Olena Saitz – Vice President and Program Director of UAACE:
I would like to summarize the results of the third international educational and training program “Bukovel Spring Academic School 2017,” which took place in the format of a creative and pedagogical workshop titled “Workshop on Post-Industrial Education” from May 20 to 25 in Bukovel,Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
On May 21 (Sunday), the program’s grand opening and first day of activities took place; Speakers included guests and representatives of Ukrainian and international educational programs: Oksana Desyatnyuk – TNEU, Doctor of Economics, member of the association’s executive committee (Ternopil, Ukraine); Olena Saitz – Vice President of the International Cultural and Educational Association (Chicago, USA), member of the Association’s Executive Committee;
Todd J.B. Blayone—President of the educational consulting firm Vistas Canada Edu (Oshawa, Canada); Olav Aarna – Vice Rector for Research and Development at the Estonian Business School, Ph.D., Doctor of Engineering, government advisor, and participant in projects related to education system reform and quality assurance in higher education (Tallinn, Estonia); Vik Arhus Torstein – Senior Executive Administrator, Nord University Business School (Norway);
Oleg Kuklin is the director of the Cherkasy State Business College (Cherkasy, Ukraine).
MART KIKAS — mentor at the Estonian Business School, founder and CEO of the IT company Hanzaware Ltd. and the publishing company Wanderstories Ltd., a consultant to established companies and startups on business development and internationalization strategies, primarily in the Baltic and Eastern European regions (Helsinki, Finland), conducted a two-hour training session on the topic of "Business Mentoring": – a new format for transferring experience and skills in the learning process; – mentoring; – a practical case study.
On May 22 (Monday) and May 23 (Tuesday), the program was led by Todd Blayon and Olena Mykhailenko, our Canadian partners.
Tod Blayon, MA — a researcher at EILAB, UOIT, Canada; a specialist in digital educational technologies and the psychology of learning; an international educational consultant; and the owner of Vistas Canada Edu.
Olena Mykhailenko, Ph.D. in Economics – Associate Researcher at the Educational Informatics Laboratory (EILAB) at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Canada, and leader of the “Transformative Online Learning in Ukraine” project.
Highlights of the presentations and training sessions held during these days: – Discussion: “What Is Post-Industrial Education, and What Changes Are Needed at Universities?”; – Training session: “Defining Your Own GTCU Digital Competency Profile.” – Presentation on problem-based learning (PBL). Group activities focused on self-identification; – The evening session on the first day (one hour) of online interaction with participants in the remote training did not take place. – Examination of cultural models and the influence of values on the development of individuals, organizations, and countries. Group activities based on Hofstede’s and WVS models. Defining one’s own value profile. – Training: “Post-Industrial Thinking (critical thinking, pluralism, democratization of learning relationships, global digital learning)”; – Group activities focused on solving problems related to enhancing the university’s competitiveness; – An evening session (one hour) of online communication with distance learning participants took place.
On May 24 (Wednesday), the guest speakers gave their presentations:
Mykhailo Zhuk – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor, Chair of the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities at Sumy University.
The topic of the presentation is “Innovation Culture as an Educational Trend of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
George Lupascu Pruna is a cross-cultural business consultant accredited by ITIM International—The Hofstede Center. He holds a master’s degree in corporate psychology and leadership and a bachelor’s degree in industrial automation. Using Hofstede’s 6D cultural model, George advises international companies and cross-cultural teams implementing projects around the world: in New York, Prague, Brussels, Kyiv, and Shanghai. Presentation topic: “Practical Applications of Cultural Differences in Business”
On this day, there was also a discussion of prospects for cooperation, the development of joint projects, and grants, and breakout sessions were held. The text of the Manifesto was drafted and adopted by the participants of the international program “Bukovel Spring Academic School 2017.”
A ceremony was held to present the international certificates.
A tour program was offered to anyone interested.
On May 25 (Thursday), the program concluded, the participants’ departure was organized, and final payments were settled with the host party in Bukovel. Executive Committee members Oksana Desyatnyuk and Roman Kulik did a great job, which helped minimize expenses, establish the necessary budget, and ensure that all payments were made on time.
Notes on conducting the program:
- It is worth noting the smooth coordination of the organizing committee; lessons learned from previous years were taken into account, and the entire event was organized successfully.;
- – It is impossible to overestimate the contribution of the faculty and staff of TNEU—the setup of the venue, technical resources, the role of the organizers as the host institution, sponsorship support, and the organization of additional training on campus;
- A big thank you to the volunteers and active participants who have repeatedly attended our program in Bukovel;
- Significant financial support was provided by the sponsoring organization and event partner—the International Cultural and Educational Association (ICEA);
- We have welcomed new members to the association from among the program participants.
I personally highly commend the organization of the “Bukovel Spring Academic School 2017” program and thank my colleagues for their cooperation.
June 2017
