International academic mobility is one of the priority areas of activity of Sumy National Agrarian University. Today, employees of our institution have the opportunity to get internships in the best institutions of higher education in the world. In a series of interviews they talk about the challenges of work, experience, and differences in education systems.
Olena Melnyk is the Head of the International Projects Sector of SNAU, associate professor of the Department of Ecology and Botany, and since the beginning of the full-scale invasion she is a senior researcher at ETH Zurich University.
– What subjects do you teach at SNAU?
– My main position at SNAU is the Head of the International Projects. And I partially worked at the Department of Ecology and Botany. I am an associate professor at the Department of Ecology and Botany. I also had a course on the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Project “EU’s Climate Leadership”.
– You participated in academic mobility programs before the full-scale invasion and before you moved to Switzerland. Tell us about it.
– We started one project with our Turkish partners. Another employee is responsible for this cooperation nowadays. I have worked actively with the Czech Republic and we’re still working today. I’m going to visit them in June under the academic mobility program. We also won the Erasmus + project for cooperation between universities and communities. We are trying to involve Czech partners in the project to restore Ukrainian soils that were damaged as a result of the war.
– What university are you currently at?
– ETH Zurich. This is a university that is among the top 10 best institutions of higher education in the world. According to various ratings it takes 6-8 positions.
– How did you get to ETH Zurich?
– When the war started, I realized that it was necessary to take children out of Ukraine, at least from the Sumy region. I sent my CV to different universities, different countries: Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Switzerland. And my Swiss colleagues were the first to respond to me. In a few days. They offered me to write an application and apply for the Scholars at Risk Program, which currently exists in different countries. The topic on which I am doing an internship here is called “Climate-Compatible Solutions for the Post-War Restoration of Ukrainian Communities”.
– What subjects do you teach at ETH Zurich?
– I don’t teach at ETH Zurich. I work in the laboratory of climate policy, my position – a senior researcher. Besides, I have been working at the University of Bern for six months. I teach there, but for Ukrainians. Together with colleagues from the University of Bern, we are implementing a course for Ukrainian women who are refugees in Switzerland and have a degree in building, architecture and design.
– Was it difficult to get used to new surroundings, to a new country?
– It was difficult, because I came with two small children: 5 and 9 years old. They had to go to school, learn another language. They knew English a little bit, but they didn’t speak German at all. Some problems with accommodation, transport, school. Every evening I received a large number of letters, which I sorted out, translated, when kids went to bed. Now it has become easier, because we started speaking German. Children generally speak almost fluently.
– Do you speak English or German at Swiss university?
– English. At our university we communicate in English. The department has Italians, Britons, Austrians, residents of Iraq, Egypt. Scientists from different countries and not all of them speak German. Even the professor who heads the department is from America himself, but he speaks German.
– Was there anything that surprised you, because in Ukraine we MUST HAVE it, but in Switzerland you have not heard about it?
– In Ukraine we can choose a profile of a doctor you want to contact with, make an appointment using a special program. It’s a little more complicated here, you sometimes have to wait for a month or even two to see a doctor. They also like to write letters by mail.
– Are there any differences between the behaviour and learning of Ukrainian and Swiss students? Which ones?
– Local students are very, very independent. This independence is developed in kindergarten: there are Project weeks when they learn to work in a team, develop Soft Skills, communicate, and make decisions. We don’t have enough independence, in my opinion. Now I teach to Ukrainian women. The participants are women aged 30-40 who have already worked in building industry. The training course is designed so that they have to write their own projects. And the participants, having got used to the Ukrainian education system, when everything is “chewed”, “put into their mouths”, thought that the Swiss would do the same. And when that didn’t happen, they were very disappointed. Students in Switzerland don’t need to be motivated or told why you should study. Teachers give tasks, explain minimally, and they do it. Young people here implement very cool startups, are engaged in organizational and scientific work. I’d say they’re self-motivated.
– Is there a difference in communication between students and teachers?
– As soon as the full-scale war broke out, I began to correspond with the professors who invited me here, Anthony Patt and Nicholas Gruber. These are people I’ve only read about in books, newspapers, and TV. They are very cool climate scientists. Getting to the group of scientists was something incredible for me. When I wrote a letter to one of them, starting with “Dear Professor Nicolas Gruber…”, he replied: “Please call me Niki.” I was very surprised. I thought, “How is that? Nicky?”. I wrote a letter to the second person, and he answers me: “Please call me Tony.” I realized that this is a normal level of communication between the teacher and the student.
– What can SNAU experience from Swiss universities?
– First of all, they have a very cool field of digitalization. There is a corporate network with HR, where it is very easy to communicate, where you can find access to various resources. You can plan in this system when you have a vacation, when you will get a salary. There is no requirement that you have to go to work every day. There is a schedule where you can indicate that you work from home. In such cases, events are held online, if they take place on that day. Secondly, there is a very close connection between theory and practice. Students must complete internships at enterprises and then they have a chance to get a job in the same institution. Third, there are many different events that help students and employees make friends and find a common language. Teachers receive a list of courses every six months that they can master absolutely free of charge in order to improve their knowledge in a particular field.
– Are you planning to return to Ukraine?
– Of course! Now I am still working at a British university, implementing a project related to SNAU. I try to help my university in every possible way while I’m here. For example, I recently organized a meeting of scientists from SNAU, Great Britain and Switzerland at the University of Bern, where they discussed the issue of restoring Ukrainian soils from damage caused by military operations. In addition, I am a member of many aid committees of Ukraine.
