Kherson State University

In June 2025, the Academic Council of Kherson State University approved the results of the international internship of teachers of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work: Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Kostyuchkov S.K. and Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor Shvets T.M.

The international internship took place from March 17 to April 18, 2025 as part of the International Spring School "Inclusion, Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship. Social Innovations for Community Development and Youth Engagement" for students, applicants, young scientists, postgraduates, doctoral candidates, researchers, teachers, representatives of professional communities and civil society (Genoa (Italy) - Berlin (Germany) - Kyiv - Melitopol (Ukraine)).

On June 24, 2025, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work Shvets T.M. joined the event "Care Reform: Transformation of Social Services in Ukraine", organized by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

In response to the challenges caused by the full-scale war, internal displacement of Ukrainians, economic and demographic changes, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine began the transformation of the social services system. The achievements and future changes in the field were presented at the event "Care Reform: Transformation of Social Services in Ukraine".

On June 10-11, 2025, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work Shvets T.M. took part in the forum "Days of Educational Leadership", organized by the National University "Zaporizhzhya Polytechnic". The forum was held with the support of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education, the National Qualifications Agency, the National Service of Ukraine for Civil Service Issues, the All-Ukrainian Association of Regional Employer Organizations of Enterprises of the Metallurgical Complex "Federation of Metallurgists of Ukraine", and the NGO "Progressive".

Forum topic: "University 2030: Education of the Future"

The goal of the forum: to create a space for strategic dialogue and the formation of a common vision of the transformation of universities as active agents of social change that provide quality education, support innovation, contribute to the development of communities and respond to the challenges of the economy of the future.

The forum aimed to unite the efforts of educators, business, government, and the civil sector to build new models of partnership, project interaction, and training specialists capable of operating in conditions of rapid change and uncertainty.

Today, June 18, 2025, the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work successfully completed the defense of qualification works within the framework of the state final certification of applicants for the first (bachelor's) level of higher education in the specialty 231 Social Work. The examination commission, consisting of the chairman of the commission Bely Dementiy Vasylyovych, deputy chairman, head of the department Professor Kostyuchkov Serhiy Karpovich, and associate professor Shvets Tetyana Mykhailivna, announced their results to the applicants. Summing up, the chairman of the state certification commission Bely Dementiy Vasylyovych noted the sufficiently high quality of the works, thematic diversity and practical orientation.

We congratulate the members of the department on another graduation of specialists in the specialty 231 Social Work, and we congratulate the applicants on a new stage in life and wish them a promising future in invincible free Ukraine!

Today, June 17, 2025, at the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work, within the framework of the State Certification, a comprehensive certification exam began for applicants for the first (bachelor's) level of higher education in the specialty 231 Social Work of full-time and part-time study. The Dean of the Faculty, Professor Shaposhnykova Iryna Vasylivna, congratulated applicants and members of the commission on the start of the State Certification. The commission meeting was chaired by Bely Dementiy Vasylovich - Head of the Kherson Regional Public Organization of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine. All applicants successfully passed the state exam. We wish you success in defending your qualification papers.

Students of the Social Work specialty and teachers of the department took part in the event as part of the All-Ukrainian program “How are you?” - an initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, the purpose of which is to create an open space for dialogue between higher education institutions that train specialists in the field of psychology, social work and mental health, and practitioners who already implement psychosocial support services in communities.

For the high-quality preparation of the winner of the II stage of the All-Ukrainian competition-defense of scientific and research works of students-members of the Small Academy of Sciences in the section "Sociology", associate professor of the department Cherkashina T.O. was awarded a diploma from the Department of Education and Science of the Kherson Regional State Administration. Cherkashina T.O. prepared a 10th grade student of the Kherson Scientific Lyceum of the Kherson Regional Council Fertak Ksenia to participate in the All-Ukrainian competition, where they took 1st place at the II stage and 3rd place at the III stage of defense of scientific and research works. We congratulate the winners and wish them further success in their scientific and research activities.

