IMPRESS

Project Summary & Rationale

 

SUMMARY

As the world is changing so is the relationship between the university and the student. Students now expect much more than just knowledge.  They expect a total experience and competences that prepare them for a future career. This project aims to improve the student experience and services in the Ukrainian Higher Education to reach comparability with Europe. It does this by creating a new management structure called a Student Support Service Centre at four classical Ukrainian universities. The focus of these centres is to provide a better student experience at Ukrainian universities incorporating what happens at entry (recruitment), during their study (new structures and courses) and after they leave ( Alumni Socities) thus covering the total student experience.  

 

There are five activities:

1. The modernisation of the recruitment process by closer links with secondary schools and the introduction of psychometric testing to attract the right students to the right courses .

2. The improvement of the placement services at the universities by using modern information technologies and by providing specially designed courses for both students and enterprises so that they both have a clear idea of what to expect from each other.

3. Training students in personal and communication skills including social networking and being able to collaborate with others use lateral and more creative thinking.  

4. The promotion of the social role of student societies and encourage more communication between Ukrainian and European groups.

5. The harnessing of the power of Alumni Societies as a source of funding to sustain these centres after the end of the project. As this is a structural measure, it fully involves the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Sports in Ukraine as an active partner who will be involved in all activities.  This will result in the development of a strategic framework for Ukraine which will ensure the spread of these ideas on a national level and legal basis.

 

RATIONALLE

This national structural measure has identified a need to improve student services at Ukrainian Universities and establish a long term national educational strategy to improve the student experience in Ukraine. The University of the 21st century should be an enriching life experience and prepare students not just for the workplace but also for society/ community. Although many of the topics covered in this project exist in some shape or form in the partner universities, they are outdated and should be improved/modernised to meet the needs of knowledge-based society. The structure of university management needs to be modified and the services it provides to its students need to be diversified according to the demands of European area of education. Both these changes should be made with a new perception of the Quality of Education in the context of the Bologna Process and Lisbon Convention. Five years ago, the perception was getting the educational processes right i.e. teaching methods and transparency. Today it is targeted on so called
“student focused" educational service provision, delivering a quality student experience especially directed to employability and to increase HEE’s competitiveness. We define ‘student experience’ to mean an infiltration of new intellectual, cultural, entrepreneurial skills and social standards. These qualities are taken from the EU Higher Education policies as published in What is Total Student Experience?" www.cityu.edu.hk/pdqs/esep/intro.tml and the 2nd European conference on First Year Experience at Gothenburg http://www.utbildning.gu.se.

It is no longer enough just to offer knowledge and competence. Universities should provide an experience which equips students for life at work after they have left the university. These would involve some training in personal skills, some experience in a real working environment, and nowadays international networking skills. These ideas have been identified by the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Sports in Ukraine as being a key element in Europe’s acceptance of Ukraine into the global educational community. Resolution № 223 and Decree № 612 announced key actions for Ukrainian HEIs concerning the European dimension and Ukrainian Educational System’s Integration in it. It is also the subject of two Erasmus projects– SAGE ( Student Advancement of Graduate Employability) and QUEST – Quest for Quality for Students (www.esu-online.org ) which are currently being managed by the European Students Union.

Ukrainian universities aim to be recognised in Europe and so it is part of their development plans (mentioned in their mission statements) to address these issues. An immediate result will be increased opportunities for student mobility at all levels. The European partners are looking to work with their counterparts and are interested in helping them to provide a similar university experience in terms of management and student services so they are better prepared to face the challenges of the global dynamically changing economy. The proposal identifies the following needs:
Recruitment – demographic changes indicate that potential student numbers will fall. Thus, there is a need for more focussed recruitment processes.

Skills and competences – there is a need to promote creativity, competitiveness and a growth of entrepreneurial spirit. Industry needs students not only with knowledge but also with employability/self promotional skills. Ukrainian students have little experience in business and practical skills. EU universities provide this opportunity by promoting student societies/unions. A more active student life with responsibilities is needed at Ukrainian universities to provide the student with cultural, social and financial experiences.

Placement - more than 70% students go to university in order to improve their job prospects. Students want to know whether what they are taught will help their career. Thus there is a need to improve the university-industrial interface especially in the area of work placement. Such a service already exists at most Ukrainian universities but it tends to be ‘ad-hoc’, haphazard and uncoordinated. There must be put in place modern mechanisms for sustainable cooperation and interaction with employers. This project concentrates on the longer placements (around three months) that occur on Master’s programmes.
Technological advances have resulted in new ways of communicating, decision making and learning. E-learning is now old fashioned and is being supplemented by Social networking. The universities need to react to these changes and ensure that they are not left behind.
Student Centres - New structures that will coordinate and manage these changes are needed. It is proposed to establish Student Support Service Centres at each university which will manage these activities and be the focus for a better student experience.

Our problem analysis has identified the following needs:

1. University structures that concentrate on the student experience;

2. Lack of trained staff to teach modern skills using modern technology;

3. Modernisation of the recruitment, placement and career services;

4. Out-dated national structures in students issues and affairs;

5. International students experience (foreign languages and cross –cultural management) to fit to the European dimension of EHEA.

 

This provides the rationale to this ambitious project. The proposal was prepared by first opening negotiations with the Ukrainian Ministry, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the UASS to establish the major needs for the Ukraine.
It was then discussed with the leading Ukrainian classical Universities. These universities were chosen for their eminence, geographical spread and influence and were then contacted personally by the coordinator to confirm their needs were in agreement with this rationale. The European partners were then chosen to best address these issues.