The European integration of Ukraine is an integral part of social, political and economic development of the country accompanied by intensive reforms aimed at stabilising its economy, improving the livelihoods of its citizens and meeting international standards of living. Education plays a crucial role in the process of transformation of Ukrainian society in line with European vision of its future. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively influences social and economic development worldwide, transferring live forms of relations into virtual formats. Educational environment has transformed into online and virtual modes, and thus, new possibilities for digital education have opened to the HEIs in the field of EU Studies. This project aims to establish a platform for discussion of theoretical and practical problems of the EU-UA AA implementation in Ukraine addressing, in particular, alignment of the Ukrainian policies with the EU governance models and practices in different areas, e.g. such as migration, social issues, education, regional development and cohesion etc. It focuses on challenges that digitalization brings to professional development programs offered by HEIs to public sector and aims at ensuring sustainable growth and social progress resulting in opportunities offered by EU-Ukraine AA. The specific project objectives are: to develop an online certificate program on EU Common Policies for public officials, local communities leaders and civic activists; to create a communication platform between academia and policymakers for discussion of perspectives and challenges of alignment of Ukrainian policies with relevant EU policies through regular workshops, a conference; to modernize teaching process of EU Common Policies both to students, who get special EU-issues tailored education, and to young people, who are not yet acquainted with EU Studies (e.g. students of journalism, art students etc.) by organizing simulations of EU institutions work and a poster competition.

The Jean Monnet Module “Political institutions and systems in Europe: Comparison and experience for Ukraine” aims to explore and compare the knowledge of basic (national, supranational and subnational) political institutions and systems in European countries/EU, as well as to raise awareness about them among students, teachers, professionals, politicians, civil servants, media and civil society in Ukraine. This is especially relevant after Ukraine gained the status of a candidate for the EU membership, since it can contribute to Ukraine’s progress in European integration and democratization thanks to the experience of Western and Central-Eastern European countries. This is important practically, since political institutions and systems matter, and therefore their choices lead to various effects visible comparatively.The university recognizes importance and variety of European political institutions and systems, and therefore is obliged to acquire new knowledge in this regard and to disseminate it among students or other stakeholders, particularly with a view to practical implementation in Ukraine. Ensuring the study and comparison of European political institutions and systems by target groups is mainly planned through the development and modification of two teaching courses (respectively, on Western and Central-Eastern Europe). Attention will be also paid to a multi-purpose platform for research, debates and interactions between scholars, students, authorities and public sector, particularly via conferences, workshops, meetings, competitions, publications (including within courses). Thus, the university aims to become a center for the study of European political institutions and systems in Ukraine. All information will be highlighted on relevant Internet resources and popularized among target groups. This will contribute to the progress of Political Science in Ukraine and will help bring the country closer to political and institutional framework of the EU.

The main goal: the creation of an educational-methodological and expert-dissemination base at LNU for the study and research of problems related to Ukraine's achievement of the goals of sustainable development on the way to integration with the EU.Objectives: introduce new educational courses; professional development of the department; publication of 7 scientific articles; strengthening of soft-skills of students; involve students in scientific work; initiation of cooperation between the department and the external environment.Activities: Presentation of the project; Preparation of programs and syllabi; Teaching according to the new syllabus; Organization of 6 conferences; Organization of 3 round tables; Conducting 3 training intensives, 3 spring schools, 2 Oxford debates; Publication of project results.Type and number of persons benefiting from the project. Students (1000-1500), representatives of the academic (20-30), expert-professional (20-30), management-political (10-20) community and other interested groups (300-400).Expected results: 140-200 students were trained in 1 modernized and 2 new disciplines; 700-900 participants of 6 conferences; 300-480 students listened to guest lectures; 60-90 students improved their soft skills; 75-100 participants gained knowledge at spring schools; 40-60 students completed coursework; 30-40 students will gain skills in conducting debates.Type and number of outputs to be produced: 27 public events and materials related to them; 7 scientific publications; Information banner; profiles in social networks; Final report and video clip; Monitoring the quality of teaching subjects; Feedback from participants of interactive events; New syllabuses, Readers and teaching materials for up to 3 disciplines; Memorandum with stakeholders; Methodical instructions for course work; Programs of 3 spring schools; Collections of materials for 6 conference and 3 round tables; The collection of practical coursework components.

The course “The EU’s Subnational Dimension” aims at providing students with better understanding of the EU’s subnational level, immerse in both the theory and advanced EU’s practices and highlight the opportunities for reinforcing the cooperation with the EU by involving more actively subnational actors from Ukraine. It will develop a critically informed perspective on the implications for Ukrainian regions in the context of the relationship with the EU. The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach and is intended to meet both generalist and specialist needs. It will be part of a new MA specialization “European Integration”. The course will help to prepare students for their future professional life, provide them with specific skills and competence and encourage taking into account the EU factor not only on supra or state-, but also on subnational level. The course will serve as a point of reference for other EU-related courses, enrich the didactic offer in EU Studies and promote the interdisciplinary approach. It is designed as a combination of lectures and practical seminars. Throughout the course the emphasis will be put on balancing theoretical material with case study examples. The use of innovative teaching techniques, the introduction of supplementary workshop with aim at aligning students with the requirement of the labour market, the interaction with local NGO’s on civic engagement, the organization of thematic roundtables, the creation of the website and the use of online resources will increase the competiveness of the course and will contribute to the quality of teaching in EU Studies. This will be the first Jean Monnet program in the region. This fact would greatly contribute to the professionalization and will enhance the visibility of EU Studies.

After the signature of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and in the light of the current Russian-Ukrainian crisis the public discussions about the EU-Ukraine relations are very acute topic in the Ukrainian society. These discussions can be efficient and lead to the unification of the Ukrainian society under the condition that the general information about the European Union, its legal system and political structure is delivered to the wider audience as well as to the young generation, which in November 2013 clearly made evident its pro-European aspirations and exported the discussion about the European future of Ukraine far beyond the academic podium and narrow expert’s circle.The objective of this project is to establish summer courses on the European Union legal and political system on the constant basis, which would be run by the (Ukraine) with the deep involvement of the universities and HEI’s from the European Union and will be conducted in accordance with the EU standards as with the regard to the content and teaching methods applied.The activities to be performed include the organization and the conduct of the summer courses devoted to different EU-related topics like “EU LAW: Concepts, Origins, Developments” (2015), “EU Neighbourhood Policy: Legal, Political and Economic Aspects” (2016) and “EU and Human Rights” (2017).The target groups for the summer courses are students, PhD students and young professionals willing to deepen their knowledge about the European Union and its legal, political and economic system from Ukraine and all countries of the world.The direct beneficiary of this project is IFNUL, which becomes the opportunity to sharpen its profile as a centre of research and excellence in the EU Law and European integration.Besides the young generation as main addressee of this project, the potential beneficiaries can be addressed the Ukrainian state bodies, local self-government authorities, as well as different professional groups