Sumy State University (SSU) continues its active involvement in the international project Digital University – Open Ukrainian Initiative (DigiUni), which aims to advance digital education and establish a shared learning environment for Ukrainian universities. SSU academic staff are currently developing digital courses for the national DigiPlatform, while consortium partners have already launched the first practical testing phase of virtual academic mobility.

Amid the ongoing full-scale war, virtual academic mobility has become particularly important for Ukrainian higher education. Beyond providing opportunities for remote learning, it serves as an effective mechanism for inter-university cooperation, enabling students to access educational resources and courses offered by partner institutions regardless of their location. These principles underpin DigiUni, an initiative designed to bring together Ukrainian universities within a shared digital education ecosystem.

At SSU, preparations for contributing educational content to DigiPlatform are actively underway. The university recently held a working meeting with academic staff responsible for developing digital courses and micro-courses. Participants discussed the current progress, methodological requirements, and next steps in preparing the learning materials.

Having successfully completed specialised training in digital course design, SSU course developers are now creating learning modules based on Activity-Based Learning and aligned with the project's common quality assurance standards. Particular attention is given to interactivity, digital accessibility, and practical learning outcomes. The development process is supported by close cooperation with the consortium's methodological and technical experts.

An important milestone in the implementation of DigiUni was the launch of the virtual academic mobility pre-pilot in September 2026, involving the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA) and the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU).

The first course introduced through DigiPlatform as part of the pre-pilot was Game Theory, offered by NaUKMA and attended remotely by students from both universities. This initial phase provides an opportunity to test the organisational, academic, and technical mechanisms of virtual mobility, including student enrolment, learning support, recognition of learning outcomes, and ECTS credit transfer.

The experience gained during the pre-pilot will inform the subsequent expansion of virtual academic mobility to all 10 Ukrainian partner universities participating in the project.

For SSU, participation in DigiUni creates new opportunities to strengthen educational cooperation and showcase its academic expertise at the national level. The digital courses developed by SSU academic staff will become part of a shared learning environment, enabling students from different universities to access partner institutions' courses, pursue flexible learning pathways, and develop new competencies.

At the same time, DigiUni contributes to strengthening SSU's digital capacity, advancing innovative teaching practices, and fostering inter-university cooperation as essential elements of the modernisation of Ukrainian higher education.

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