On June 25, Sumy National Agrarian University participated in the Dual Education Forum: Universities and Business, which was held at Poltava State Agrarian University. The event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, higher education institutions, and the country’s leading employers to discuss modern approaches to training competitive professionals and the further development of dual education.
SNAU was represented at the forum by Rector Ihor Kovalenko and Iryna Toderiuk, Director of the Center for Advanced Training, Retraining, and Professional Development of Managers and Specialists.
In his opening remarks at the forum, Mykola Trofimenko, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, emphasized that dual education today is not merely a combination of academic study and practical training, but a strategic tool for developing young people’s professional competencies and strengthening the interaction between the education sector and the real economy.
One of the event’s key speakers was Ihor Kovalenko, Rector of Sumy National Agrarian University (SNAU), who spoke during two thematic sessions dedicated to the experience and prospects for the development of dual education, as well as practices for its implementation at Ukrainian universities. During his presentations, he introduced a model that Sumy National Agrarian University has been consistently developing over many years.
“SNAU supports the policy of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as it has been developing dual education for years in each of its eight faculties as a key component of modern professional training—through practical training, the implementation of innovations, collaboration with employers, and the creation of opportunities for students to launch their careers,” emphasized Ihor Kovalenko.
During the panel discussions, participants discussed the role of employers in training future professionals, new models of partnership between universities and business, as well as the practical results of implementing dual education in Ukraine.
Representatives from KERNEL, “Eridon Agrovyrobnytstvo,” YEDNIST’ GROUP, the “Astarta-Kyiv” agro-industrial holding, and the “Hlobino” group of companies joined the professional dialogue. Some of these companies have enjoyed a long-standing successful partnership with Sumy National Agrarian University (SNAU) in the areas of practical training for students, internships, and future employment for graduates.
The forum once again confirmed that dual education is becoming one of the key tools for training modern specialists. For Sumy National Agrarian University, participation in such professional events is an opportunity to present its own achievements, adopt best practices, and expand partnerships that open up even more opportunities for students’ professional development while they are still studying.
