On Friday, October 25, 2024, four leading universities, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv Polytechnics, joined forces and discussed new opportunities to provide our Ukrainian students with a unique experience while studying to join the process of real development of software products for various industries. This becomes possible thanks to the introduction of PBL&DS – project-based learning into the educational process. University representatives shared methods of implementing project-based learning, exchanged experience in using various pedagogical approaches and tools, and experience in implementing interdisciplinary projects. The topics of project and team evaluation, cooperation with IT companies, and communities attracted particular attention and interest. They discussed the difficulties faced by teachers and students and the search for effective solutions.
The possibilities of international cooperation in project-based learning were demonstrated by Ukrainian polytechnics undergoing internships in the Netherlands and Germany. The event was attended by leading Ukrainian IT companies from Kharkiv and Odesa and the Kharkiv IT Cluster. The SAIT department already had experience in project-based learning, but the collective discussion at the PBL&DS WorkShop once again emphasized that project implementation is of great importance for students, as it promotes the development of critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork skills, and also allows students to apply theoretical knowledge in practice, which makes learning more interactive and meaningful.
So such a respectable company as the Director of the Institute of Computer Science and Information Technologies, Doctor of Engineering, Professor Natalia Bogdanivna Shakhovska (Lviv Polytechnic), Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics, Doctor of Engineering, Professor Oleg Romanovych Chertov (Ihor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute), Director of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Doctor of Engineering, Associate Professor Mykhailo Viktorovych Lobachev (Odesa Polytechnic), Head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis, Doctor of Engineering, Associate Professor Pavlo Oleksandrovych Teslenko (Odesa Polytechnic), Head of the Department of KMAD, Doctor of Engineering, Associate Professor Olena Borysivna Akhiyezer (NTU “KhPI”) and Head of the Department of SAIT, Doctor of Engineering, Professor Tetyana Yevhenivna Aleksandrova (NTU “KhPI”) decided that project-based learning should be in Ukrainian polytechnics!
