Within the framework of the “Boosting Education Quality and Entrepreneurial Mindsets for Natural Sciences in Ukraine - BOOSTSCIENCE” European project, the “Reshaping Ukrainian and European Universities” workshop was organised online, on 2nd July 2026 with great success, bringing together more than 60 participants from universities, research institutions, businesses, and innovation ecosystem actors from Greece, Spain, and Ukraine.
The event provided a dynamic forum for exploring how universities can strengthen the connections between science, education, entrepreneurship, and industry across Chemistry, Biology, and Biotechnology. The workshop was moderated by David Alonso García from Leanspots (Spain), Associate Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid - entrepreneur, startup mentor, and expert in educational innovation and knowledge transfer – and examined how research findings and academic expertise can be transformed into tangible opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and skills development.
Specifically, the sessions were launched with an introduction to the BOOSTSCIENCE project by Prof. Kyriakos Bourikas from the Hellenic Open University-HOU (Greece). Then, Assistant Prof. Magda Spella at HOU, presented the project’s progress and key achievements, highlighting one of the major results regarding the analysis of the educational needs of students, researchers, and businesses. These findings will feed the development of a methodological framework for a new educational course while helping to strengthen collaboration among universities, innovation ecosystems, and industry.
Ukrainian BOOSTSCIENCE partner universities and business organisations (namely, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University, Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University, State Scientific Institution “Institute for Single Crystals” of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, FK Biotek Ltd., and Research and Production Enterprise Ukrorgsyntez) contributed valuable insights into the challenges currently being faced by higher education, research and industry in Ukraine. They stressed the importance of stronger university–industry collaboration, greater innovation capacity, and closer alignment between academic education and labour-market needs.
In addition, and through this lens, the labour-market actors highlighted the competencies that will be essential for the future, including practical skills, interdisciplinary expertise, and graduates’ ability to adapt to rapidly evolving research and innovation environments.
A key feature of the event was the roundtable discussion on “Making Connections beyond Academia”, moderated by César López from Leanspots (Spain). The session included a guest keynote lecture by Prof. José M. Pingarrón (Prof. of Chemistry at the Complutense University of Madrid, founding member of the Innovative Companies Forum, former Secretary General for Universities at the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) on the importance of strengthening the links between universities, science, and industry. The discussion evolved vividly and brought together perspectives from academia, research organisations, biotechnology companies, and the pharmaceutical sector.
Undoubtedly, the impact of the BOOSTSCIENCE workshop extends far beyond a single event. It helped establishing a shared vision of how Ukrainian and European universities can develop more relevant educational pathways, respond more effectively to business and labour-market needs, and build stronger innovation ecosystems in which science, business, and society work together. HOU, involved in the project with the Laboratory of Chemistry, the Laboratory of Biology, and the Dynamic Ambient Intelligent Sociotechnical Systems (DAISSy) Research Group, under the scientific coordination of Professor of Chemistry Kyriakos Bourikas, is thankful and proud about this outcome and continues its active coordination of all BOOSTSCIENCE activities and deliverables.
BOOSTSCIENCE is a three-year project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme (Capacity Building in Higher Education / ERASMUS-EDU-2025-CBHE-STRAND-2, Project No. 101237769) of the European Union.
Keep following the project’s implementation for the latest news, results, and accomplishments, in the months ahead!
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
