in modern university management methods. The initiative will be implemented within the framework of the joint project with the World Bank "Improving Higher Education for Results". And speaking of the quality of management, I would really like all project participants to have their own vision of what higher education in Ukraine should be like. To adopt not only the best practices, but also to look ahead, because in fact, these are the specialists who will very soon formulate and implement state policy in the field of higher education.
So today, I will talk about my vision of the first steps in the modernisation of higher education in the near future (in addition to those already being implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science).
The form and content of higher education
Sir Winston Churchill said at the meeting of the House of Lords in October 1943: "We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us". This is a phrase from his speech which was devoted to the need to rebuild the House, which was almost destroyed during the bombing in 1941. Thus, he demanded that the House be rebuilt in the same style as before, obviously having in mind the centuries-old traditions and atmosphere of British parliamentarism.
From the point of view of philosophy, the dialectical concepts of "form" and "content", although reflecting different aspects of the same subject (form is substantial and content is shaped), are inextricably linked. The form organizes the content, and the content determines the form.
All of the above can be applied in the terms of modernisation of higher education in Ukraine.
I am not an architect or a designer by education, but during my teaching career I have visited several dozen educational institutions in European countries. What I immediately noticed was the space (read: form). These are mostly large and small, but well-lit classrooms, many coworking spaces, open spaces, territories, green areas - in fact, everything that can be called a public space. Very often, instead of blank walls, classrooms have glass. In fact, it is a through space with several entrances and exits. Of course, in our realities, it is quite difficult to realise this, because, unfortunately, we all know about the "rule of two walls" and the danger of broken glass in explosions. But we definitely need to think about this during the post-war reconstruction of higher educational institutions.
And as for the content of higher education, it is defined in the relevant law, which defines it as "a set of systematised knowledge, skills and practical abilities, ways of thinking, professional, ideological and civic qualities, moral and ethical values, and other competences". All of this is aimed at "preparing competitive human capital for the country's high-tech and innovative development, personal self-realisation, and meeting the needs of society, the labour market and government institutions for qualified specialists."
We will definitely win, but today we have to think about how, while preserving our own educational traditions, we can modernise Ukrainian higher education in line with the best European and global standards - both in form and content.
Form
Safety is a priority
Ensuring that the public can stay safe during air raids alerts is the most important aspect. What do we have in this regard in the legislative field?
The fundamental document is the Civil Protection Code of Ukraine, which has been in force since 2013. It "regulates relations related to the protection of the population, territories, the environment and property from emergencies, fires and other dangerous events". Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Code has undergone significant changes and today it contains the main requirements for shelters (construction, maintenance, safety standards, decoration, etc.). Also, since February 2022, other legislative, regulatory and legal acts and recommendations related to the safety and protection of the population have been adopted.
Several of them relate to higher education institutions and participants in the educational process. In particular, for those higher education institutions that do not have civil protection facilities, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution № 926 "On the Implementation of a Pilot Project on the Creation of Protected Spaces (premises for physical protection) in the Buildings and Facilities of Educational Institutions" in August 2024.
Another document is a letter from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine "On the organisation of the 2024/2025 academic year in general secondary education institutions". It was developed in accordance with the Methodology for Assessing Security Risks in the Education System Related to the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The letter itself states that shelter spaces can be arranged in basements, ground floors and first floors (in exceptional situations) only in educational institutions located in territorial communities with a satisfactory and moderate level of security risk in the education system. However, the use of safe premises is a temporary solution and does not relieve the management of the higher education institution of its responsibility to equip civil defence facilities that comply with the current legislation.
In one of my blogs, I wrote that the physical protection of participants in the educational process should be a priority for educational institutions. So, the first priority is to equip bomb shelters. And not only on the territory of the university itself, but also around the perimeter (transport stops, etc.).
As for the bomb shelters for students and teachers, they should be designed to allow for learning during air raids alerts. This means that there should be appropriate equipment, mobile communication, Wi-Fi, etc. I'm not talking about electricity and water supply systems, water drainage, air filtration systems, and evacuation exits. We should also take into account such a factor as the design of the premises, because staying in a bomb shelter can be quite long and, accordingly, affect the emotional state of students and teachers.
