BIG-U Project Advances with Completion of Needs Analysis and Preparation of Capacity-Building Activities
17.07.2026
PRESS RELEASE
BIG-U Project Advances with Completion of Needs Analysis and Preparation of Capacity-Building Activities
The Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education project BIG-U – Bridging the Internationalisation Gap in Ukraine’s HEIs has successfully completed an important milestone with the finalisation of the Needs Analysis Report developed under Work Package 2. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the current state of internationalisation, institutional capacity and training needs across the participating Ukrainian higher education institutions operating in specialised sectors such as security, law enforcement, customs and civil protection.
The analysis was developed through a mixed-method approach combining institutional audits, surveys and consultations involving more than 1,500 stakeholders, including academic staff, students and administrative personnel from the partner universities. The findings confirm a strong institutional commitment toward internationalisation and European integration, while also highlighting a number of practical challenges that continue to limit participation in international academic and research activities.
Among the main findings emerging from the report are the need to strengthen English-language competences for academic and professional purposes, improve institutional capacities for managing international projects, modernise teaching methodologies, and enhance digital and virtual internationalisation practices. The report also highlights the remarkable resilience demonstrated by Ukrainian universities in maintaining educational continuity and international cooperation despite the current geopolitical context.
Building on these results, the European partners of the consortium are now working on the design and preparation of the upcoming training activities under Work Package 3. The future capacity-building programme will focus on several priority areas identified through the needs analysis, including:
- English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in academic and professional contexts;
- International project development and grant management;
- Internationalised pedagogy and English-medium instruction;
- Operationalisation of internationalisation strategies and institutional governance;
- Virtual internationalisation and digital collaboration frameworks.
The training activities aim to provide Ukrainian higher education institutions with practical tools and methodologies to strengthen their internationalisation capacity, increase participation in Erasmus+ and other EU programmes, and further integrate into the European Higher Education Area.
The consortium is currently refining the structure and delivery modalities of the training programme in close cooperation with all project partners, ensuring that the activities respond effectively to the specific realities and operational environments of the participating institutions.
As part of the next implementation phase, a second international training mobility is planned to take place in Brussels after the summer period, where partners will continue collaborative work on internationalisation strategies, governance approaches and future implementation steps based on the evidence gathered during the needs analysis phase.
The BIG-U project continues to strengthen cooperation between Ukrainian and European higher education institutions, contributing to the long-term resilience, modernisation and international integration of the Ukrainian higher education sector.
