On September 16-19, one of the world’s largest events in the field of higher education, the annual EAIE (European Association for International Education) conference and exhibition, is taking place in Gothenburg, Sweden, bringing together more than 7,000 participants from 110 countries. This year’s forum, held under the slogan “GO-create,” features more than 1,000 organizations and 250 thematic sessions dedicated to innovation, international cooperation, and the future of universities.
Sumy National Agrarian University became a part of the Ukrainian delegation of higher education institutions, representing the educational and scientific achievements of Ukraine at the international level. Our university was represented at the event by Vice-Rector for Research and International Activities Professor Yurii Danko and Associate Professor of the Department of Marketing and Logistics Kseniia Blumska-Danko.
The exhibition included a number of important negotiations with representatives of universities from Brazil, Morocco, France, South Africa, the Netherlands, Hungary, and other countries. The partners showed interest in the experience of the SNAU in the field of agricultural education, digitalization, and sustainable development, and discussed the prospects for academic exchanges, joint research, and
project submission within the framework of the Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programs. A separate area of negotiation was the possibility of SNAU joining the international bioeconomy alliance, which is being formed around leading European universities. This opens up new horizons for the development of research, innovation and technology transfer, and also allows us to make a significant contribution to solving global challenges related to food security and the environment.
Vice-Rector Yurii Danko spoke at a panel discussion on the updated Erasmus+ program for the period 2028-2030. Participants discussed the key objectives of the new framework, including the role of universities in border regions, their contribution to the reconstruction of the European educational space, and the challenges associated with the use of artificial intelligence in grant writing.
A special place in this year’s conference program was occupied by documentary screenings. For the first time, the participants had the opportunity to watch the film “Academic Stories from Ukraine”, which tells the story of the resilience of Ukrainian students and teachers, their commitment to education and culture in the face of war. The screening was accompanied by an address by director Gianluca Vagliarelli, founder of the Academies4Ukraine initiative, who emphasized the importance of protecting higher education in times of crisis. Another highlight was the film The Erasmus Generation, created by young Erasmus+ alumni, which showed the transformative impact of the program on students’ lives and personal growth.
The participation of Sumy National Agrarian University in EAIE Gothenburg 2025 confirmed the active integration of Ukrainian universities into the global educational community. This is not only a strengthening of the international image of SNAU, but also the creation of real prerequisites for the development of joint educational and scientific projects aimed at restoring Ukraine and building a European future.
