Cooperation between Ukraine and the People’s Republic of China in the field of education is one of the main priorities of bilateral relations. The primary mechanism for its implementation on governmental level is the Subcommission on cooperation in the field of education established in 2011 in the framework of the Commission on Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of China.
The First meeting of the Subcomission was held on 28 March 2012 in Sanya, Hainan province, China. During the meeting, the Plan of priority measures for the development of Ukraine-China cooperation in the field of education for 2012-2014 was approved. The parties also signed the updated interministerial Agreement on cooperation in the field of education that increased the number of state scholarships from 25 to 100.
The First Forum of Rectors of Ukrainian and Chinese Universities was also held on 28 March 2012. Leaders of 19 Ukrainian and 14 Chinese universities from different regions of both countries attended this event. The issues of development of interuniversity cooperation, harmonization of bachelor's and master's programs, introduction of English-language master's programs in higher educational institutions of both countries were discussed.
The Second meeting of the Subcommission, chaired by Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine L.Hrynevych and Minister of Education of China Chen Baosheng, was held on 23 June 2017 in Kyiv. The parties agreed to increase the number of state scholarships from 100 to 120, to develop Ukrainian and Chinese language competitions in both countries and to promote the development of centers of Ukrainian studies in China and Chinese language and culture centers in Ukraine.
The Second Forum of Rectors was also held on 23 June 2017. Representatives of 14 Chinese and 26 Ukrainian universities participated it. During the Forum, 7 direct agreements on interuniversity cooperation in the field of education and science were concluded.
In December 2017, the Agreement on cooperation in the field of education between the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China for the next five years was signed.
The Third meeting of the Subcommission, chaired by Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine R.Hreba and Deputy Minister of Education of China Sun Yao was held on 12 June 2019 in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, China. Following the meeting, the Action Plan of the Subcommission on cooperation in the field of education for 2019-2021 was approved (the document identifies priority areas for bilateral educational cooperation for both countries) as well as a number of cooperation agreements between Ukrainian and Chinese universities were concluded.
Within the framework of the Subcomission, the Third Forum of Rectors with the participation of 12 universities from Ukraine and 20 universities from China took place.
The Fourth meeting of the Subcommission was held on 23 June 2021 in Kyiv and Chernihiv, as well as in Beijing and Dalian (by videoconference format). As its result, the Action Plan for Cooperation in Education for 2021-2023 was approved. It outlines the further steps for implementation in priority areas of cooperation for both sides, in particular:
- exchanging information on reforms and new approaches in educational spheres of both countries;
- holding joint events between the relevant ministries of Ukraine and China, universities of both countries, to exchange experiences and best practices in the context of creation and operation of digital educational platforms for distance education in the pandemic era;
- providing comprehensive support for the studying of language, literature and culture of both countries and promoting the activities of existing and the establishment of new centers of Ukrainian studies in China and Confucius Institutes in Ukraine.
Within the framework of the Fourth Meeting, as well as on the occasion of celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership between Ukraine and China (20 June 2011), the inaugural ceremony of the Alliance of Ukrainian and Chinese Universities took place.
49 Ukrainian and 92 Chinese higher education institutions joined the Alliance. It was founded with the aim of expanding cooperation and exchanges of modern teaching methods, responding to today’s challenges in a pandemic era, and creating conditions for the provision of modern quality distance education using digital technologies. The priority areas of Alliance’s activity are:
- development of academic mobility for scientific and pedagogical staff,
- creation of teaching and research teams;
- opening of joint laboratories and educational centers;
- development of academic mobility;
- introduction of modern online education technologies, etc.
The Alliance is coordinated by National University “Chernihiv Polytechnic” (Ukraine) and Dalian University of Technology (China).
With the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the level of educational exchanges between Ukraine and China has decreased. There were 3090 citizens of Ukraine have been studied in China in the 2018-2019 academic year, but in 2019-2020 this number decreased to 2290, and in 2020-2021 – to 1830. As of May 2022, 1505 students from Ukraine study in China.
There are 11 Centers of Ukrainian studies founded in the educational institutions of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai (2), Dalian, Wuhan, Ha’erbin (3), Xi’an and Zhejiang.
There are also six Confucius institutes at T.Shevchenko Luhansk National University, T.Shevchenko Kyiv National University, Kyiv National Linguistic University, P.Tchaikovskyi National Music Academy of Ukraine, V.Karazin Kharkiv National University and K.Ushinskyi South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University.
Ukrainian language in China is taught in seven educational institutions in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Dalian, Henshui, Xi'an and Wuhan.
In 2018, the online resource UkraineNOW was launched. There are a lot of useful information about our country as well as additional information about the education in Ukraine in the section "STUDY" (гіперпосилання: https://ukraine.ua/study/) of the mentioned website.
The main information source on higher education in Ukraine for foreigners is the Ukrainian State Center for International Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Via the Center’s website (гіперпосилання: https://studyinukraine.gov.ua) applicants can get general information about the curriculum, admission procedure and other practical advice. In addition, through the site, applicants have the opportunity to apply online for study at any higher education institution in Ukraine. The services provided by the Center include: checking the applicants’ documents, assistance in choosing a university and curriculum, assistance in submitting documents to a higher education institution, receiving an invitation to study, visa support, organizing a meeting at the airport.