On 21 August, as part of the ‘Dialogue between Government and Business’ platform, a meeting entitled ‘Universities as Business Partners: New Models of Cooperation’ was held, organised by the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration.
Representatives from Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University and Zaporizhzhia National University spoke about opportunities for collaboration between higher education institutions and businesses. The speakers were Ruslan Kulikovsky, Vice-Rector for Academic and Pedagogical Work and Future Development at Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University; Yulia Polusmyak, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Management at Zaporizhzhia National University; and Serhiy Ilyin, Director of the Y. Potebnya Engineering Educational and Scientific Institute at Zaporizhzhia National University.
The event was attended by representatives of the Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and member companies of the ZCCI.
For the Chamber, fostering collaboration between business, education and science is a key component of supporting entrepreneurship. The Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports an approach whereby universities become not only a source of workforce training but also partners in addressing specific production, technological and human resources challenges faced by businesses.
It was precisely this model of cooperation that was the focus of the meeting. Discussions centred on the training and retraining of employees, dual education, corporate training, the validation of professional qualifications, joint research, testing and development of technologies, as well as joint participation in international projects.
Dual education featured prominently in the discussion — a format that enables students to combine their studies with practical work at a company. For businesses, this offers an opportunity to participate in the training of future specialists, to develop the necessary skills and to help potential employees adapt to real-world working conditions in good time.
The Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also involved in joint initiatives. In particular, the Zaporizhzhia European Digital Innovation Hub (ZP EDIH) was established by a consortium comprising Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, the Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Zaporizhzhia IAM Cluster and partners. This is an example of a partnership that enables the implementation of cutting-edge digital technologies, improves the efficiency of production processes and fosters the development of innovative products and services.
In total, nearly 130 participants attended the meeting. During the open discussion, entrepreneurs also outlined specific staffing requirements.