A new format for career guidance: ‘The E-sphere of Scientific Ideas in Student Projects’

Lecturers from the Faculty of Agrobiology have joined the expert panel for ‘E-Sphere’, an innovative educational project aimed at school pupils.

A meeting was recently held for the experts involved in ‘E-Sphere’, an innovative project designed to engage with Ukraine’s talented young people. In particular, the following associate professors have become members of the expert group and mentors for young scientists: Nadiya BORDYUZA, Nadiya YASHCHUK and Iryna SVISTUNOVA, a team from the Department of Genetics, Breeding and Seed Production, and specialists from the Faculty of Agrobiology.

The ‘E-Sphere’ project by the National Education and Science Centre of Ukraine is a comprehensive digital ecosystem that puts the concept of lifelong learning into practice right from school. In the context of innovation and collaboration with higher education institutions, the project serves as a powerful tool for a smooth transition from student to professional.

Our mentors in this project will apply an innovative approach to the child’s continuous development. ‘E-Sphere’ transforms fragmented extracurricular activities into a comprehensive digital pathway for personal development through AI and data personalisation. This allows us to track a child’s progress from the beginner level to academic achievements and creates a ‘digital portfolio’ of accomplishments, which serves as an objective indicator of the child’s aptitude for the natural sciences.

The project creates a hybrid environment for the student and their mentor. The innovation lies in combining real-world experience (plant care, field research) with digital documentation and analysis. The child learns to use IT not as entertainment, but as a tool for scientific discovery.

Mentors will help talented pupils integrate into the scientific community. The platform breaks down geographical barriers, giving a child from a village access to advice from the country’s leading experts, thereby ensuring equal opportunities for development (‘EdTech democratisation’).

For universities, ‘E-Sphere’ is becoming the primary channel for attracting well-informed prospective students. This is no longer merely advertising for higher education institutions, but rather a deep integration into the preparation of future students. Universities can integrate their own courses or virtual laboratories directly into the platform. In this way, high school students get to know the lecturers and the requirements of a specific university even before they enrol. This, in turn, allows universities to identify talented students who have achieved high results in academic competitions and NENC contests, and to offer them mentoring or participation in joint projects even before they submit their applications.

Thanks to digitalisation, the interaction between the National Centre for Educational Quality Assessment (NCEQA) of Ukraine and the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NULES) is being scaled up through partner networks. A single university career guidance event (for example, a workshop on agrochemistry, crop production, etc.) can reach thousands of interested students across the country simultaneously, rather than a local meeting held within the institution’s premises.

We wish everyone a productive and inspiring time at work!

Thank you to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for giving us the opportunity to work with and nurture our talented young people!