Enhancing energy education in Ukraine
In 2018, Ukrainian oil and gas company Naftogaz teamed up with SAIT to utilize technical expertise to review petroleum-related course content, classrooms and labs at two Ukrainian universities. The project’s goal was to elevate several undergraduate programs by incorporating SAIT’s applied learning techniques and diploma content into the last two years of the curriculum.
SAIT experts traveled to Ukraine to collaborate with industry, Naftogaz, Poltava National Technical Yuri Kondratyuk University (PNU) and Kharkiv’s O.M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy (KNU). The project’s inception was driven by the Ukrainian industry’s decision for university graduates to receive a more practical and hands-on education.
Specializing in petroleum, electrical and instrumentation engineering and industrial automation, SAIT personnel and international teams identified ways to improve PNU and KNU’s undergraduate curriculum through their technical trades knowledge and expertise. SAIT collaborated with the universities to define the essential competencies and qualifications necessary for faculty members to deliver the new curriculum effectively. Additionally, SAIT played a role in identifying the suitable laboratories, equipment and resources for initiating the program’s implementation.
“[SAIT’s] team was highly effective in identifying the gaps in educational programs of two of our partnering leading Ukrainian technical Universities,” says Margarita Korotkova, CHRO, Naftogaz Group. “It was a pleasure to share ideas and deliverables with SAIT’s team.”
SAIT representatives reviewed the physical facilities, student competencies and faculty qualifications required to deliver high-quality programming.
The project culminated in a technical education needs assessment report in 2019 — an important piece for advancing petroleum-related programming at PNU and KNU. The document set forth a path for the universities to integrate further applied education components to set their students up for success in the petroleum sector.
“[The] report gave the company and universities a powerful incentive [for] the development of new concepts of engineering education, construction of modern laboratories and staff training,” says Korotkova, adding that SAIT’s experts helped boost the knowledge of professional lecturers at KNU and PNU.
“The most remarkable result was to get the competency sharing from SAIT, which helped all counterparts to gain extraordinary development.”
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