On June 3-4, 2024, another meeting of participants of the program NEXT: Digital Transformation for Supporting Next-Generation Labour took place. This important event gathered representatives from all partner institutions of the project. Vitaliy Kuharskyy, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work and Informatization, represented Lviv University. The meeting was held in hybrid mode. Thanks to this, participants could not only be present online but also personally visit one of the key universities of the consortium – Carinthia University of Applied Sciences in Villach, Austria.
Program NEXT: Digital Transformation for Supporting Next-Generation Labour aims to address challenges which today’s professionals are facing in a rapidly developing world influenced by digital technologies. It is implemented in the period from November 1, 2023, to October 31, 2026, and envisages reducing the existing gap between the rapid pace of digital transformation and the training of specialists, especially those not related to IT. The project consortium consists of eight partners, namely Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Czech Technical University in Prague, Dublin City University, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Odesa Polytechnic National University and Cherkasy State Technological University.
The first day of the meeting was focused on a detailed review of the status and progress of each of the work packages of the project. The participants discussed the achievements and difficulties encountered in the process of completing the tasks, analyzed the effectiveness of the implementation of the planned initiatives and made adjustments to the strategies for further work. In addition, an important aspect was the dissemination of project results among partners, which provided an opportunity to assess the level of partnership cooperation, exchange experience and discuss prospects for further cooperation.
The second day was devoted to key components of the program, such as the student competition and teacher training. There was a discussion of new projects that can be a continuation or addition to current initiatives, as well as planning of further activities, in particular, preparation for the upcoming meeting of the consortium. This day was also focused on defining the strategic directions of project development and forming plans for the implementation of new ideas.
“This project is aimed at training specialists who will be able to effectively use digital technologies, understand their impact on mental health, and also navigate the legal aspects of their application. That is why every work package, every task and initiative discussed today are important elements of our overall strategy. I note that meetings of this scale allow us to share experiences, analyze achievements, evaluate progress and plan further steps. I am sure that the results of our joint work in this project will significantly improve the training of future specialists, making them more competitive in the modern labour market.” – noted the vice-rector for scientific-pedagogical work and informatization of LNU named after I. Franko Vitaly Kuharskyi.
The NEXT project within the ERASMUS+ KA2 CBHE program is a significant stage in the process of adapting the digital and soft skills of future specialists to modern requirements. Thanks to innovative teaching methods, close cooperation between universities and the creation of new educational resources, this initiative will contribute to the training of qualified specialists who are able to work successfully in the digital environment.
