Towards advance of the information society in Ukraine

V.V. Rumyantsev

Donetsk Physical & Technical Institute of NASU, Donetsk State University, This summary presents a combination of traditional education form with the distance one within the framework of new flexible institution in Ukraine. The appearance of the Newly Independent States caused radical economics reforms and changes. These produced strong modifications in the job market and hence in the education system. A transformation of the economy as well as evolution of social life in Ukraine confirms that we have to make an election of a development way in this point.

Donetsk region (Donbass) is the greatest industrial region in Ukraine. It produces nearly 20% of Ukrainian gross national product, has a population over than 5 million of people (10% in Ukraine) and covers approximately 4.4 % of Ukrainian territory. The capital of the region is Donetsk City. It has 19 institutions for higher education per 1.0 million of the population. Donbass is overloaded by old industry equipment. This generates social and ecological problems. Extremely high urban population (more than 90 %) with destroyed traditional culture enhances these problems. In higher school the pure technical component of education dominates in the region. This education needs in harmonisation and in intensification of the human component.

A state of educational system influences on the progress of the reforms in Ukrainian society and determines our future. That is why a choice of the corresponding forms and teaching methodologies is very important for us.

Density of information exchange had increased strongly with wide using of telecommunications. Global media and communication networks give the ability to carry higher education across borders with appreciable degrees of success. New education ways are forced with the background of worldwide trends toward globalisation of markets, communication, and culture. There are the growing needs for a shift from teaching to learning in an education process. These are modern demands on higher education in information society era. Thus we are coursed to advance our education system in accordance to the knowledge society tomorrow standards (for Ukraine). It means that distant, open and flexible education systems (such as virtual universities adding traditional ones) should play a progressive role in Ukrainian education policy.

Now Ukraine is very slowly moving towards the international society. Just few possibilities for specialists working in the field of distant, open and flexible learning has appeared quite recently in Donetsk. Within the framework of the academician institute (Donetsk Physical & Technical Institute) we have created the education division (Physics & Technology Department) having rights of the branch of the Physical Faculty of Donetsk State University. The goal of the Department is to bring modern technology and scientific experience of the National Academy of Sciences into student lecture-rooms and laboratories. We try to attract our best scientists to direct conversation with the students.
The basic educational directions are:

— telecommunication technologies,

— new materials physics and technology applications,

— management and technological policy.

Jointly with the Donetsk Institute for Management we have just started a new direction: Business Administration in Information Systems. The department closely collaborates with the Continuing Education School in Donetsk (a high-level school).

We try to combine traditional educational forms with the distance ones. Our telecommunication provider is a firm that is the greatest one in the Donetsk region.

Of course, we meet some problems. Now it is quite obvious that we have to solve pedagogical problems relating to advanced information technologies connecting different training forms. This fact is confirmed by choice of main topics for next conferences in the field (for example: Online Educa, Berlin, 1999, the last BIC Workshop, Vienna, 1999).

Other our problems relate to the advancement of the information society in Ukraine. These problems are as follows:

To implement modern courses into our educational system with the corresponding certification of the courses and teachers;

To include our activities in joint long-term European programs (with possible participation of our Department in the European Education System) such as European Virtual University and EuroPACE 2000;

To find some financial support for modernisation of our computer equipment;

To manage an international exchange for our students and teachers to give them some practice in use of modern facilities;

To elaborate student financial services and a methodology for an assistance them to get education using telecommunication in Ukraine.

We are looking for our own place in actions of EDEN.

The use of information technology (IT) and flexible teaching methods at traditional university requires the cultivation of new education philosophy. In its turn, the presence of the participants from different countries in the same educational space with IT makes a problem that reflects the interaction between different cultural traditions. I would like note that the learning with IT is a new cultural tradition as well and it is growing now. The consequences appearing from the impacts of different cultures (both national and technological) should be studied and prognosticated. These problems can be solved by joint efforts in the frame of international programs.

We shall overcome one day the current economical difficulties in Ukraine and we do everything to accelerate the approach of our country to the Open Society.