On 2 June, a workshop “Reform of specialised senior secondary education: Opportunities and challenges for the community” was held in Romny – the final event in a series of specialised advanced training programmes for community leaders, their deputies, and heads of education departments. Representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Sumy Regional Military Administration, the Sumy Regional Council, and experts from DECIDE, 47 communities in Sumy regio

The national piloting of a career guidance system is ongoing in Ukraine to ensure that every pupil can make a conscious choice about their future educational and career path. The pilot is implemented by the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. One of the key stages of the pilot project was the training of specialists who will implement the new career guidance system in communities. More than 400 career coordinato

The second Career Festival at the Expocentre of Ukraine became just that, with the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project as its official partner this year. During four days, the Festival brought together schoolchildren and students, parents, educators, veterans, employers, HR specialists, and all those who are looking for new professional opportunities and seeking career growth. The Career Café, organised by DECIDE Project, was one of the most notable novelties of the second Career

In May, heads of education departments and their deputies from communities in Kyiv region completed a special advanced training programme “Decentralised education management in communities under martial law”. The professional development programme was approved by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service and is worth 2 ECTS credits (60 hours). The training lasted from 11 to 27 May and was conducted remotely, whilst an in-person workshop was held in Kyiv on 28–29 May, wh

On May 7, a workshop titled "Reform of the Senior Specialized School: Opportunities and Challenges for the Community" was held in Kyiv, which was the final part of the training program. The event was attended by heads and deputy heads of specialized schools from 41 communities in the Kyiv region. The advanced training program is approved by the National Education Service and is calculated for 0.6 ECTS credits (19 hours) The participants discussed the issue of implementing the

The Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project continues its selection process and invites communities from all regions of Ukraine to join the national stage of the selection process for communities wishing to jointly develop networks of academic lyceums through inter-municipal cooperation agreements (IMCAs). Based on the results of the selection process, up to 50 communities will receive: expert support in the process of developing and concluding inter-municipal cooperation agreements;

The Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project has completed the selection of communities to participate in DECIDE Summer Clubs 2026 Initiative “We Are at Home – in Ukraine”. This year, interest in the initiative has once again exceeded all expectations! The Project team received more than 80 applications from communities in the partner regions of DECIDE, which, together with us, aim to create a safe and interesting space for children and teenagers to spend their summer recreational time

On 22 May, the Career Festival at the Exhibition Centre in Kyiv hosted a panel discussion entitled “Career guidance for everyone: how to create an inclusive system of career support for children and teenagers”. Every child has the right for support in choosing their own educational and career path – regardless of their life circumstances or special educational needs. This was the topic of discussion among the participants: how to create a modern career guidance system that ta

At the end of April, representatives from the Swiss Embassy visited the culinary career guidance hub created at the Vocational College in Vasylkiv within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project. The event was attended by 39 people: a delegation from the Swiss Embassy, DECIDE Project team, team from Vasylkiv Vocational College, college students, and pupils of Grade 8 from Vasylkiv Gymnasium No. 7. During the visit, the participants learned about the work of the cul

Imagine a room with standing water 365 days a year, where the smell of damp and mould has become so deep-seated in the walls that it seems no chemical could ever remove it. This is exactly what Nataliia Yurchyshyn saw in 2020 when she was appointed principal of the Sokal Vocational Lyceum in Lviv region, the future DECIDE culinary career guidance hub. Nowadays, béchamel sauce is prepared here with modern equipment, and chefs from top-class restaurants are amazed by the hub’s

Experts of DECIDE Project, representatives of communities, heads of education authorities, members of the ‘Education’ Platform of the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, and other experts discussed cooperation between communities as a tool for implementing the reform of specialised senior secondary schools. The event was organised by DECIDE Project, the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, the Ministry of Education an

The joint activities will focus on strengthening the capacity of communities to develop transparent and ethical administration in education, and on increasing public engagement – particularly among young people – in decision-making at the local level. The document was signed by Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, and Viktor Pavlushchyk, Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. ‘Education reform is impossible without trust. And trust begins with transparen

On 2 May, Khmelnytskyi region hosted the Annual Summit of the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, dedicated to the presentation of the updated legislative agenda – a holistic document with a list of necessary changes for the development of communities. The event was organised by the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities (VAG) with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project. More than 200 participants from all over Ukraine participated in the event: community l

A week of sharing experiences and jointly seeking solutions for educational reforms: from the development of vocational education and a modern career guidance system for children and adolescents, with a focus on blue-collar professions, to the introduction of dual training as an effective approach to training in-demand specialists. Organised by a team from the Zurich University of Teacher Education, the visit aimed to facilitate the exchange of best practices on the implement

Currently, within the framework of DECIDE project, four teams of experts are providing consultation to communities across four macro-regions: since March, the experts have held 263 in-person meetings and 382 online meetings in 567 communities in 22 regions of Ukraine – representing 40% of the communities in the country. As of October 2025, there had been over 300 such consultations, and since then their number has doubled. Almost 13,000 participants – including representative

Since the beginning of April this year, a team of experts – Yurii Orel, Alla Bondar, and Olena Hulenko – has held 10 consultation meetings in Poltava region: in Novoorzhytska, Romodanivska, Velykobahachanska, Hoholivska, Hrebinkivska, Lubenska, Myrhorodska, Shyshatska, Bilotserkivska, and Khorolska communities. ‘We have seen different communities. But there is one thing they all have in common – debates about specialised schools are becoming more practical. Meetings like thes

Luhansk region is one of those most affected by the war. Schools have been destroyed, infrastructure lost, and after months of anxiety and threats, in-person education remains impossible. Over the past six years, DECIDE has worked closely with communities in the region, helping to restore access to quality and safe education, implement reforms, and plan the strategic development of general secondary and vocational education. Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, noted,

The new Memorandum provides a broad framework for partnership and lays the foundations for long-term, systematic cooperation aimed to comprehensively develop education in communities. The document aims to strengthen the capacity of local self-government in implementing educational reforms, particularly with regard to ensuring the quality of education, developing specialised senior secondary schools, introducing a career guidance system, and fostering local democracy through e

On 16–17 April, a workshop on 'Development of Education in Communities' was held in Zhytomyr. The event was organised within the framework of professional training for heads of education departments in the communities of the region and marked the final stage of a professional development programme, which had been running in a blended format since 30 March, covered 17 topics, and engaged representatives from 66 communities. Key speakers at the event included: Nadiia Kuzmychova

«When does transportation become one of key factors in the accessibility of specialised education?» The reform of specialised secondary education in Ukraine, which is effectively a continuation of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform, provides for the creation of a network of lyceums, where students in Grades 10–12 will receive specialised secondary education from September 2027. The legal basis for this reform is primarily set out in the Law of Ukraine ‘On Education’ and th