On September 6, representatives of Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University (EUNU), Ukrainian international food and agri-tech company, MHP, and the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA) met to discuss potential future collaboration.
The MHP team learned about the university’s new laboratories created with support from USAID ERA, including an electromechatronics lab and an electricity lab to train electrical engineers and a laboratory of automation and computer technologies for IT specialists.
About 200 students studying engineering, IT and electronics will be trained using this equipment. The university also plans to train agri-engineering students as well in the future.
MHP, EUNU and USAID ERA agreed on the next steps to involve MHP specialists in the new labs and educational programs, including signing of a cooperation agreement between EUNU and MHP.
“Today we are establishing cooperation with one of the leaders in the agricultural market of Ukraine, MHP. Our students — agricultural, mechanics, robotics, and electrical engineers — will be able to work and improve their knowledge at the company,” said the vice-rector for scientific work of EUNU Oleksii Tselishchev. “The shorter the adaptive period a specialist goes through in production, the better for business — that’s why cooperation with MHP is interesting to us.”
“As a modern business, we are open to various formats of cooperation — from guest lectures for students, where we share practical cases — to organizing tours of enterprises and inviting students for internships, dual education and possible employment,” explained Ksenia Motorina, Head of the MHP youth engagement and development group “For example, automation specialists are in high demand in the market, in particular in production. Students will be able to acquire their first working skills in the laboratories we visited today…this will help them to more easily adapt to the real needs of the company after employment.”
EUNU has relocated twice because of the war and is now based in Kyiv. Currently, more than 4,300 students are studying there in eight departments.