Forum «Science. Education. Business-2025»: cooperation of science, education and business for the victory and restoration of Ukraine
On November 11, 2025, the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine hosted the Forum «Science. Education. Business – 2025». This year, the main focus of discussion among lecturers, scientists and businesses was cooperation for the victory and restoration of Ukraine. More than 500 participants — CEOs of enterprises and companies of various fields, representatives of state authorities, people's deputies of Ukraine, rectors, vice-rectors, deans of leading universities of the country, scientists of Academies of Sciences, academic community — took part in this event, which rightfully confirmed the recognition of the forum as the main platform for the exchange of opinions, experience and the beginning of partnerships.
NUBiP of Ukraine met the distinguished guests with an exhibition-demonstration of scientific developments, implemented real cases of cooperation and proposals for new joint projects. After all, it is on the sidelines, acquaintances and dialogues over a cup of congratulatory coffee that interesting ideas are born.
This year, the main event of the forum was held in an elegant hall in a new format. The event began with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the russian-Ukrainian war, gratitude to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the opportunity to teach, research, and work in their country.
Rector of NUBiP of Ukraine Vadym TKACHUK addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. The head of the university thanked for the attention to this leitmotif of the Forum, the challenges that higher education, science, production, entrepreneurs, and the economy are facing today in the context of state restoration.
Deputy Minister of education and science of Ukraine Mykola TROFYMENKO noted that today NUBiP of Ukraine is a center of sustainability, noted the active activity of the employers' council and effective forms of cooperation with business. Today, the university is in the wake of training specialists in the real sector of the economy, who immediately go to work after receiving higher education, without having time for professional adaptation. Talented applicants notice this and choose to study at NUBiP of Ukraine on their own educational trajectory. Chairman of the supervisory board of the University Viktor BOYKO sincerely confessed his love for alma mater and called on the government and legislators to support education, science, and business in the pursuit of mutually beneficial cooperation, because Ukrainian society and the state benefit from this. Chairman of the employers' council Leonid TSENTYLO emphasized that the NUBiP of Ukraine in war conditions not only teaches and researches, but also organizes high-quality practical training and looks for ways to introduce innovations in production. In his opinion, it is our university that is the center of concentration of talents and ideas for solving the most pressing problems, forming policies in various industries. Adviser to the World Food organization Mykhailo MALKOV called NUBiP of Ukraine a strategic partner of FAO, a forge of personnel not only in the country's agro-industrial complex, but also in the organization's office in Ukraine, where university graduates mainly work. He also conveyed an official greeting from the FAO leadership.
After welcoming words, The Forum continued its work by hearing key speakers. As the host the rector Vadym TKACHUK presented the report "NUBiP of Ukraine as a driver of recovery, innovation and partnership". He named the main message of today, which is simple and at the same time strategic: science, education and business are not parallel worlds, but a single system that shapes the future. National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine has chosen the mission to be a platform where these worlds connect, creating shared solutions, initiatives, products, innovations, and policies. The rector named the key challenges of our time — climate change, land degradation, instability of the food system, digitalization of the economy, crisis of trust in society, demographic and migration changes, transformation of the educational and scientific system. Among them are six areas where these challenges are particularly noticeable: agriculture, nature management, higher education, humanities, science and innovation.
According to updated estimates of experts from the World Bank, the Government of Ukraine, the European Union, and the UN, as of the end of 2024, direct damage from the war reached 1 176 billion dollars, and recovery needs exceed 520 billion dollars. Unfortunately, these figures continue to grow throughout 2025, and most of these losses are accounted for by agriculture, ecology, infrastructure, education and science. It is in these sectors that the NUBiP of Ukraine works most actively. Scientists of the University joined the group on humanitarian demining under the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, interdisciplinary research groups (Ukrainian laboratory of quality and safety of agricultural products, agrobiological faculty, Institute of agricultural radiology, faculty of land management) implement projects to detect military-man-made soil and water pollution. With the financial support of the Ministry of education and science of Ukraine, a number of projects of technical, technological and innovative content are being implemented, aiming at the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies for soil restoration, the development of technology for their bioremediation, the design of working bodies and equipment for leveling the surface of damaged soil, the development of a risk-oriented concept for increasing the resistance of forests to fires and climate change, the creation of a complex of food technologies and methods for designing food rations for military personnel, the return to economic use of agricultural land withdrawn after the Chernobyl disaster, the regulation of the development of circular and blue economy in agriculture and fisheries, etc. The joint with business projects "Intelligent greenhouse complex management systems using a mobile robot", the digital platform "E-Dorada", which provides the implementation of distance learning for the needs of customers and the work of advisory services, new approaches to breeding, nutrition, human and animal health, etc., deserve attention.
NUBiP introduces new format of university education — education through innovation and partnership with business with a focus on practice-oriented learning and student-centrism. This includes the implementation of 158 Bachelor's, master's, and Doctor of philosophy educational programs in cooperation with stakeholders, as well as the implementation of a strategy for building a safe, non-volatile digital educational environment.
