The full-scale war and political instability in Ukraine severely damaged the country's Higher Education infrastructure and resulted in funding cuts, uncertainty about the future of the education system, and insufficient investment in research and development. According to the reports of the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine, as of December 2022, at least 147 universities were damaged by bombing and shelling, and 43 universities were displaced. Ukrainian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that remained in safe areas were forced to adapt to the new reality and implement remote forms of education to replace the traditional onsite teaching. However, the government barely supported the transition to distance learning which resulted in exacerbated educational inequalities. For example, one of the major issues has been the increased workload for teachers, who did not receive enough qualifications in information and digital competence due to underfunding and lack of collaboration and knowledge transfer from European HEIs. This has led to irregular working hours and a deterioration in the quality and accessibility of education, not to mention a negative impact on mental health.

Based on the success of the Marshall Plan launched in 1947 to revive the European economy, the EU has proposed implementing a similar program in response to the devastating impact of the war on Ukrainian HE. The program aims to restructure the rigidness of Ukrainian HE, associated with a highly centralized structure, lack of autonomy, along with financial dependence, and digitalize it, promoting distance learning and providing easy-to-use services for teaching and communication with students.

To support this initiative, the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine has instructed local HEIs to propose a draft for implementing a new Marshall Plan within the HE System of Ukraine that will be presented to the Interdepartmental Commission. The University Board of Management acknowledges the significance of students' perspectives on this matter. They expect practice-based needs analyses both of digitized learning arrangements and digital competences of educators (train the trainer). It offers you a unique opportunity to participate in the future of Ukrainian HE during the next six weeks. In terms of the support measure, Ukrainian students receive the possibility to collaborate with German students to build on the best practices of the HE System of the European Union.

Your findings will be submitted in two phases. First, on May 24, 2023, the teams will present interim results of their needs analysis to receive feedback from the University Board of Management and subsequently implement the changes within the proposal. Second, the final results will be pitched to the Interdepartmental Commission on June 6, 2023.