Abstract:

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has significantly affected Ukraine's higher education system. Students and faculty need to relocate and conduct teaching and learning online and remotely instead of meeting physically at campus. There is substantial infrastructure damage to universities, electricity and facilities in general in the country. Furthermore, the war impacts on students and teachers wellbeing and health. The Swedish Institute funded a capacity building program for university teachers in Ukraine to support: "U-Train - Training to Teach Online in Wartime and After", 2023-2024. Stockholm university and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv were the partners in this program which addressed the digital transformation from campus to online teaching to maintain education continuity in higher education. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a the capacity-building program.

The specific research questions are:
1. How did Ukrainian teachers perceive the ICT capacity-building program?
2. According to Ukrainian teachers, what were the most significant outcomes of the program?

A mixed method approach was used including an online survey, participant observations of online seminars, and document analysis of final reports written by teachers about their Online Course Improvement Activity (OCIA). The survey results demonstrated the program's overall positive adoption with participants acknowledging advancements in teaching practices and professional growth. Notably, the online seminars which covered topics from AI integration in higher education to digital examinations received excellent feedback confirming their usefulness and efficacy in enhancing teaching skills. Challenges such as unreliable Internet connectivity and frequent interruptions because of bomb alarms and adjusting to new teaching methods were identified. The OCIA initiatives included a variety of activities aimed at meeting specific educational needs identified by the teachers themselves in their own courses such as how to assess arabic writing skills on a distance, updating legal education, improving botany courses, ICT in mathematics courses, and so on. In conclusion, the ICT capacity-building program has been effective in improving the overall skills of teachers during the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian teachers appreciated the capacity program´s contribution in addressing disruptions and problems when conducting courses during challenging times. Despite facing obstacles like unreliable internet access and power cuts the educators valued the program for fostering resilience, professional development, and collaboration, highlighting its significance in enhancing teaching approaches in wartime conditions. The most significant outcomes of the capacity-building program according to the Ukrainian teachers were advancements in technological proficiency (100%), better student engagement (67%), and collaborative opportunities (67%). Furthermore, they learned new teaching methodologies and were inspired to explore topics such as AI integration in education, digital assessment methods, and student well-being concerns indicating a continued focus on technology integration and addressing significant educational obstacles. The participants expressed a strong interest in being being part of an extended and scaled-up version of this program which ends in June 2024.

Keywords:

Ukraine, Higher education, Online learning, Conflict, Capacity-building, ICT, Mixed-methods approach, Surveys, Participant observations, Document analysis.