On June 3, 2025, the department held a final pre-defense of qualification theses for applicants for the first (bachelor's) level of higher education in the Social Work specialty 231 Social Work full-time and part-time study. All applicants presented presentation materials and answered the questions posed. By the decision of the department, all graduates were admitted to the defense of qualification theses within the framework of the state final certification.

During the month, from March 17 to April 18, 2025, as part of the International Spring School "Inclusion, Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship. Social Innovations for Community Development and Youth Engagement" for students, applicants, young scientists, postgraduate students, doctoral students, researchers, teachers, representatives of professional communities and civil society (Genoa (Italy) - Berlin (Germany) - Kyiv - Melitopol (Ukraine)), an international internship was held, which was joined by teachers of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work, Associate Professor Shvets Tetyana Mykhailivna and Professor Kostyuchkov Serhiy Karpovich. The internship resulted in obtaining new working tools from the best European practices in the field of social responsibility and inclusion, social cohesion, intercultural dialogue, ideas of social innovations and principles of community engagement for the sustainable development of universities and society. The total number of hours/credits of the international internship is 180 hours (6 ECTS credits) with corresponding certificates upon completion.

On April 7, 2025, a meeting of the department was held at which the associate professor of the department, deputy dean for organizational and educational work and employment Shvets T.M. provided information on the employment of graduates of educational programs implemented by the department. The members of the department discussed in detail the status of the issue of employment of graduates and made decisions, namely: the guarantors of educational programs of the first (bachelor's) level of higher education implemented at the department, to deepen work with bachelor's graduates regarding the continuation of their studies at the second (master's) level of higher education; the guarantor of the educational program of the second (master's) level of higher education implemented at the department, to deepen work with master's graduates regarding the continuation of their studies at the third (educational and scientific) level of higher education; The guarantors of educational programs implemented at the department should intensify their work with stakeholders in order to expand the opportunities for graduates of educational programs to find employment in their specialty after completing their studies.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1b6Ajq576Qcb54uFLPxBKdD2hZ7lWtwnz/edit?slide=id.p3#slide=id.p3

On March 28, 2025, a final conference was held for applicants of the third (educational and scientific) and second (master's) levels of higher education on industrial practice. The event was attended by: Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology, Head of Industrial Practice of the third (educational and scientific) level of higher education Iryna Shaposhnykova, Head of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work, Head of Industrial Practice of the second (master's) level of higher education Serhiy Kostyuchkov, Head of the Social and Psychological Service of KhSU Darya Domanchuk, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work, Member of the Examination Committee Volodymyr Hurich. 

According to the results of the reports, the applicants received high-level grades.

On March 24, 2025, a meeting of working groups of specialties C5 Sociology, I10 Social Work and Counseling of 3 levels of higher education was held, namely: the first (bachelor's), second (master's) and third (educational and scientific). In accordance with the order of the rector No. 22 dated March 11, 2025 "On the planned revision of educational programs of all levels of higher education in 2025", the guarantors presented the update of the OPP and ONP. The meeting was attended by all guarantors of educational programs, members of working groups, representatives of the department and stakeholders: Dmytro Mutsenko, director of the Kherson Regional Center of Social Services, external stakeholder; Rostyslav Yevsyukov, a first (bachelor's) level higher education student of the 07-211 group of full-time study, an internal stakeholder from among higher education students; Kateryna Popova, a second (master's) level higher education student, head of the academic group 07-111M of full-time study, an internal stakeholder from among higher education students; Igor Prystay, a third (educational and scientific) level higher education student, an internal stakeholder from among higher education students. The guarantors informed those present about the changes in educational programs. The draft OPP and ONP were discussed and approved with their subsequent publication and public discussion.

During March 14-18, teachers from different universities in 9 cities of Ukraine worked on mastering and implementing interactive teaching methods for the civic education course "Democracy: From Theory to Practice".

The Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work of KhSU was represented by Associate Professor Volodymyr Hurich.

Starting in 2018, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has been implementing an innovative and interactive civic education course "Democracy: From Theory to Practice" for higher education institutions (HEIs).

The goal of the course is to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the effective participation of young people in the country's democratic processes in the digital age.

During four days of intensive work, trainers, together with colleagues from the HEI in Lviv, presented and shared their experience of including three components in the educational process: curriculum and course materials; interactive methods of teaching civic education; a community action project developed and implemented by students.

About the project activity itself, an interesting form of presentation was the student panel, where applicants and applicants for higher education of various specialties presented their achievements and talked about expectations, practice and impressions of the course.

10 interactive forms of learning and the formation of democratic principles of group work on current examples were tested and analyzed. Most colleagues agreed that such forms of mastering materials can be applied when studying other courses, as they increase the level of involvement and responsibility of applicants. This was confirmed by those who already have experience teaching both DVT and as a main educational component.

The first step was taken to join Kherson State University to a wide network of educational institutions of Ukraine that have implemented the civic education program "Democracy: from theory to practice."

Order No. 132-D On the implementation of the decision of the Academic Council of Kherson State University dated February 24, 2025 “On the results of scientific and scientific-technical activities of Kherson State University for 2024 and priority tasks for 2025” determined a high level of publication activity of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work with an activity coefficient of 3.17. This is the best indicator at the university, which indicates the growing interest of our scientists in increasing the overall rating of the department.

On March 12, a meeting for entrants was held at the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology. About 100 entrants for both bachelor's and master's degrees joined the "Education pro" workshop. Among the participants of the event were Ukrainian children who are currently teaching in one of the schools in Wrocław.

The meeting was attended by: Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology Iryna Shaposhnykova, heads of departments, teachers and staff. Executive Secretary of the Admissions Committee Yuriy Yurchuk and Head of the Admissions Committee Department Nadiya Starodubets.

The event was moderated by the Head of the Department of History, Archaeology and Teaching Methods Natalia Kuzovova. She spoke in detail about the advantages of studying at this faculty, the specialties presented there, and the university's digital services, including KSUonline KSU24. She also told the applicants about the opportunity to undergo free preparation for the NMT at KhSU.

Potential applicants were told about the conditions of admission and innovations of this year's 2025 admission campaign. The head of the admissions department, Nadiya Starodubets, focused on the possibility of admission to a master's degree through vouchers, which allows applicants of certain categories to obtain a second higher education.

After the speeches, future applicants had the opportunity to ask questions that interested them.

On March 13, 2025, representatives of the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work, Professor Serhiy Kostyuchkov and Associate Professor Tetyana Shvets, joined the work of the Round Table "Formation and Measurement of Human Capital", which was held at the Institute of Higher Education of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The following issues were discussed at the event: the concept and structure of human capital as invested labor potential; a review of research on the problems and development of human capital; approaches to measuring human capital; the role of education, in particular higher education, in the formation of human capital; the influence of health as a factor in the formation and development of human capital. The work of the round table was held in an atmosphere of sincere interest of scientists in the future restoration of Ukraine.

A graduate of the specialty "Social Work" Pashchenko Oksana Yuriivna is the deputy director of the Territorial Center for Social Services (provision of social services) of the Suvorov district of the city of Kherson, received the medal "Cross of Freedom" for selfless service to the Freedom and Independence of the Ukrainian people. Ms. Oksana is an official stakeholder of the educational and professional program "Social Work and Counseling" for the training of specialists at the second (master's) level of higher education.

On February 27, 2025, as part of the Summit "360°: Youth, Education, Innovations" on the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of the Higher Education Institution "University of Future Transformation", a conference was held dedicated to discussing topical issues of synergy of education, science and business in the era of global transformations. The event brought together scientists, experts, and business representatives to exchange experience and research results.

