Unbreakable Education: Another Batch of Computer Equipment Delivered to Ukraine from Scotland This week, as part of our Unbreakable Education project, another batch of computer equipment was delivered to Kyiv from Scotland for transfer to educational institutions in Ukraine.
Two thousand computers from the Scottish charity initiative Reusing IT, delivered to Ukraine these days, will be transferred to Ukrainian educators during March 2024 within the framework of the Unbreakable Education project, founded by the Educational Initiatives Foundation with the assistance of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The project has been operating in Ukraine since 2022 and helps teachers and students of Ukraine to continue the educational process in the conditions of war in a mixed and remote format, due to the establishment of digital educational centers, deployment of WiFi networks in shelters, and direct transfer of mobile and stationary gadgets to educational institutions that need them. The total demand and number of units of equipment transferred for educators in 2022-2024 are displayed in real time on the official dashboard of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine http://surl.li/jjxoj
The number of partners involved in supporting the digitalization of educational institutions in Ukraine is constantly growing. The collection of equipment takes place in the UK, the EU countries, the USA, and among socially responsible businesses in Ukraine.
In particular, the Unbreakable Education project has already received and transferred to educational institutions of Ukraine more than 500 high-quality refurbished laptops, computers, and servers, donated by Reusing IT (UK) and Megatrade (Ukraine), and during March 2024 the next large batches of equipment for the project will be transferred from these donors and the Nibulon company (Ukraine), two thousand computers of which have already been delivered to the warehouse of the project’s service partner in Ukraine, the IT-Integrator company, from Scotland thanks to the logistical assistance of Yorkshire Aid Convoy (UK). Fundraising for the restoration of the project equipment for Ukrainian educational institutions is taking place not only in Ukraine but also abroad, thanks to the involvement of the Hearts for Ukraine charity initiative (USA).
On March 12, 2024, a working meeting of the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations, and Digitalization of Ukraine Dmytro Zavhorodniy with the founders and charity partners of the Unbreakable Education project took place at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The meeting was attended by:
Anton Dziuba, Chairman of the Board of the Educational Initiatives Foundation (Ukraine) Nadiya Omelchenko, Founder of the Educational Initiatives Foundation (Ukraine) Yevhen Tarasov, Founder of Hearts For Ukraine (USA) Ross Cockburn, Founder of Reusing IT (UK) Gary Dooly, Volunteer at Yorkshire Aid Convoy (UK) Olena Masliy-Shyshova, HR Director of IT-Integrator (Ukraine) Yana Romanenko, HR Director of NIBULON, charity partner of the Unbreakable Education project (Ukraine) Olena Miroshnichenko, Administrative Director of Megatrade, Head of the Megatrade Workplace Challenge project, charity partner of the Unbreakable Education project (Ukraine). During the meeting, a four-party Memorandum of the participants of the Unbreakable Education project was signed and further plans for its development to support teachers and students of Ukraine were discussed.
You can apply to join the Unbreakable Education project by calling the free hotline of the Educational Initiatives Foundation 0 800 351 018 or on the website of the foundation www.eif.org.ua.
More information is available on the official portal of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine:
The Charity Program “Unbreakable Education”, launched by the Educational Initiatives Foundation with the assistance of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and support from development partners, aims to help provide access to distance education and improve the material and technical equipment of educational institutions.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, as of November 2023, 327,881 digital devices for children and 68,073 devices for teachers from socially vulnerable groups are currently needed to ensure access to distance learning. At the same time, the critical need for devices is 96,449 and 29,012 devices, respectively, for participants in the educational process from ten regions of Ukraine, where most schools operate in a mixed or online format. Therefore, further strengthening the material and technical base of educational institutions working remotely is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Education and Science and development partners.
First results of the project
In September-November 2023, as part of the Unbreakable Education Program, 480 PCs were received from the Scottish partner Reusing IT and sent to 22 educational institutions in 17 regions of Ukraine.The interactive public dashboard https://shorturl.at/givE1
In addition, in order to further fruitful cooperation to ensure the digitalisation of education in Ukraine, representatives of the Educational Initiatives Foundation and Hearts for Ukraine made a working visit to Scotland at the invitation of Reusing IT.
During the visit, many productive meetings were held with sponsors and partners of Reusing IT to take further steps to strengthen the material and technical base of Ukrainian educational institutions.
In particular, at a meeting with representatives of the global leader in the purchase, refurbishment and sale of equipment for corporate IT systems, we discussed the mechanics of cooperation with IT companies to buy back used equipment and implement charitable initiatives for further cooperation with partners in the United States.
With the logistics partner Reusing IT, we discussed organisational issues related to the next delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the amount of 2,000 computers for educational needs, which is expected in March 2024.
With representatives of Reusing IT, the largest donor, we discussed key issues such as the importance of building sustainable partnerships between businesses and charities, the mechanics of transferring devices for educational needs, and the company’s cooperation with Reusing IT.
During the meeting with the Reusing IT partners, the project team also discussed the possibility of supplying used work computers for reuse instead of recycling and disposal, in particular, Apple equipment, by involving representatives of Ukraine in negotiations with technology companies.
An important meeting was held between the project team and colleagues from the University of St Andrews, which is one of the main donors of equipment for Reusing IT (and later for Ukraine). As a result of the meeting, colleagues from the university plan to involve other Scottish higher education institutions in the program to collect and transfer used equipment to be donated to Ukrainian educational institutions.
What educational needs are already met with computer equipment.
