People’s Deputy of Ukraine Yuliia Hryshyna visited Sumy National Agrarian University as part of her working trip to Sumy region.
On October 11, 2023, Yuliia Hryshyna, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, Doctor of Law, Professor, visited Sumy National Agrarian University to address pressing issues of higher education in the region.
First, Yuliia Hryshyna, together with Ilia Biliak, Chairman of the Student Expert Council, held a meeting with students from the region, the topic of which was “Student Opportunities under Martial Law.” Representatives of Sumy National University, Sumy State University, Sumy State Pedagogical University and University of Internal Affairs gathered at SNAU. Among the regional administration and educational institutions Volodymyr LADYKA, Rector of Sumy National Agrarian University, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Honoured Worker of Education of Ukraine, and Mykhailo ANANCHENKO, Member of the Verkhovna Rada, Member of the Supervisory Board of SNAU were present at the meeting.
The main focus of the meeting with students was on the activities of the Expert Council of Students of Higher Education Institutions and student membership in it.
In her welcoming speech, Yuliia Hryshyna expressed her admiration for the quality of the educational process:
“Now we are 30 kilometres from the border with the aggressor. And life is in full swing here. Here, classes are held offline, and during alarms, students get knowledge in bomb shelters. To be honest, some universities in Ukraine are still studying online and not repairing shelters. We are proud of what we see now, because when we went to Sumy region, we did not expect to find such an active educational process.”
Yuliia Hryshyna and Ilia Biliak answered the questions that concern the students of Sumy region. How will education be organized for student veterans? Will it be possible for young people to study abroad under international ERASMUS+ projects? Will state-funded education disappear in the future? How will plagiarism be punished? The students got answers from the government representative. They also discussed the issues of bullying and mobbing.
The second part of the event was devoted to the meeting of Yuliia Hryshyna with representatives of the administration of Sumy National Agrarian University, during which the participants discussed the challenges of martial law and their impact on the functioning of higher education institutions from the point of view of the institution’s management.
The final part of the visit was the people’s deputy acquaintance with Sumy National Agrarian University scientists who are currently working abroad.
Yurii Danko, Vice-Rector for Research and International Activities, moderating the meeting, said:
“Our teachers are now working at the best universities in the world. These are not just words. They are really titans among international institutions. For example, Olena MELNYK is a researcher at ETH Zürich University, which is ranked 2-3 among the world’s universities according to various indicators.”
Each of the representatives spoke about their work, social activities and life in other countries and shared their plans for the future to implement international experience at SNAU.
Read more about the activities of the SNAU employees who are now outside Ukraine in the series of interviews “SNAU Abroad”:
Volodymyr Ladyka, Rector of Sumy National Agrarian University, Academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, expressed his gratitude to the government representative for the fruitful and effective meeting:
“It is extremely important to have the support of the government now. Today we discussed many issues and made many correct decisions. I am convinced that cooperation between university administration and government officials is a driving force for improving the higher education system.”
