Dual agricultural education has many advantages for both enterprises and educational institutions, but the key achievement of this form of education is a qualified graduate who is adapted to the conditions of production.
In 2023, a pilot project to introduce a dual form of higher education and professional higher education, which was launched in 2019, ended. However, despite five years of implementation experience, many issues in the field of dual education remain open, and new challenges require educational institutions to find rational ways to solve problems and more effective solutions. Realizing the challenges of today, Sumy National Agrarian University in cooperation with the State Institution “Scientific and Methodological Center for Higher and Professional Higher Education” organized a large-scale seminar: “Dual Agricultural Education: Achievements and Challenges in the Process of European Integration”. The seminar brought together more than 180 participants from different regions of Ukraine, including representatives of education and business.
At the beginning of the seminar, Alla CHAIKOVSKA, Head of the Department of Professional Development and Adult Education of the State Institution of the National Center for Vocational Education and Training, acquainted all participants with the peculiarities of introducing the dual form of education in agricultural educational institutions. The experience of implementing dual education at Sumy NAU, including the achievements of Hlukhiv Agrotechnical Vocational College, was presented by Marharyta LYSHENKO, Vice-Rector for Scientific, Pedagogical and Educational Work of Sumy NAU, who focused on key achievements, that the university has from the introduction of dual education, outlined the problems that need to be solved and clearly showed the career path of dual students, and now graduates of Sumy NAU, who, thanks to dual education, have become part of friendly teams of various enterprises.
The introduction of dual education in the process of European integration is an important element of higher education, and therefore studying the best practices of foreign partners can significantly contribute to the intensification of the implementation of dual education in Ukraine. The German experience of implementing the principles of dual education was presented by Christian SCHU, Researcher, Weihenstephan University of Applied Sciences – Trisdorf. On September 30, 2024, by the decision of the Academic Council of the University, Christian SCHU was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Sumy NAU, with which he was publicly congratulated by the Rector of our University, Ihor KOVALENKO.
In searching for more effective means of developing dual education, it is important to rely not only on our own experience but also on the experience of other educational institutions. The Polissia National Agrarian University and the Myhia Professional College of Mykolaiv National Agrarian University presented their achievements in the implementation of dual education. In addition to the achievements, the seminar participants learned about the problematic aspects of implementing dual education.
The production base for the implementation of dual education is always the enterprise. Kseniia MOTORINA, Head of the Youth Engagement and Development Team at MHP, presented the specifics of dual education at MHP. All attendees also had the opportunity to learn more about Нlobino’s experience in dual education from the presentation by Victoria KUTSENKO, HR Manager of Нlobino Pig Production Complex LLC.
Meaningful reports, practical cases, questions and comprehensive answers – these are the words to describe the atmosphere that prevailed throughout the seminar. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the State institution “Scientific and methodological center for higher and pre-higher education” for their assistance in organizing this event, and also thank all participants for their active involvement during the seminar. We are sincerely convinced that working meetings of this format undoubtedly contribute to the development of dual agricultural education in Ukraine!
