Following the successful preparatory meeting (Start-up meeting) held on October 05, 2026, the international consortium is proceeding directly to the operational phase. On 02 November 2026, the grant agreement for the Erasmus+ KA220-ADU program entitled “IN SITU” (Situated, inclusive and sustainable digital practices for adult education), co-funded by the European Union, officially enters into force. The project will be implemented by an international consortium comprising six organisations from five European countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Romania, and Ukraine:
• Haute École Libre Mosane (HELMo), Belgium – the project coordinator, a leading higher education institution in the fields of social work and pedagogy.
• Initiatives pour une formation efficace ASBL (Inforef), Belgium – experts in digital platform development and ecodesign.
• Association Régionale du Travail Social Hauts de France (A.R.T.S – IRTS), France – one of the largest training centres for social workers in France.
• Lekama Développement, Luxembourg – a non-governmental organisation addressing mental health issues in the digital era.
• Universitatea Aurel Vlaicu din Arad (UAV), Romania – a public university with robust expertise in social work.
• National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” (NUPP), Ukraine.
On 03 November 2026, the project will officially open with an official kick-off meeting, during which international partners will approve the operational plan for the first year of implementation and launch joint research and educational activities.
The large-scale three-year initiative (November 2026 – November 2029) with a total budget of 400,000 euros aims to implement innovative digital inclusion tools, enhance artificial intelligence literacy, and develop the concept of “digital sobriety” across five European countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Romania, and Ukraine.
The grant application was preceded by a transnational sociological study of 308 respondents across the partner countries, in which Ukrainian youth, students of Poltava Polytechnic (124 respondents aged 18–24), constituted a significant share. The survey revealed a paradox of “widespread yet superficial use of digital tools”: over 92.5% of respondents actively interact with generative AI services (such as ChatGPT), yet only 4.9% utilise them for analytical work, information structuring, or critical data verification.
Furthermore, more than 40% of respondents reported situations in which digital systems or algorithms made decisions without clarifying their criteria, and 28% felt that the pervasive digitalisation of public services tends to hinder, rather than facilitate, access to fundamental civil rights. At the same time, 67% expressed concern regarding the environmental footprint of digital technologies, yet lacked actionable tools to assess their impact. The “IN SITU” project was conceived specifically to address these systemic challenges.
As part of the project implementation, the consortium will focus on creating three interconnected innovative products:
WP2 – self-assessment framework and the index of sustainable digital practices for organisations: an instrument designed to help educational institutions, community centres, and social services assess their degree of digitalisation through the lenses of ethics, data protection, energy efficiency, and avoidance of excessive dependency on Big Tech corporations.
WP3 – adaptive learning platform (LMS): an ecologically optimised digital environment featuring 10 practical micro-modules, accessible in all project languages (including Ukrainian) for professionals, educators, and social workers.
WP4 – eco-inclusive pedagogical kit (“mallette”): a unique collection of “unplugged” offline methodologies (tabletop educational games, role-play simulation, forum theatre) that engages adults with low digital literacy through direct collective interaction, creating a smooth transition toward the safe use of technology.
WP5 – sustainability and exploitation strategy: providing open-access publication of the project deliverables on the European Commission’s EPALE platform and ensuring their maintenance and support for at least five years following the end of project funding.
Poltava Polytechnic plays a central role in the project: our university serves as the Lead Partner for Work Package 2 (WP2 Lead). Polytechnic researchers will coordinate the development of the European Self-Assessment Framework, formulate criteria for the Index of Digital Sobriety, and pilot tools across more than 50 organisations in five European countries.
