From 20 to 24 April 2026, a team of Sumy State University paid a working visit to its partner institution, JAMK University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland, within the framework of the project “Pedagogy in the State of Emergency.”

For the second consecutive year, Ukrainian and Finnish experts have been working together to develop a pedagogy training course for emergency contexts. Its aim is to provide a free, practical tool for lecturers at SumDU and other Ukrainian universities working under challenging, unstable conditions.

The course is being developed based on survey results from SumDU students and current scientific and methodological approaches. A distinctive feature of the course is its format: the learning materials are presented as short video episodes, some of which are voiced by artificial intelligence. The module is expected to be piloted among university staff in the near future.

The SumDU delegation included Alla KRASULIA, Head of the International Relations Office; Tetyana MAYBORODA, Deputy Head of the International Relations Office; and Dmytro TSYHANIUK, Director of the Department for Human Resources and Academic Staff Development. The project manager, on behalf of SumDU, is Oksana ZAMORA, an Associate Professor in the Department of International Economic Relations. During this mobility, the team was also joined by Alina VYSOCHYNA, Head of the Department for Strategic Analysis and Staff Development Planning.

The project “Pedagogy in the State of Emergency” focuses on developing a training module for university teachers to help create resilient, flexible educational environments in times of crisis. The course addresses student-centered learning, cognitive load management, trauma-informed pedagogy, and practical approaches and tools that support teachers working under conditions of constant uncertainty.

For SumDU, this visit became an important stage in developing new pedagogical solutions for wartime education and an opportunity to integrate its own experience in the broader European educational context. Partnerships of this kind demonstrate how universities can jointly develop effective responses to the complex challenges faced by higher education today.