From 12 to 16 May 2025, Maryna Vasylieva, Deputy Director of the ERI “Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy", as part of a delegation from V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, took part in events aimed at implementing an educational project on peacebuilding initiated by the AURORA alliance of European universities. The events took place at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands).
Discussions with representatives of the AURORA Alliance partner universities focused on the introduction of interactive methods for training international professionals, enriching the content of academic disciplines with case studies of real events, and scaling simulation-based learning methods through an international format involving practitioners.
A significant achievement was the involvement of professors from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam as guest lecturers for students of International Relations speciality as part of a 30-credit module on peacebuilding.
A key event was the UNESCO Be the Change international symposium, organised in partnership with the AURORA Alliance. The topics of discussion included intercultural dialogue, social justice, the development of research for diplomacy, and the prospects of the digital ecosystem.
As part of the symposium, representatives of Karazin University joined the section Higher Education and Peacebuilding - Cross-Cultural and Emic Perspectives. The central issues concerned the role of universities as "agents of peace", an emic approach to the educational process, the study of peace hubs, and the rethinking of academic freedom and cultural heritage as tools for reconciliation.
