Convergence With the European Education System Within the Context of Ensuring the Competitiveness of Ukrainian Universities in the Post-War Period

Abstract

The relevance of ensuring the competitiveness of institutions of higher education in Ukraine in the conditions of military aggression and in the post-war period has been substantiated. It has been established that in the conditions of global challenges and especially military aggression by the Russian Federation, a change in the vector of development of the higher education system is needed in order to preserve the competitiveness of Ukrainian institutions of higher education. The purpose of the article is to study the consequences of military aggression on the part of the Russian Federation for the development of the higher education system of Ukraine in the conditions of war; assessment of the benefits and risks of convergence of Ukrainian universities with the European educational system through the prism of competitiveness and national security. The article presents an analysis of the trends that have developed in the Ukrainian system of higher education and the problems that have become particularly acute under the influence of the war. In addition to the destruction caused by the military actions of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, one of the biggest threats was the migration of young people and the loss by Ukrainian universities of a significant number of applicants, students and teachers, who are the most promising component of the country's human capital. The loss of human capital takes on the characteristics of threats to national security and requires the state to develop an appropriate policy. It has been concluded that the reform of the higher education system in Ukraine should take place considering the new realities of functioning in the conditions of military aggression and global upheavals for institutions of higher education. It has been substantiated that in the context of European integration, the convergence of Ukrainian universities with the European educational system is one of the ways to overcome the consequences of the military aggression on the part of the Russian Federation, considering the goals of ensuring the competitiveness of Ukrainian institutions of higher education and their post-war restoration and development.