As of November 2023, according to the Ministry of Education and Science, 135,805 units of computer equipment were donated as humanitarian aid for the needs of education, including:
• 96,011 units for the needs of teaching staff;
• 38,441 units for the needs of students;
• to improve the material and technical support of educational institutions, including computer science classrooms – 1,353 units.
All information about the equipment received, including the level of the educational institution, types of users, and partners who provided the transfer, can be tracked through an interactive public dashboard created and presented by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Digital Transformation in July this year.
Next steps and new opportunities
The implementation of the Unbreakable Education Program continues and mobilises even more development partners.
In particular, together with the American foundation “Hearts for Ukraine”, we plan to expand the programme in the United States to collect devices from American Silicon Valley companies, similar to the mechanics of Reusing IT in Scotland.
“Socially responsible companies in Ukraine also have the opportunity to take part in the project,” says Nadiia Omelchenko, Project Founder, Advisor to the Directorate of Digital Transformation at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The equipment that is transferred to the Educational Initiatives Foundation to meet the needs of Ukrainian educational institutions under the Unbreakable Education Project must meet three parameter:
• no critical damage or scratches on the monitor;
• have a memory capacity of at least 3 GB;
• network and Wi-Fi equipment in any condition.
To donate such equipment and participate in the Unbreakable Education Project, you can contact the all-Ukrainian toll-free hotline at 0 800 351 018.
Children are our future. Ensuring their education today should be a priority for every socially responsible enterprise in Ukraine.
With the support of Megatek, a set of network equipment has been handed over to one of the higher education institutions in Ukraine.
The network equipment will ensure the operation of three educational computer labs for working with students.
By the way, in the latest enrollments, this educational institution has 50% female students, and up to 50% of the instructors are also women. Gender balance in action in cybersecurity!
Join us! Together we can do more!
Thanks to Nova Poshta Humanitarian for assistance!
Representatives of the “Educational Initiatives Fund,” Nadia Omelchenko and Oleksandra Syniak, handed over books by modern Ukrainian authors to replenish the library of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Edinburgh!
During the preparation for a working trip to Scotland, we could not ignore the issue of the lack of Ukrainian books in the families of refugees abroad. Most importantly, we wanted to bring children’s books to preserve the bedtime reading ritual and engage older children in reading Ukrainian literature!
Contacting AUGB Edinburgh, we learned that the need for Ukrainian books is indeed there, and it’s fantastic news that we have the opportunity to enrich the Association’s library.
We handed over books by modern Ukrainian authors: Andriy Kokotyukha, Iren Rozdobudko, Viktor Andriienko, Dasha Malakhova, Kateryna Yehorushkina, and other authors. All books were signed by the authors! Interestingly, the books we provided constitute perhaps half of the entire Ukrainian library of the Association.
In total, since the beginning of the war, over 20 thousand families from Ukraine have arrived in Scotland. AUGB Edinburgh takes care of Ukrainian citizens, helping them not only adapt to the new country but also maintain a connection with Ukraine – receive communication, education, and leisure activities among like-minded people.
The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), founded in 1946, is the largest representative body of Ukrainians and immigrants from Ukraine in the UK. With the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Association gained new life! Members of AUGB Edinburgh actively assist Ukrainians in Scotland and also collect humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
They conduct various activities for children and adults, English language courses, clubs, and plan to launch a Ukrainian school. We are very grateful to AUGB Edinburgh for the warm welcome and for the Great work you do for Ukrainians!
We are confident that together we can implement educational initiatives for Ukrainian families and children in Scotland ! The charitable book project “Good Night” continues! We receive requests from Ukrainian communities abroad asking to collect books for Ukrainian families!
We ask our subscribers, colleagues, partners, and all caring people to join our book collection and spread the information among your friends!
The team of the Educational Initiatives Fund, with the support of our partner Royal Canin, has helped one of the special units provide special food for their service dogs, who, together with the military, perform important tasks and contribute to Victory!
Approximately 400 kg of food has been provided for the needs of the service dogs.
We are grateful to Royal Canin for your care for animals and the assistance you provide! It is priceless! ❤
The Educational Initiatives Fund, with the support of national and international partners, continues to provide assistance to students in organizing the educational process to ensure equal access to knowledge for children, despite external circumstances.
Thanks to the charitable foundation Alight (USA), the Fund’s team has provided 39 4G tablets with keyboard cases to the students of Kulykivsky Lyceum in Kulykivka, Chernihiv Oblast. Currently, the educational institution operates in a blended learning format with 800 students who are transported to the lyceum by school buses from surrounding villages. The lyceum includes students whose families have faced difficult circumstances due to the war. During remote learning days, children can only find a workspace for studying in local community centers, where adults try to help with organizing the education of these students.
The provided tablets will help students stay in learning mode daily, even on days of online classes. This will undoubtedly improve the quality of education. A training day was conducted with students and their teachers to ensure the effective use of the tablets for learning.
In addition, the STEAM train Educational Center, as an official representative of Microsoft, has deployed the Microsoft 365 platform for the lyceum free of charge, enabling high-quality and secure organization of distance and blended education.
The team of the Educational Initiatives Fund is grateful to the partners for their assistance in organizing the educational process for the children of Kulykivsky Lyceum! Together, we are doing an extremely important job!
Special thanks to the STEAM train Educational Center! We are also grateful to Nova Poshta Humanitarian for their assistance!
Join our activities! Active projects can be found on the Fund’s website: https://eiforgua.site/
