The close cooperation of Svitlana Manzer, the EBA's head of educational and integration projects, with the progressive private school Nest Academy, located in the town of Vyshneve near Kyiv, is already yielding results. The innovations are based on an integrated approach to student assessment and early career guidance. As a result, students receive not only theoretical knowledge but also practical experience, which becomes the basis for a conscious choice of their future profession.
The cooperation began with educational support and mentoring from the school administration. This was followed by a strategic session aimed at understanding how to combine Swiss approaches to teaching with Ukrainian methods and programs, and then ways to effectively implement them in the educational process.
“It was a very inspiring meeting,” recalls Yaroslava Dib, the school's director. “It raised a lot of questions, because we wanted to dive deeper into various aspects. This emotional, active work gave our team understanding and impetus to implement these innovations.” “The main task at this stage is to understand the needs of the child and find tools that can meet them. One of the goals of the cooperation is to provide career guidance to schoolchildren and understand how to work effectively with their parents to achieve this,” says Svitlana Manzer.
Emotional well-being is another area the school is implementing. “The idea to create the project came about after an educational trip to Switzerland and meeting Svitlana Manzer, and another well-known psychologist in educational circles, Maryna Prystynska, helped develop it,” recalls Yaroslava Dib. The work on it began with teachers, because when it comes to psychological support in difficult living conditions caused by the war, it is important to start with adults. Only when teachers have their own psychological comfort can they teach this to children!
At the meetings with Svitlana Manzer, the students' parents learned about the importance of practical experience. They immediately agreed to help. Now the school administration already has a list of professions and organizations that will be presented to the students. In particular, work in the IT sector, medical activities, manufacturing, education, business and finance, and tourism. The students will be able not only to see the real working conditions in various fields, but also to gain practical skills.
Recently, they visited Energoatom. The specialists gave an introductory lecture on the nuclear power industry of Ukraine and an interactive tour for schoolchildren. A pharmaceutical company was the next to invite the children to a tour. Now the administration of the Nest Academy private school plans to establish a supervisory board at the institution and visit Switzerland. As part of the educational tour, the school's delegation is scheduled to meet with Swiss teachers and visit several local schools. The Association will continue to provide support and advice to the school during the process of implementing new methods.
