Ministry of Education and Science Delegation in the USA: Strengthening Education Partnerships and Working on Creating New Opportunities for Cooperation
Last week, the delegation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, led by Minister Oksen Lisovyi and his First Deputy Yevhen Kudriavets, along with Deputy Head of the Office of the President Olena Kovalivska, visited the USA on a working trip. The main goal was to strengthen partnerships in the education sector and work on creating new opportunities for cooperation.
During the visit, Ministry representatives held a series of working meetings with:
- International Monetary Fund (IMF): A dialogue was initiated on supporting education and science as the foundation for human capital development and economic growth in Ukraine.
- World Bank: The key outcomes of joint projects were discussed, including LEARN, which supports the New Ukrainian School reform and ensures its stable financing for 3 years, amounting to $415 million, as well as UIHERP, which aims to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions through the development of laboratories, educational and research infrastructure, and enhancing management capacity. A total of $200 million has been allocated to support the higher education system within this project. Opportunities to expand cooperation in preschool education and vocational education were also explored.
- Ukrainian Ambassador to the USA, Oksana Markarova: They discussed expanding educational cooperation between the two countries and attracting international support.
- Congressman Tim Walberg (Republican): A recent appointee to the leadership of the House Education and Workforce Committee, with whom they discussed potential collaboration.
- Global Partnership for Education: They discussed the implementation of a $2.7 million capacity grant to strengthen Ukraine’s education system.
- American Council: They worked on attracting support for the implementation of the "Law on the Use of the English Language in Ukraine" and for training teachers and university lecturers.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of the USA: They discussed strengthening cooperation, with particular focus on implementing a $20 million National Science Foundation grant to support the development of Ukraine’s scientific potential.
- IREX: They held discussions regarding the revision of joint programs.
Additionally, there were meetings with organizations regarding joint initiatives in extracurricular education:
- Smithsonian Institution: They discussed launching a new project to promote STEM education in Ukraine based on adapted educational modules from the institution.
- SSEP (Student Spaceflight Experiments Program): Agreements were made to continue involving Ukrainian students in this international project. Thanks to previous collaboration, young Ukrainian scientists have been sending their experiments to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon for the third consecutive year.
In addition to these working meetings, the Ministry of Education and Science delegation took part in Ukrainian Week in Washington, one of the largest events for Ukrainian and US representatives, held annually in February to raise international support and interest in Ukraine. They participated in the Education and Science Forum, the Veterans Forum, and the Partnerships Forum.
We continue to build partnerships to strengthen the education system and create opportunities for Ukrainian students, teachers, and learners!