Kherson State University

Representatives of Kherson State University visited Riga Technical University (Latvia) as part of the Academies4Ukraine project (Erasmus+ Program K220-HED). During the partners’ meeting, the “Manual on Implementing University Psychological Support for Students” was presented and further refined.

KSU was represented by Rector Oleksandr Spivakovskiy and Head of the International Initiatives and Project Management Department Yevheniia Revenko.

Together with project partners—the Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Odesa National Technological University, and the University of Helsinki (Finland) — KSU representatives had the opportunity to review the results of a study on the psychological support of Ukrainian students and provide their proposals for the manual.

As part of the Academies4Ukraine international project (Erasmus+ Programme K220-HED), a survey was conducted at the end of 2024 among students of Ukrainian universities to understand their experiences and needs regarding psychological support.

The research results were presented on September 25 at Riga Technical University during the Academies4Ukraine partners’ meeting, in which KSU participated.

Key findings:

Average age of respondents: 21.6 years

66% had never sought psychological help

24% had previous experience (18% outside the university, 6% within)

10% plan to use support in the future (7% outside the university, 3% within)

78% consider it important for universities to have their own psychological support services; 18% are undecided, 4% see no need

Conclusions:

Many Ukrainian students encounter the need for psychological support for the first time at universities and often have an unclear understanding of the psychologist’s role.

Young people expect modern and diverse support formats, including group sessions, psychoeducational events, anonymous “trust boxes,” online chats, video consultations, mobile apps, and recovery programs.

Oleksandr Spivakovskiy emphasized that this is the second concrete result of the project’s implementation.

“These results are an important signal for Ukrainian universities: it is essential to develop accessible, clear, and safe mental health services for students,” he noted.

The first result was the documentary film “Stories of Academic Resilience in Ukraine”, created with the participation of the KSU team, featuring interviews with Rector Oleksandr Spivakovskiy and First Vice-Rector Serhii Omelchuk. The film has been presented to various audiences worldwide and in Ukraine, including at the EAIE Gothenburg 2025 conference and exhibition.

“We explored the work of Riga Technical University—a modern educational space. This is what we had planned to create in Kherson if not for the war… But we believe we will realize these plans in the future, as we feel the support of our partners.

We were delighted to meet Gianluca Vagnarelli, founder of i-strategies, the coordinator of the Academies4Ukraine project. We presented our branded souvenirs—a pen and a notebook.

To our colleagues at Riga Technical University—Viktoria Hajna, Marta Rubina, Liga Ancite—we gifted the monograph “Crisis Management of a Modern University: Educational Resistance, Resilience in Wartime” (authors: Oleksandr Spivakovskiy, Serhii Omelchuk, Daria Malchykova), which aligns with the project’s goals of developing academic resilience in Ukrainian universities.

We are grateful to the host institution for thorough presentations and to the partners for the discussions. The work continues!” – Oleksandr Spivakovskiy.

The Academies4Ukraine project under Erasmus+ involves Riga Technical University (Latvia), Kherson State University, Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Odesa National Technological University, and the University of Helsinki (Finland).

KSU Press Center