Rector Vadym TKACHUK noted that the University's capital is a reliable partnership. Mutually beneficial relationships with the business environment are embodied in the so-called success funnel. The interest of universities lies in the acquisition of relevant practical skills and abilities by applicants, access to modern infrastructure, mentoring programs and the first workplace. The interests of businesses also manifest themselves in providing themselves with trained personnel, often the best. Examples of successful practices of cooperation with business are scholarship competition programs from KUHN and MZURI companies. The pearl of university educational programs remains the master's program "AGROKEBETY" in cooperation with the Ukrainian club of agricultural business, where the top management of agricultural companies together with academic consultants provides mentoring to applicants of the Master's level. One of the principles — "from the assembly line to the classroom" is that in laboratories students learn on the equipment that is already used in production today. In 2024-2025 alone, more than 30 new educational and scientific laboratories were opened in NUBiP in cooperation or with the financial support of leading companies and institutions: KUHN, MZURI, Qweedo Robotics, LightGene, Horsh, JICA, "Continental Farmers Group" charity foundation, etc. Dozens of leading employers — KERNEL, "MXП" (Myronivskyi bread product), Bayer, KUHN, Syngenta, Karlsberg and others come to the university every year, offering internships, dual programs, employment and joint educational initiatives. NUBIP creates a culture of career development from the first courses – from soft skills to professional certification, from business interviews to startups. At the center of this process is the partnership: student — university — business.
NUBiP aims to be a national platform for discussing and solving current problems of the country's development, an example of which is today's event. We combine science, education, business and the public sector in a joint dialogue about the future, Vadym TKACHUK noted. Every year, the university hosts more than 200 conferences, forums, seminars and round tables dedicated to food security, sustainable development, digitalization, energy, veterinary medicine, psychology, humanities and innovations in the agricultural sector, etc. The university acts as an intermediary between science, education and business, ensuring the integration of knowledge into the real economy. It is thanks to this fact that NUBiP becomes a center of communication, innovation and solutions that contribute to the restoration of the country, allow us to clearly and academically formulate ways to improve the regulatory framework, and provide proposals to the authorities on the need to solve important tasks of restoration and development.
The rector of NUBiP of Ukraine Vadym TKACHUK proposed a roadmap for the partnership "Education – Science – Business", which provides for various formats of interaction with the business community and invited to its joint implementation.
Key reports were also presented by the forum guests. Chief researcher of the department of interaction between universities and society of the Institute of higher education of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine Olena ORZHEL revealed the essence of the pro-public University. Ahmad ARABKUKHSAR, head of the Smart Thermal Energy Systems Research Group of the department of civil and mechanical engineering of the Technical University of Denmark, presented the projects of the European Institute of innovation and technology for higher education institutions as successful examples of international scientific cooperation. Based on real cases, the report «Science, education, business: in practical terms» was presented by president of the NGO «Institute of geopolitics and strategic management» Vitaliy SKOTSYK.
Three discussion panels were held on the sidelines of the Forum. The first of them «Universities and government: strategic partnership for the restoration of Ukraine» was moderated by president of the University, academician of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences and National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Minister of education and science of Ukraine in 2005-2007 Stanislav NIKOLAENKO. Participation in the discussion about the present day of universities and problems of higher education, legislative initiatives, cooperation with academic communities was taken by people's deputy of Ukraine Ivan KYRYLENKO, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for agriculture in 2005-2006 Yuriy MELNYK, chairman of the state service of Ukraine for food safety and consumer protection Serhiy TKACHUK, general director of the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" Yuriy BOLOKHOVETS, rectors of T. Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Volodymyr BUHROV, National Technical University of Ukraine "Ihor Sikorskyi Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" Anatoliy MELNYCHENKO, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University of Ukraine Dmytro LUKYANENKO.
In the discussion on the second panel «From idea to implementation: an innovative economy system» took part the chairman of the University's employers' council Leonid TSENTYLO, consultant of the Ministry of education and science of Ukraine on public-private partnership and interaction of higher education institutions with the real sector of the economy from the World Bank's UIHERP project Maryna ZENOVA, general director of LLC NBA «Pearl of Podillia» Serhiy IVASHCHUK, director of the Institute of mechanics and automation of agro-industrial production of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences Valeriy ADAMCHUK, quality director of Agro-region group of companies Anastasia TYTARENKO, chairman of FG «Dragmi» MYkhailo DRAHANCHUK, head of the expert department of BTU-Center Viktoria KUZMYCH moderated by the vice-rector for research and innovative development Oksana TONKHA.
The third discussion panel «Synergy of business and universities: partnership that creates values» was led by the president of the NGO «Institute of geopolitics and strategic management» Vitaliy SKOTSYK. Reflections on business expectations from cooperation with the higher education institutions, competencies of the future, efficiency and lack of mechanisms for cooperation between companies and academic communities, motivation to invest in R&D projects, overcoming existing barriers were voiced by agricultural attaché of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Karolien SPAANS, CEO of Terra Food group of companies Serhiy OVCHARUK, director of JLLC «Agrofirma"Mayak» Oleksiy VASYLCHENKO, senior HR director at Carlsberg Ukraine Lyudmyla HOLYINSKA, founder of the farm «Tetiana 2011» (TM "ZINKA") Vasyl TSVYK, first vice-president of the All-Ukrainian Association of bakers Oleksandr TARANENKO, president of the Company «E-consulting» Andriy BEZGUBENKO, General Director of COFCO AGRI Resources Ukraine Volodymyr OSADCHUK, general director of the agricultural company Zorya Agro Group Iryna KOSTYUSHKO and a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy DASHCHENKO.
Applicants for higher education presented their reflections on innovation, the University and the state in short videos to the forum participants.
Later on the academic community and business representatives continued to discuss applied aspects and forms of cooperation in nine industry sections. Within the framework of the Forum, a meeting of the University's employers' council was also held, where its chairman Leonid TSENTYLO outlined the main areas of activity for the next period.
The result of the forum was a joint Appeal to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada, the government, international partners, communities and the business community.
Concluding the official part of the Forum, its host, the head of the department of cultural studies Iryna MAYDANIUK wished a speedy victory and peace, successful implementation of today's agreements and plan everyone's participation in SEB-2026 in their calendars.