In this context, I have high hopes that we will benefit from cooperation with Finland within the framework of the Civil Protection Coalition to build a system of modern shelters in Ukraine. The Coalition was established at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal in October 2024. And I would be very glad to see a separate direction within the framework of this coalition that would deal with the system of shelters for educational institutions.
But first of all, we need to conduct a full audit of existing shelters and shelters in higher education institutions, identify and eliminate shortcomings, develop new projects for the construction of modern shelters, and ensure the proper functioning and maintenance of existing structures.
We need an effective system of legal regulation that will provide for increased liability for negligence in ensuring public safety. After almost three years of full-scale invasion, unfortunately, not all higher education institutions have improved their shelter systems.
Libraries
Today, we are in the process of transition to a new form of post-industrial society - the information society, where knowledge is the main value and resource. The society has long been in demand for highly educated, qualified, proactive specialists. This is the kind of people that higher education institutions should train - this is their main task. Not only in Ukraine, but all over the world. This requires mobilising global intellectual resources. And, in fact, with the help of the Internet (and now with the help of AI), this is really possible. Back in the early 2000s, the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) was established. According to it, "open access is a means to ensure the equity, quality, usability, and sustainability of research." Open access is unlimited and free online access to the research of those scientists who have given their consent.
The text of the initiative clearly states: "The public good they make possible is the worldwide electronic distribution of peer-reviewed journal literature and completely free and unrestricted access to it by all scientists, scholars, teachers, students and other curious minds."
Given this, we should make the most of such initiatives and do so on the basis of university libraries, which, unfortunately, are not visited by students as often.
So, libraries should be transformed into into a space equipped like co-working with soft furniture, coffee machines, vending machines, Internet access, etc. We need to get students interested in working in libraries, and this is possible. Creative meetings, conferences, competitions for the best recommendations for textbooks and scientific literature. With the development of social networks, libraries should have their own accounts where it is convenient to conduct various surveys, arrange quests, etc.
In addition, higher education institutions should provide their students with access to world libraries, paid research databases, and leading global publications. And if budgets are limited, funds can be raised from charitable foundations, international projects, donors, and domestic businesses.
It is also important to pay attention to volunteering - students can help create files and catalogues, arrange books, and help restore old editions. In fact, the field of activity here is very large - it all depends on the imagination of the staff and the students themselves, who can also offer various activities.
The content
The State-Business-University triad is a successful model of cooperation
Today's realities are such that science and innovation are developing very rapidly. And the state, with its bureaucratic procedures, does not always keep up with this process, unlike business, which is more flexible and instantly responds to new technologies and products.
It is very difficult to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to implement and use such technologies through theoretical knowledge that a student receives at university alone. Cooperation with business is very important to know the needs of business, because it is for business that universities should train highly qualified personnel. It is crucial that business and educators work in sync here. The role of the state is to help create such links, as the rapid transfer of technology and innovation ultimately ensures its competitive advantage on the global stage. A parity and mutually beneficial "State-Business-University" partnership can and should become a catalyst for economic growth and development.
How can this work in practice? For instance, businesses could finance/co-finance specific educational programmes related to their industry. Educational institutions, in turn, could invite business practitioners to lectures and seminars. Together, business and educators could participate in the development of curricula based on employers' requirements for graduates, and the latter would be more confident in their future employment. In this way, students are given a clear benchmark, which will definitely encourage them to put more effort into their studies in specific disciplines.
In some countries, there is a profession of career adviser - a specialist who helps high school and college students identify their career goals. For high school students, they conduct tests to determine their interests and skills and, based on this, can offer guidance for their future profession, tell them about effective study habits, and teach them how to organise their time. For students who have already chosen their future profession, such specialists can give advice on how to prepare for an interview, tell them about job fairs and even establish contacts with employers. Of course, such consultants must be licensed or certified specialists. Another important detail is that they must have knowledge of psychology. In our reality, when the majority of the population is in a negative psychological and emotional state, this is very important.
