The Fund of the President and Erasmus+: exploring new opportunities for youth, education, and science

The team of the Fund of the President of Ukraine for Education, Science, and Sports held a strategic working meeting with Svitlana Shytykova, Coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine. They discussed promising areas for the Fund’s participation in European Union Erasmus+ programmes and projects in the fields of education, youth, and sport.

The Fund of the President consistently develops an ecosystem of opportunities for talented schoolchildren, students, young scientists, and athletes who demonstrate high results and choose to pursue their development in Ukraine.

“The proposals for youth development and mobility of the EU Erasmus+ program can significantly strengthen the activities of the Foundation, which already today creates opportunities for talented Ukrainians in education and science. Our task is to ensure that Ukrainian youth gain international experience while remaining connected to Ukrainian universities and applying their knowledge to the country’s reconstruction. We are especially interested in partnerships and projects that develop human capital directly in Ukraine,” emphasised Yuriy Petrushenko, Head of the Fund of the President of Ukraine for Education, Science, and Sport.

During the meeting, possible formats for the Fund’s participation in the following areas were discussed:

• Key Action 2 (partnerships and cooperation between educational and scientific institutions);
• Youth Cooperation Partnerships (partnerships for youth cooperation);
• Capacity Building (Youth)—international projects that support youth organizations and informal learning, developing the potential of young people;
• Capacity Building in the Field of Sport (international cooperation projects between sports organizations from EU member states and partner countries).

Particular attention was paid to expanding partnerships for the implementation of joint initiatives in the field of education, scientific research, and human capital development, as well as to increasing the participation of talented Ukrainian youth in the opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ programme.

In the context of full-scale war and mass migration, Ukraine faces the risk of losing some of its talent. The Fund’s programmes and participation in EU initiatives, in particular Erasmus+, are designed not only to give young people access to quality education and international experience but also to maintain their connection with Ukrainian universities and communities so that the knowledge and skills they acquire return to Ukraine through research, start-ups, and reconstruction projects.