For the fourth year running, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv has been taking part in the NICE virtual exchange programme, which brings together students from universities participating in the consortium to work together to find solutions to the challenges facing the global community.
The NICE programme consists of two parts: online modules and a summer school which this time took place in the University College Dublin, Ireland.
The participation in the NICE programme started off by working as a part of a virtual team of students from the University of Edinburgh, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Padua, the University of Johannesburg, as well as the University College Dublin, to solve the global challenge.
The participation of KNU students in this programme is supported under KNU’s partnership with the University of Edinburgh and is a meaningful annual tradition.
Over a period of four months, 25 KNU students participated in the first part of the NICE (Network for Intercultural Competence to facilitate Entrepreneurship) virtual exchange programme.
This year, KNU was represented by the following structural units:
- Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations;
- Faculty of Economics;
- Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology
Summer School
In July 2026, 6 KNU students and NICE programme coordinator Arina Maliuha, Teacher at the Chair of Foreign Languages, Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations, member of the KNU International Relations Office, visited Dublin to participate in the NICE Summer School. During the action-packed week-long programme, which consisted of educational modules and cultural events, participants were asked to develop a proposal for making progress towards achieving one of the Sustainable Development Goals, using a game-based format, and taking the intercultural element into account. The students worked in intercultural teams, proving that friendship and cooperation know no boundaries.
The summer school’s cultural programme included a workshop in Irish folk dancing, a crash course in the Irish language, and visits to Dublin’s museums and cultural landmarks. The week concluded with a presentation of the students’ teamwork results to the panel – the university coordinators of the NICE consortium.
From the KNU side, the coordination of the NICE programme was supported by Roman Petyur, Anastasiia Pozhar and Arina Maliuha.
Students’ impressions on participating in NICE 2026 Summer School
