Academic staff of the faculty of design and engineering completed professional development at the Technical University of Denmark
On September 25-October 04, 2026, Associate Professors Nataliia TSYVENKOVA and Liubov SHYMKO from the department of technical service and engineering management, as well as Professor Yuriy ROMASEVYCH from the department of machine design and equipment, visited the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Copenhagen. During their stay, the instructors participated in a four-day professional development course «Teaching Human-Centered Innovation.»
This course is part of the activities within the framework of the COPILOT project, which is implemented with the support of the EIT HEI initiative «Innovation capacity building for higher education institutions». The course, which included faculty from Denmark, Great Britain, North Macedonia, and Cyprus in addition to our instructors, was led by educational program developer Kirsten FROM. During the classes, participants became acquainted with modern teaching approaches that combine technical training with an understanding of user needs. Special attention was paid to how to apply these approaches in higher education programs. Our instructors plan to use the acquired knowledge and practical tools in the educational process to update educational components.
In addition, the instructors met and discussed the prospects of project activities with the vice-rector for educational affairs at DTU, Jens OLGAARD DUUS, and the COPILOT project manager, Ahmet ARABKUKHSAR. The parties discussed the implementation of the project's results, the integration of human-centered innovative approaches into educational programs, and further opportunities for academic cooperation between partner universities.
Directions for joint work within the project and the involvement of faculty colleagues and students in future initiatives were discussed separately. Our instructors presented the project manager, Akhmat ARABKUKHSAR, with a copy of the textbook «Sustainable Energy in Agriculture,» which is a collaborative work by the authors Hennadiy HOLUB, Ivan ROHOVSKYI, Akhmat ARABKUKHSAR, Natalia TSYVENKOVA, Andres ONRUBIY, Saveliy KUKHARETS, Volodymyr NADYKTO, and Oleh MARUS.
The visit program was supplemented by an excursion to SkyLab, an innovative space at DTU, where participants met with development teams working on technical and technological solutions for business and production. They learned how ideas are transformed into practical products, how interdisciplinary teams work, and how university science interacts with entrepreneurship.
This experience would be useful for the development of the innovative and entrepreneurial component in the faculty's educational and scientific activities.
Participation in the COPILOT project opens up new opportunities for the faculty of engineering and design to update teaching methodologies, develop international contacts, and prepare joint projects with partners from Denmark and other countries. The knowledge gained and agreements reached will form the basis for further international cooperation.