During February 20-25, 2023, as part of the “Mentor School” project the Scholar Support Office (Council of Young Scientists at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine) conducted training for active and proactive young scientists of higher education institutions of Ukraine. The project’s main goal was to increase the level of awareness of Ukrainian scientists about the conditions and features of preparing project applications for participation in the European Union grant programs.
Three scientists of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” became active participants in the educational project – Head of the Council of Young Scientists of the Faculty of Philology, Psychology and Pedagogy, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation Anna Pavelieva, Doctor of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of International Economic Relations and Tourism Iryna Levchenko, and Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor Aliona Buriak, they attended the “Mentor School” course from the Scholar Support Office. The project participants successfully coped with the set practical task – writing an abstract for one of the selected European Union grant programs and received the corresponding certificates.
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Among the main goals and tasks of the project – promotion of the active involvement of Ukrainian scientists in participation in programs; training in effective program monitoring; promoting the acquisition of knowledge, the formation and improvement of abilities and skills in the preparation of projects for participation in the European Union programs, the improvement of skills in drawing up an application and filling out the necessary set of documents for participation in EU programs, the formation of the ability to successfully manage project planning and implementation as well as work in a team, implementation of academic ethics and integrity principles.
The work within the “Mentor School” took place in several stages:
1) On February 20, 2023, the opening of the “Mentor School” and the presentation of the “Horizon Europe” program were held by Hryhorii Mozolevych, head of the expert group on integration into the European research space of the Science and Innovation Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Educational and Research Medical Institute of Sumy State University, head of the Centre for Collective Use of Scientific Equipment of the Educational and Research Medical Institute of Sumy State University (Ukraine), researcher of the laboratory of optical biosensors and functional nanomaterials of the Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy of the Latvian University (Latvia) Maksym Pohorielov shared practical advice on filling out the application with the participants of the school.
The first day of the “Mentor School” project brought together 87 participants from various scientific as well as higher education institutions of Ukraine, starting with the welcoming words of the Head of the Scholar Support Office Olesia Vashchuk as well as a brief introduction of the participants to the weekly program by the coordinator of the Scholar Support Office Victoriia Lemeshchenko-Lahoda.
Coordinator of the Scholar Support Office, teacher of the Department of Financial Management and Stock Market of Odessa National Economic University, head of the Council of Young Scientists of Odessa National Economic University, member of the Council of Young Scientists at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine Yelyzaveta Kulikova told the participants of the program about the current vectors of the Scholar Support Office.
2) The second day of the “Mentor School” project (February 21, 2023) brought together more than 70 participants from various scientific as well as higher education institutions of Ukraine. The main speaker, Chief Specialist of the Directorate of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Kateryna Ilieva shared practical advice on filling out an application for participation in the “Digital Europe” program.
It should be recalled that on September 5, 2022, the Agreement was signed between the representatives of Ukraine and the European Union (currently the last stage of ratification of the agreement is taking place), thanks to which Ukraine received access to financing of digital projects within the framework of the “Digital Europe” program for 6 billion euros. In total, there are four main areas available for Ukraine, in which one can get financing:
- “Digital skills” – 580 million euros. Projects aimed at creating opportunities for acquiring new skills in the IT field can be submitted in this area;
- “High-performance computing” – 2.2 billion euros. Projects that calculate large arrays of data for decisions in the field of economy, health care, or the defence industry can be submitted in this area;
- “Artificial intelligence, data and cloud services” – 2.1 billion euros. Projects that create products based on artificial intelligence to facilitate the work of enterprises, state administrations or research institutions can be submitted in this area;
- “Use of digital technologies in the economy and society” – 1.1 billion euros. Projects that introduce digitization in business or in the field of e-government, health care, environment, education and culture, Smart City technologies can be submitted in this area.
During the second part of the meeting, speaker Kateryna Ilieva, together with the participants of the event, explained step by step the instructions for filling out the application.
3) The third day of the “Mentor School” project (February 22, 2023) was dedicated to the opportunities open to Ukrainian scientists within the framework of the “Life” program. The “LIFE” program is an EU financial instrument aimed exclusively at environmental protection and climate action, the program is designed for 2021-2027 with a total budget of 5.4 billion euros.
Invited speaker Viktor Bukovynskyi, Head of the Department of Investments and Restoration Projects of the Department of Strategic Planning and Environmental Restoration of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, presented the possibilities of the “Life” program and provided valuable advice on participating in the competition. And the coordinator of the Scholar Support Office Victoriia Lemeshchenko-Lahoda outlined the main nuances of filling out an application for standard action projects, providing detailed step-by-step instructions for filling it out.
4) The fourth day of the “Mentor School” project (February 23, 2023) was aimed at raising the level of awareness of the project participants regarding the conditions, features of participation, preparation of project applications for participation in the “COST” program.
Member of the steering committee and coordinator of COST Action “Women on the Move” grants, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of History and Philosophy, Coordinator of international activities of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University, Chairman of the Branch Expert Council “Humanities” of the National Agency for Quality Assurance education; coordinator of the Scholar Support Office Ihor Lyman helped the participants of the “Mentor School” to master the skills of making an application and filling out the necessary set of documents for participation in this program. The scientist presented this program's possibilities, sharing practical advice on filling out the application and talking about the features of the project using the example of his own achieved results.
5) The fifth day of the “Mentor School” (February 24, 2023) was devoted to the Euratom program, of which Ukraine became an associate member in 2022. The program was presented by Serhii Puhach, coordinator of the Euratom NCP in Ukraine, and Ivan Balykin, coordinator of the Scholar Support Office.
After lively discussions, a ceremony was held for the “Mentor School” project ceremonial completion. The organizers appealed to the participants, urging representatives of the country’s scientific community to prepare projects for participation in European Union programs and to continue participating in further initiatives and projects of the Council of Young Scientists at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The scientists of the Poltava Polytechnic express their sincere gratitude to the organizers and the project participants for the opportunity to exchange the acquired experience, improve their professional competences, and talk substantively with colleagues from leading Ukrainian universities.
It should be recalled that the Polytechnic teachers learned practical digital skills at the educational course “The Brand of a Scientist in the Digital World”; received training as part of the project from the British Council “Autumn School of a Young Scientist 3.0”; took an active part in the “Winter Online School of Volunteering for Young Scientists”, “Spring School of Young Scientist 2.0” and “Summer School of Young Scientist 3.0”.
Previously, the philologist successfully completed a course dedicated to the volunteer programs of the European Solidarity Corps and became a participant of the online school “I choose Ukrainian. 10 steps to victory”.
Media Center of
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