The speaker at the conference was Iryna SHAPOSHNYKOVA, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Education of Ukraine, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology, Professor of the Department of Philosophy of Sociology and Social Work, with the topic "Social Elevators in Education: How Access to Knowledge Changes Life".

The conference participants shared their own successful practices, discussed the problems and prospects for strengthening the synergy of education, science and business. Particular attention was paid to the importance of the role of modern educational institutions not only in providing educational services, but also in forming a harmonious socialized personality with developed empathy. The organizers expressed their gratitude to all participants and invited them to further cooperation

On February 21, 2025, the results of the week of full-time study were summed up at the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology. All applicants and teachers of the faculty who worked directly in Ivano-Frankivsk during the week had a great opportunity to get to know the city that hosted our university during the period of martial law. Excursions to the historical museum in the Ivano-Frankivsk town hall, to the Dovbush museum, to the S. Bandera museum and walks through the streets of the beautiful Carpathian city will be remembered for a long time by everyone.

On February 21, 2025, as part of a week of full-time study at the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology, in particular as part of industrial practice, 1st year students of the second (master's) level of higher education of the educational program "Social Work" visited the Charitable Organization "Charitable Foundation "CARITAS Ivano-Frankivsk". Future specialists in the social sphere had a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the specifics of the work of a non-governmental organization that provides various types of social assistance to the needy population. The Center's social manager, Yana Oryshyn, introduced the projects that are being implemented in the city and region under both state and non-state funding programs ("Caritas"). Special attention was paid to the case management of a social work specialist to provide social assistance to IDPs and developed a map of client needs. The master's students sincerely thanked the specialists of the charitable foundation for the interesting stories and acquaintance. They are confident that the experience of working with this charitable organization will be useful in the future professional life of future social work specialists.

On February 20, 2025, within the framework of the week of full-time study at the Faculty of Psychology, History and Sociology for applicants for the second (master's) level of higher education of various educational programs of the faculty, the acting head of the social and psychological service of KhSU Domanchuk D.S. conducted a training session "Psycho-emotional pport during war: training in healing techniques su

The second part of the day was devoted to work at the Department of Social Policy of the Executive Committee of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council. After a presentation meeting with the director of the department, Vasyl Semanyuk, the first-year students of the second (master's) level of higher education, together with the associate professor of the department, Volodymyr Hurich, moved on to work in the specialized department. During a working meeting with Iryna Kunitsyna, head of the department for ensuring the implementation of city social programs of the Department of Social Policy, they learned about the procedure for submitting and considering social projects for the city community. During a lively, meaningful conversation, Roman Patrygura and Oleksandr Skorokhod, using the example of their qualification work topics, discussed ways to implement them in the realities of a modern city community. Based on the results of the work, additional consultation meetings were agreed upon.

On February 19, 2025, as part of the Workshop, a meeting of 1st year students of the second (master's) level of higher education with the university leadership, led by the rector Oleksandr Spivakovsky, took place. The workshop "Artificial Intelligence for the Scientific Work of Students" was dedicated to the analysis and practical use of various AI for writing master's theses.

In a solemn atmosphere, on February 18, 2025, the awarding of diplomas to masters in the specialty of Social Work took place. Diplomas with honors were personally presented by two rectors - Oleksandr Spivakovskyi of Kherson State University and Ihor Tsependa of Precarpathian National University.

On February 14, 2025, a final conference on educational practice was held for applicants for the first (bachelor's) level of higher education in the specialties "Sociology" and "Social Work" of the 2nd and 3rd years. Applicants presented presentation materials and spoke about the results of the practice. The leaders noted the high level of theoretical knowledge that the applicants demonstrated during the practice. The range of practice bases this academic year is quite wide: the Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work, the Department of Education Quality Assurance of KhSU, charitable organizations, educational institutions, centers for social support of the population, etc. All interns received high-level marks for their practice.