On April 16, 2024, Uzhhorod National University hosted a high-level meeting of the HEIs rectors of Ukraine and the Republic of Austria on the topic: “Development perspectives in higher education cooperation between Austria and Ukraine”. The event was organized by the Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalization (OeAD) together with the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research of the Republic of Austria, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine with the participation of the Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine.

AGENDA of the event (eng.) – download.

AGENDA of the event (ukr.) – download.

45 participants joined the representing the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in Ukraine, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, rectors, and vice-rectors of universities in Ukraine and Austria, and others.

The following speakers welcomed participants of the meeting:

• Jakob CALICE, Managing Director, OeAD
• Volodymyr SMOLANKA, Rector, Uzhgorod National University
• Arad BENKÖ, Austrian Ambassador to Ukraine
• Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister for Universities, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
• Elmar PICHL, Director General for Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences, Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research
• Svitlana SHYTIKOVA, Coordinator, National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine

In the first part of the event, Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, highlighted the main short and medium-term development priorities for international university cooperation in Ukraine. Svitlana SHYTIKOVA, Coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine, presented the opportunities of international university cooperation during the martial law in Ukraine within the framework of EUs Erasmus+ Programme.

In the second part of the event, Gerhard VOLZ, Head of Department for International Cooperation in Higher Education, OeAD, presented the current state of Ukrainian-Austrian cooperation in higher education based on the results of the mapping and the OeAD’s proposals. The session was also joined by representatives of successful cooperation cases between Ukraine and Austria:

• MedUni Vienna and Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, presented by Rector Orest Chemerys
• University College of Teacher Education Vienna, presented by Rector Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger
• National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna Vienna, presented by Rector Stansilav Nikolaienko
• University Klagenfurt, presented by Vice-Rector Doris Hattenberger

Ihor TARANOV, Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, National Research Fund of Ukraine, presented the opportunities of the Horizon Europe Programme and proposals for strengthening cooperation in the field of science between higher education institutions of Ukraine and Austria.

The third part of the event was dedicated to discussion on development perspectives in higher education cooperation between Austria and Ukraine with the participation of the following speakers:

• Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
• Elmar PICHL, Director General for Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences, Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research
• Mykola TROFYMENKO, Rector, Mariupol State University
• Liliia HRYNEVYCH, First Vice-Rector Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University
• Friedrich FAULHAMMER, Rector, University for Continuing Education Krems
• Eva SCHULEV-STEINDL, Rector, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

The last part of the event was aimed to strengthen cooperation of Ukrainian and Austrian HEIs through joint discussions in working groups in the following areas:

• Group 1: Capacity Building: Higher Education Governance and Management; Chair: Oleksandr Aziukovskyj, Rector, Dnipro University of Technology
• Group 2: Capacity Building: Development of study and teaching excellence to increase the attractiveness of Ukrainian universities; Chair: Andreas Altmann, Rector, MCI Innsbruck
• Group 3: The role of universities in reconstruction; Chair: Ihor Tsependa, Rector, Vasyl Stafnyk Precarpatian National University
• Group 4: Priorities for cooperation in the field of medicine; Chair: Michaela Fritz, Vice-rector, MedUni Vienna

At the end of the event, the moderators summarized the results of the meeting and emphasized the next steps in cooperation between Ukrainian and Austrian universities.

SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS (ukr. and eng.) at the link.

Linkedin post: here

OeAD post: here