The organizational meeting of the partners of the EU Erasmus+ DEFEP project “Distance education for future: best EU practices in response to the requests of modern higher education seekers and labor market” took place on January 28-30, 2024 at Lviv National Environmental University. Acting Rector, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor Vasyl LOPUSHNIAK and DEFEP Project Coordinator Olena FILIMONOVA, Vice-Rectors and Deans of LNEU welcomed all participants.
The event brought together the project co-executors in a hybrid format and began with a Coordination Meeting. Its main issues were devoted to the features and results of the project implementation during the first year, challenges and next steps, preparation for interim reporting to the EU EACEA.
On the occasion of the visit of most of the DEFEP project participants, a meeting of the Coordination Council and all project committees was held. Thus, at the joint meetings of the Coordination Council and the Executive Committee, the issues of preparation for the pilot phase and the implementation of the tasks of work packages 4, 5 and 6 were considered. Together with the Quality and Ethics Committee, they discussed the criteria for assessing the quality of tasks and the quality of project results. Together with the Communication and Transparency Committee and the Promotion Group, we discussed approaches to promoting experimental master’s degree programs and disseminating the project. Whereas the meeting of the Coordination Council together with the Executive Committee and the Methodological Working Group was devoted to the preparation of a monograph based on the results of the tasks of Work Package 3 on improving the methodology of distance education.
Moreover, in the course of discussions and brainstorming, all representatives of partner HEIs from Ukraine had the opportunity to make proposals for amending the Licensing Conditions for Educational Activities (approved by CMU Resolution No. 1187) regarding distance learning.
In order to expand cooperation between the partner universities to join efforts aimed at developing higher education in Ukraine, memoranda of cooperation were signed between Lviv National Environmental University, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, “Chernihiv Polytechnic” National University, Uman National University of Horticulture and Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University.
Along with the results of fruitful cooperation, certificates and the value of communication, all participants of the meeting received pleasant impressions and positive emotions during these days, which inspire the team to further effectively fulfill the project’s tasks and introduce experimental master’s degree programs in the distance form of higher education.
The DEFEP project team is sincerely grateful for the hospitality of the staff and management of Lviv National Environmental University, personally to Acting Rector Vasyl LOPUSHNIAK for his assistance and support, Head of the Department of Accounting and Taxation Liudmyla HNATYSHYN, Associate Professors Oksana PROKOPYSHYN and Olha MALETSKA for their fruitful cooperation, and the Erasmus+ program for the opportunity to implement our project.
We continue to work on the development of higher education and expanding opportunities for students and educational institutions!