Recently, the first introductory meeting (in a mixed format) was held at the Project and Educational Center “Agents of Change” of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University within the framework of the cooperation launched the day before with the international consortium of European universities EDUC (https://educalliance.eu/) in one of the areas aimed at the development of entrepreneurship and innovation in universities.

The meeting was initiated by the University of Potsdam (Germany), which is the main coordinator of the European Digital UniverCity (EDUC) alliance. The organizer was the central scientific institution for startups, innovations and knowledge and technology transfer of the University of Potsdam “Potsdam Transfer (Startup Service)”.

The Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University was represented by the head of the research part of the university, associate professor of the Department of Management and Business Administration Iryna Hryhoruk; director of the Project and Educational Center “Agents of Change”, associate professor of the Department of Finance Svitlana Kropelnytska; Specialist of the Design and Educational Center “Agents of Change”, Associate Professor of the Department of Finance Tetyana Mygovich; Director of the “Science Park of PNU” Roman Bubna; Head, Professor of the Department of Solid State Physics and Chemistry, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Coordinator of the National Research Center “Nanotechnologies, Modern Materials and Advanced Industrial Production” Lyubomyr Nykyruy; Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Chemistry Serhiy Kurta. The Potsdam University team was represented online by the Head of Start-up Service Johannes Zier, Manager of International Partnerships Alisa Fluhrer, Manager of Entrepreneurship Training Anita Knappe, International Startup Advisor Till Wintgen, Project Manager of International Startup Service & International Startup Advisor Till Thomas Meiling.

At the beginning of the meeting, the director of the Project and Educational Center “Agents of Change”, associate professor of the Department of Finance Svitlana Kropelnytska addressed the audience with a welcoming speech and introduced the participants from the Ukrainian side.

The European colleagues introduced themselves and spoke about their expectations from cooperation with PNU. The scientific and innovative activities of the Precarpathian National University and the work in the direction of supporting student startups and entrepreneurship were presented online by the head of the research part of the university, associate professor of the Department of Management and Business Administration Iryna Hryhoruk. She also told the participants of the meeting about the successfully implemented GCIP Regional Accelerator for Innovations, Technologies and Startups in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, and noted the student projects of social entrepreneurship and tourism startups, developed and implemented with the participation and coordination of the Project and Educational Center “Agents of Change”.

International Partnerships Manager at Potsdam University, Alice Fluerer, said that the Potsdam Transfer structural unit is the center for entrepreneurship, innovation, knowledge and technology transfer at Potsdam University. It is engaged in international partnerships, entrepreneurship training, and also provides international support for startups, including training for international founders and ongoing consulting. In addition, she listed possible grant programs for the development of startups and entrepreneurship, in which Ukrainian participants can also participate.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Carbon13 program – a partner of Potsdam University, which offers investments for startup ideas that help reduce CO₂ emissions – in particular, Simon Dierks, Head of EU Marketing, and Stefanie Reichelt, Community Director at EU. Simon Dierks spoke about Carbon13’s activities and the programs supported and funded by this organization.

His thoughts on further cooperation with the University of Potsdam were expressed by the head, professor of the Department of Physics and Chemistry of Solid State, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, coordinator of the National Research Center “Nanotechnologies, Modern Materials and Advanced Industrial Production” Lyubomyr Nykyruy.

Also, during the online inclusion, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Chemistry Serhiy Kurta presented his work in the direction of innovations in the field of chemistry and entrepreneurship.

All participants of the meeting noted that they work in similar areas and expressed hope for further cooperation for the development of innovations, startups and entrepreneurship within the framework of the cooperation of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University and the University of Potsdam with the international consortium of European universities EDUC.

Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University expands international associated partnerships. The previously announced Memorandum of Understanding with the international alliance of European universities European Digital UniverCity (EDUC) has been signed.

EDUC is an integrated European university, which includes eight partner universities. The coordinator of the EDUC alliance is the University of Potsdam, with its members – the University of Cagliari, Jaume University, Masaryk University, University of Paris Nanterre, University of Pécs, University of Potsdam, University of Rennes I, University of South-East Norway and from now on Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University – declare the recognition of the value of long-term academic and institutional cooperation.

The signing of the Memorandum between the alliance and PNU is reported, in particular, on the official website of the EDUC coordinator: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2022-11-08-showing-the-way-ukrainian-university-joins-educ-european-university-alliance

The key areas of future cooperation are joint participation in meetings between European university alliances, representatives of the European Commission and Ukrainian universities to study the special needs of Ukrainian universities under foreign aggression and occupation, support for even closer integration of Ukrainian universities into the European educational space, as well as joint preparation of project applications.

You can read more about the content of the Memorandum on the website of the Project and Educational Center “Agents of Change” in the “Partners” section: https://cutt.ly/hMytK7c.

Recently, online meetings were held, which became another outstanding event for the Precarpathian University in the context of establishing and expanding international cooperation.

The Precarpathian University was invited to a meeting of the Steering Committee of the European University Alliance EDUC (European Digital UniverCity), whose participants are eight European partner universities (https://educalliance.eu/). Among them is the Masaryk University of the Czech Republic, with which the Precarpathian University began to establish business relations in July of this year.

During the meeting, the First Vice-Rector of the PNU, Professor Valentyna Yakubiv, and the Director of the Project and Educational Center “Agents of Change”, Associate Professor of the Department of Finance Svitlana Kropelnytska presented the activities of the Precarpathian University in the international arena.

Valentyna Yakubiv informed the participants of the meeting about the international ranking positions of the university, its educational and scientific infrastructure, and membership in international consortia. Particular attention was paid to informing partners of the European University Alliance EDUC about the most important and largest projects of the university and proposed areas of activity for future cooperation.

Among them: exchange of qualifications (internships) with foreign and domestic partners, a seminar; online and offline mobility of students and employees; establishing partnerships in project activities; joint scientific projects; summer and winter schools; mentoring (interdisciplinary hubs, startups); opening research groups and appointing visiting professors (microgrants).

During the meeting, the participants were also told the success story of the Project and Educational Center “Agents of Change” of the Precarpathian University and the opportunity to participate in joint scientific, educational and project activities, holding international virtual smart conferences, launched at the university jointly with the NGO “Landmarks of Sustainable Development” in a completely updated format.

“Our project proposals primarily concern the development of the tourism sector, creative industries, education and science, the development of project literacy and English language skills for project managers, which we plan to implement based on our own manual “Guidelines for Managing Development Projects”, noted Svitlana Kropelnytska.

The Chair of the EDUC Steering Committee, Vice President for International Relations of the University of Potsdam, Professor Florian Schweigert, and the alliance partners expressed interest in establishing ties with the University of Precarpathia to establish a close partnership.