The implementation involves an interdisciplinary research team from the Educational and Scientific Institute of Information Technologies and Robotics and the Faculty of Philology, Psychology, and Pedagogy:
PhD in Philology Anna Pavelieva – University Project Coordinator, International Communication Expert;
PhD in Economics Kseniia Verhal and PhD in Technical Sciences Olena Dvirna – leading experts in IT infrastructure, modelling, and data security;
Olena Haitan – software testing and digital systems quality assurance specialist;
Doctor of Philology Tetiana Kushnirova, PhD in Pedagogical Sciences Anna Aheicheva, PhD in Philology Alla Bolotnikova, and PhD in Philology Nataliia Bondar – experts in innovative pedagogy, inclusive adult learning methodologies, and critical media literacy.
Poltava Polytechnic's expertise under martial law will enable testing European solutions under critical operational load, amid unstable connectivity, equipment deficits, and energy infrastructure challenges, ensuring exceptional resilience and reliability across Europe.
The “IN SITU” project is distinguished by implementing the European Commission-certified PM² (Project Management Methodology), ensuring transparent monitoring, continuous risk management (Risk Log), and multi-tiered quality control. A specially established Co-Creation and Validation Committee (CCV), including direct end-users from each country, will assess each deliverable.
Special emphasis is placed on “GreenPact” principles and ecodesign: the platform will use lightweight code, will not overload servers, will comply with rigorous WCAG accessibility standards for persons with disabilities, and will run on secure, open architectures free from commercial tracking systems.
Organisational Parameters of the Official Launch Meeting
Date: Tuesday, 03 November 2026.
Time: 15:30 – 17:00 (Kyiv time) / 14:30 – 16:00 (CET).
Format: Online via Microsoft Teams.
Moderator: Pascale Pereaux, Project Manager, Researcher at HELMo ESAS (Belgium).
Agenda
• Official launch of grant implementation and welcome address by the Consortium Lead Coordinator.
• Approval of the Year 1 operational calendar: schedule of online meetings, Project Steering Committee sessions, and transnational meetings.
• Preparation for the first in-person transnational project management workshop in Liège (Belgium): dates, program, and logistics.
• Task allocation (“Who does what”): confirmation of leadership roles across work packages and individual working group compositions.
• Financial management, eligible expenditure rules, and Erasmus+ reporting standards (speaker: representative of INFOREF, Belgium).
• Q&A session and coordination of current partner initiatives.
Within the implementation of the project in Ukraine, a national multiplier event will be held, involving educators, volunteers, social service representatives, and civil society organisations from Poltava and other regions. We will integrate the developed modules into degree programmes for students majoring in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Philology, and Pedagogy, as well as into professional development courses.
Poltava Polytechnic's participation in the “IN SITU” project as a Work Package Leader once again reaffirms our university’s high international prestige, the active integration of Ukrainian higher education into the European research area, and our consistent leadership in advancing innovative technologies!
The project team extends its sincere gratitude to the President of National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”, Professor Volodymyr Onyshchenko, and the Rector of the University, Associate Professor Olena Filonych, for their comprehensive support, strategic vision, and continuous commitment to advancing international activities and research potential. Their dedicated drive towards integrating the university into the European higher education and research area empowers researchers and students to take on ambitious international projects and reinforce the prestige of Ukrainian academia globally.
The university leadership’s systematic encouragement of international partnerships and grant initiatives serves as a solid foundation for Poltava Polytechnic’s success in prominent European Union programmes, particularly Erasmus+. Ongoing support for innovative research, academic excellence, and interdisciplinary collaboration continues to open new horizons for sustainable global cooperation and educational development, even amid the most challenging circumstances.
Follow the project announcements and outcomes on the official media platforms of Poltava Polytechnic!
As a reminder, Poltava Polytechnic academic staff can participate in academic mobility programs and professional internships. At the same time, students can study abroad through Erasmus+ international credit mobility grant programs for a semester or an entire academic year at leading universities across Austria, Greenland, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, and the Czech Republic.
For more detailed information regarding current internship, teaching, and academic mobility opportunities abroad, please get in touch with the International Relations Department (Room 213-C, interoffice@nupp.edu.ua) or the University’s International Relations Coordinator Anna Pavelieva (+3-8-(095)-91-08-192).
