Halyna Ripka, Head of the Department of Light Industry Technologies at the Faculty of Engineering, attended an event organized by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine with the support of GIZ (SME Digitalization Program in the Eastern Partnership countries): EU Digital Europe Program (2021-2027).
In September 2022, Ukraine signed an agreement to participate in the EU’s Digital Europe Program (2021-2027). The Program’s competitions are aimed at creating opportunities for the development of new technologies and products, opening access to new knowledge, resources and contacts. This will help bring our country closer to the EU Digital Single Market. The total fund of the program is 7.5 billion euros until 2027. The program aims to support the introduction of digital technologies and innovations, provide access to digital infrastructure and services, increase competitiveness in the digital market, promote the development of digital business and digital strategies, and improve cybersecurity for small and medium-sized enterprises in consortium with educational institutions and government organizations, clusters.
The speakers spoke about how the Digital Europe Program works, what you need to do to get funding for your project, and how to become part of the European Digital Innovation Hubs network. They also talked about how Ukrainian universities can also become such hubs.. The following benefits for higher education institutions were noted:
- Ability to access digital resources and teaching materials to improve the quality of education and research
- – Cooperation with foreign educational institutions in international consortia
- – Involvement of Ukrainian scientists and specialists in the relevant field in the implementation of joint initiatives
- – Increasing the institutional capacity of higher education institutions
- – Increasing interest in careers, acquiring digital skills and attracting talent
- – Improving research activities
- – Promoting and improving the digital transformation of the business sector both internationally and nationally
- – Facilitating the transfer of technologies developed in university laboratories to the private sector.