Promotion of agricultural HEI efficiency is impossible without active international cooperation and integration into the global educational and research space, and thus into the leading Western European scientific institutions. Therefore, the development of bilateral and multilateral international contacts, educational and scientific projects are among the priorities of Sumy NAU. The international cooperation department, established in 1995 at SNAU, is responsible for the coordination of international activities.
Despite its relatively young age, Sumy national agrarian university is known as the center of international educational and scientific relations, since it views itself as an educational institution focused on Western educational and scientific standards.
Cooperation with foreign partners is implemented in various content areas using various organizational forms: from students and staff academic mobility, participation in international conferences, seminars, and round tables, to the implementation of joint educational programs and participation in projects jointly with various international scientific and educational organizations. International mobility programs do not only promote scientific and cultural exchange but also ensure sustainable development, as well as support innovation capacity. Currently, there are more than 150 concluded agreements (including more than 90 agreements with educational and scientific institutions) on cooperation with foreign partners from more than 25 countries. SNAU activities on the international educational level focus on long-term programs and projects that are implemented in order to improve the quality of educational and scientific activities and its coordination to the level of world standards.
SNAU is an official partner of The Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean Academic Network BSEMAN, Visegrad University Association and the international partner network on agricultural management. In addition, in 2020, the Observatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum decided to add Sumy national agrarian university as the Signatory University.
The university is proactively engaged into the implementation of grants on scientific and educational projects in collaboration with Erasmus+, the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Nestle Ukraine, Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine, Czech Development Agency and others. Such cooperation allows us to improve our scientific laboratory base, improve knowledge and skills of teaching staff, expand partnerships and provide our students with the opportunity to study during the semester in leading European universities, which significantly strengthens the position of Sumy NAU in the formation of practically oriented expert teams and strengthen cooperation ties with the agribusiness.
As part of the project “Support in Harmonization of Introduction of Bologna Principles at Ukrainian Agri-Universities, case study SNAU”, which is being implemented jointly with Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and with the financial support of the Czech Development Agency, a strategic internal document was developed – Policy for Quality Assurance of Sumy NAU. Sumy NAU has received the “Certificate of implementation of ESG policy”, which confirms that the university has introduced “Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area” into its Policy for Quality Assurance.
The international master course Master of Business Administration in Agriculture – MBA was established in cooperation with University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf, Germany, and can be viewed as a model of a comprehensive effective partnership It should be noted that this course has been successfully accredited by the Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute – ACQUIN. The objective of such an international accreditation is to confirm the full compliance of content and quality of SNAU educational process with European educational standards. Study under this course is conducted in Ukrainian, English and German. Students are required to spend at least one semester at German partner university and after successful completion of studies, they receive a double degree.
Among the strategic directions of Eastern partnership is dynamic cooperation with scientific institutions of the People’s Republic of China. Due to the complex distribution of educational and research resources, joint training of bachelors, masters and PhD students in the field of agriculture, veterinary medicine, food technologies, engineering, management, economics and law is carried out, which contributes to the internationalization of the educational process. The university has made significant progress in both educational and scientific partnerships, which can be confirmed by two intergovernmental research projects, permission from the Ministry of education of the People’s Republic of China to train bachelors in veterinary medicine, and others.
In the system of international relations, practical training and internship abroad hold a valuable place. During the practical training semester, students and graduates of our university gain professional skills and knowledge in various fields of agricultural business, study modern production technologies and improve their language proficiency. Annually more than 500 SNAU students undergo practical training or internship abroad for practical training in various professional areas.
Since 2010 foreign students can study at Sumy NAU. Admission of foreigners in all specialties is carried out based on the appropriate license. We offer foreign students the opportunity to study in English, Russian and Ukrainian. In addition, a Foreign students center was opened at the university, which was established in order to improve the efficiency of work with foreign students, as well as organizations and institutions located in other countries.
Therefore, it can be summed up that within the framework of the international activities of Sumy NAU, new formats of cooperation are being sought aimed at integrating the university into the world educational space, which provides an opportunity for the further qualitative development of Sumy NAU.