WEST UKRAINIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

 Recently, Oksana Koval, Director of the Education and Research Centre for Communications of West Ukrainian National University, met with Professor Diana Bowman, Associate Dean for Applied Research and Partnerships at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Co-Director of the Centre for Smart Cities and Regions (CenSCR), Professor at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University (USA).

Developing a new vector of the communication centre's work in STEM education, innovations and technologies of the future together with the American charity VOVK foundation, West Ukrainian National University will act as a provider of STEM education between American and European foundations, organisations, universities and secondary schools in Ternopil and Ternopil region, and will become a platform for the integration of modern educational technologies, the development of innovative thinking and practical skills among students and schoolchildren.

Adopting the experience of the American model of STEM education, creating a single international environment will stimulate innovation and creative thinking, support interdisciplinary collaboration, and allow students to work on real projects, as project-based learning, integration of interdisciplinary approaches and practical experience through makerspaces are critical to the development of creative thinking and the ability to solve real life and professional problems.

So, Arizona State University has a lot of experience in this area. After all, the university's famous alumni include two Nobel Prize winners, three members of the Royal Society for the Advancement of Natural History, twenty-seven members of the US National Academy of Sciences, and six Pulitzer Prize winners. It is the nation's largest pioneering school, where students and faculty work with NASA to develop, promote, and deliver innovations into space.

It is here that Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners teach students; national and international programmes prepare next-generation innovators to thrive while advancing new research, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship and economic development. The university's national programmes inspire top-quality graduates and position the university as a ‘top’ recruiting and hiring institution for more than 50 of the nation's top corporations, according to professional recruiters and ranking services worldwide.

During the meeting, the parties agreed on the prospects for further cooperation, opportunities to participate in grant projects, the creation of a joint platform for educational and scientific development, training and internships for teachers and students of WUNU, as well as the preparation of documents for signing an agreement between educational institutions.