The Rector of KSU presented the philosophy of the DigiUni project dissemination.
At Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, an interim meeting of the Erasmus+ DigiUni – The Digital University – Open Ukrainian Initiative («Digital University – Open Ukrainian Initiative») consortium started on August 17.
The first day of the event was dedicated to the issues of disseminating the project results.
<0x0D>For Kherson State University, this meeting was of special significance, as KSU is the leader of the WP7 «Dissemination» work package.
<0x0D>The participants were welcomed by the Rector of Chernivtsi National University, Ruslan Biloskurskyi, who emphasized the importance of partnership between universities and the development of joint digital initiatives.
<0x0D>Representatives of Kherson State University thanked their colleagues for their hospitality and support. During his speech, KSU Rector Oleksandr Spivakovskyi presented a conceptual vision of the project's dissemination philosophy.
<0x0D><0x0D><0x0D>«The philosophy of the project begins where reporting ends», – these very words became the main idea of the presentation. According to the Rector, dissemination is often mistakenly perceived as the number of news items, presentations, or information messages. In reality, it begins when a person does not just learn about a digital product, but trusts it, starts using it, feels its value, and recommends it to others. «It is a path from awareness — to trust, from trust — to usage, and from usage — to real changes», – emphasized Oleksandr Spivakovskyi.
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He paid special attention to the experience of Kherson State University, which, after relocation, has effectively created its own digital educational environment.
<0x0D><0x0D><0x0D>«We did not build the platform for the sake of the platform itself. We created the conditions under which digital tools – KSU24 and KSUonline – became a natural part of university life. A platform can be created by order, but it is impossible to make it alive by order. Its life is determined by people, their motivation, trust, and daily use», – noted the Rector.
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He emphasized that it was precisely thanks to the university's digital solutions that the continuity of the educational process was ensured after the forced relocation. According to the KSU Rector, the main ambassador of any digital project is not its developer or even its project manager, but the user.
<0x0D><0x0D><0x0D>«The best ambassador for DigiUni – is a teacher who has become more effective in teaching; a student who has gained new educational opportunities; an administrator for whom processes have become more transparent and manageable. The user is not the end point of dissemination. They become its new beginning», – noted Oleksandr Spivakovskyi.
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A separate part of the speech was dedicated to the future of the digital transformation of Ukrainian higher education. According to the Rector, DigiUni today is much more than just a single digital ecosystem.
<0x0D><0x0D><0x0D>«This is the response of Ukrainian universities to the challenges of war, relocation, loss of infrastructure, and the need to maintain the continuity of education. At the same time, the project opens new opportunities for internal academic mobility between partner universities and those institutions that will join the consortium in the future», – he emphasized.
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An important accent of the presentation was the idea of complementarity between universities.
<0x0D><0x0D><0x0D>«The future — lies not in competition between universities, but in their complementarity. Each university has its own strong educational programs, teachers, digital products, and audiences. It is necessary to unite them into a system where the strengths of one partner strengthen the entire consortium», – noted the Rector.
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According to him, the main task of the partners today is to form not separate information campaigns, but a common voice for Ukrainian universities that will be heard by teachers, students, digitalization specialists, and educational managers. Concluding his speech, Oleksandr Spivakovskyi emphasized that the success of the project will be determined not only by its implementation within the terms specified by the grant.
<0x0D><0x0D><0x0D>«The funding of any project has time limits. But the value of its results should not. If, after the completion of the project, an active community, a culture of cooperation, trust, institutional memory, and a desire to develop further remain — it means that the project has truly taken_place».
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Representatives of the Kherson State University team are also participating in the meeting: Vice-Rector for Internationalization Alla Tsapiv, Vice-Rector for Digitalization, Innovation, and Investment Activities Oleksandr Lemeshchuk, Assistant to the Rector for Strategic Issues, Head of the Digital Expertise Center Maksym Poltoratskyi, Head of the International Relations Department Yevheniia Revenko, Representative of the International Relations Department Oleksandr Soloveiko, and Assistant to the Rector Olha Shmylo.
<0x0D>The university team continues to work so that the results of DigiUni become real opportunities for Ukrainian universities, teachers, and students, and that the experience of the digital transformation of Kherson State University becomes an example of resilience and the development of Ukrainian education in the conditions of war.
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