Main events in Ukrainian education in 2023

Destination of the year

On 21 March, Oksen Lisovyi, who has worked his way up from a teacher to the Director of the National Centre of the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, was appointed Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. He formulated his goal as Minister as follows:

«In a difficult time for the country, we will continue to act for victory and results based on our core values. First of all, we need to focus on the formation and development of children and youth by creating conditions for their critical thinking and tools for self-realization in society." On 21 March, Oksen Lisovyi, who has worked his way up from a teacher to the director of the National Centre of the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, was appointed Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. He formulated his goal as Minister as follows: "In a difficult time for the country, we will continue to act for victory and results based on our core values. First and foremost, we need to focus on the education and development of children and young people by creating conditions for their critical thinking and tools for self-realization in society."

Lesson of the year

This nomination includes two lessons at once: On 15 March 2023, an all-Ukrainian lesson on career guidance with the participation of leading Ukrainian employers was broadcast live on a single television marathon. This lesson was watched live by schoolchildren from all regions of Ukraine.

On 1 September, an all-Ukrainian mental health lesson was held for all students of general secondary education institutions as part of the All-Ukrainian mental health programme "How are you?" initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska

Challenge of the year

On 5 December, the results of PISA- 2022, an international study of the quality of education aimed at assessing the ability of 15-year-old students to apply knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics and science in real-life contexts, were released. This is the second time Ukraine has taken part in this study. Overall, the results were lower than in the previous cycle, which was expected. This is likely due to a combination of factors related to the pandemic and the full-scale invasion.

Year's result

Throughout 2023, Ukrainian Education Hubs (Digital Learning Centres - DLCs) were actively opened to support women and children who are currently forced to stay abroad due to the full-scale war. More than 300,000 people have already used the services of the Hubs. Currently, the Ukrainian Education Hubs Network operates in 10 EU countries, and on 8 December, a Hub was opened in the UK. Next year, Ukrainian Education Hubs are planned to open in the USA, Japan, Italy, and Australia.

Project of the year

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine, many students were deprived of the opportunity to fully participate in the educational process. This resulted in significant educational losses. The issue of solving this priority problem was raised at hearings of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine developed recommendations for organizing programmes to make up for educational losses for students. To overcome this challenge, an AI-based educational catch-up Ecosystem was launched in November, allowing students to identify which school subjects they need to catch up on.

The training can be completed through interactive case studies. At the pilot stage, the content is available for students in grades 9-11 in core subjects. In two months, more than 100,000 students, their parents and teachers have already used the service.

Outlook of the year

This nomination includes two initiatives at once:

On 1 September, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the innovative educational app “Mriya”, a unique digital project that will help unlock a child's potential and talents and will soon be available.

And in December, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov presented the Global Innovation Vision: it outlines the key areas of the country's development in the domestic and foreign policy contexts. The Global Innovation Vision contains three sections and an action plan:

«Innovation Ecosystem», "Supporting the Innovation Ecosystem" and

«Development of priority industries».

Digitalization of the year

In December, the largest annual event in the field of IT education in Ukraine - Synergy. IT Business & IT Education: 10th anniversary edition", which brought together IT business leaders, representatives of corporate, private, public education institutions, the public sector and the country's best experts. The event discussed trends and prospects for the development of the global IT education market, the synergy of education and innovation, and plans for the development of IT education in Ukraine for 2024.

Initiative of the Year

This year, the initiative "Getting Stronger Together!" was launched, which is aimed at teachers, heads of educational institutions, school psychologists, parents, heads of territorial communities, employees of community education authorities, and most importantly, it is focused on every Ukrainian child. The initiative has 6 main areas: new teacher competencies under martial law, human and civil rights, psychological support, support for children with special educational needs, and safe educational space in educational institutions. The initiative plans to cover 1,000 communities in just 1 year

Innovation of the year

Artificial intelligence has come to all spheres of human life in a big way and for a long time. The education sector has not been spared. In December, a large-scale sociological survey among schoolchildren in grades 8-11 has completed.

"Artificial Intelligence in General Secondary Education". A comprehensive approach has been introduced to ensure the effective use of AI in education: the Artificial Intelligence in Education training course for educators, which has already been successfully completed by more than 30,000 teachers from schools, vocational schools, and universities.

Special lessons for students on the use of AI have also been developed. Even the annual Open Ukrainian Language Marathon was held this year with the help of artificial intelligence.

Opportunity of the year

As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being. This famous saying of Goethe's is more relevant than ever in this age of total globalization.

Learning foreign, and especially European, languages is now extremely important for Ukrainians in the context of our country's integration into the EU. In February, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine launched the National Ecosystem of English Language Learning and Testing, and in November, a Polish language learning platform for Ukrainians was launched and officially approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for use in educational institutions.

The rating was created by the Association of Innovative and Digital Education