The practice of "open days" in higher education institutions has already proved its effectiveness, but it needs to be significantly expanded - to make excursions for applicants and schoolchildren more frequent and more informative - to introduce the history of the university, to organise communication not only with teachers but also with students. I also see the idea of inviting representatives of the government, local authorities, experts and, most importantly, business to such meetings as constructive. In this way, visitors will better understand not only the state policy on the industry they have chosen, but also hear from business representatives about the prospects of the profession, get answers to their questions, and learn about success stories that will inspire them.
GR and expertise
Higher education institutions, both public and private, should pay attention to Government Relations. A quality dialogue with government authorities will only contribute to the development of higher education institutions and help the state to better understand the problems in the field of education. It will also help universities develop their expert potential to effectively address existing issues and evolve.
In general, such work can become a separate direction in the distribution of functional responsibilities between the management of higher education institutions. And here it is worth considering the introduction of a separate position of vice-rector (or deputy director or dean) for GR. Together, they could help to create a separate expert network that includes leading industry experts and, at the level of an advisory body, provide advice to government and local authorities on a particular issue. For example, in understanding the needs of the labour market, in the development of legislation or regulations, etc.
This would also greatly contribute to formation the image of our universities as expert institutions. Today, when literally hundreds of "experts" on literally every issue can be seen in the media space, people are literally lost and do not know whom to trust. And all of this is happening against the backdrop of a huge amount of fake and unverified information. High-quality expertise from higher education institutions and their representatives could also help to "cleanse" the media space of pseudo-experts.
Artificial intelligence
I wrote in more detail about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in my previous blog, so I will focus on this aspect very briefly. AI is already significantly changing the paradigm of learning, teaching, and administrative processes in higher education institutions. The rapid development of information technology is driving the penetration of AI into the educational process. There is no doubt that AI is the future, but in addition to its positive effect, it carries certain threats, for example, related to academic integrity.
The possibilities of AI are very broad, and today we are not even aware of some of them. However, it is already clear that the proper use of AI technology increases the inclusiveness of education, helps in assessing students' knowledge and skills, improves the quality of the learning process, and can help predict learning effectiveness. It is important to use it in higher education at least in line with UNESCO's recommendations on ethical aspects.
Given the above, I can say that I am not alone in my vision. In general, I see attempts on the part of the authorities to change approaches to education (from school to higher education), and recently, the messages have been very encouraging. And the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov, when he says that "Ukraine needs education that will adapt to market challenges, quickly integrate ChatGPT, Claude AI and other technologies", the Ministry of Education and Science is also very active in promoting the ideas of reforming higher education and thus working in unison. So, I am convinced that a consensus will definitely be found, which means that there will be a result. It will definitely be positive!
As in the case of a separate position of Vice-Rector for Government Relations, it might be worth following the example of our government authorities and introducing a position in universities responsible for digital transformation and AI implementation. Back in 2020, the positions of Chief Digital Transformation Officer (CDTO) were introduced in government agencies. One of the most recent examples is the Ministry of Economy, which appointed a Deputy Minister for Digitalisation, Oleksandr Tsybort, who, incidentally, came from business, last September. All central executive bodies have now filled the positions of deputies responsible for digital development, digital transformation, and digitalisation.
In fact, the scope of work to reform the higher education system in Ukraine is enormous and requires many more steps than I have mentioned. The main thing is that in this process we must be guided by the principle of Build Back Better. We need high-quality, affordable education that will ensure the competence of future specialists, those who will rebuild and develop Ukraine, those who will fulfil the dream of many Ukrainians of a civilised, legal, economically developed state. And the issue is not only about those students who are currently studying at Ukrainian universities and institutes. Modernised higher education is what will help us bring back those students who are abroad.
And I look forward to working with the Agency of National Unity, which was established on 24 January this year, in this regard, as its functions also include coordinating student networks and encouraging citizens to return to Ukraine. The effectiveness in these areas will largely depend on active cooperation between universities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrainian embassies, and the diaspora. This requires systematic work to explain the current features of education, promote Ukrainian universities and facilitate the return of applicants and students to Ukraine.