Ukraine has received a new large-scale batch of equipment from Cisco with the assistance of USAID. It will be used to connect the Internet in the shelters and equip computer labs in Ukrainian schools. This will allow even more children to study offline in a safe and quality manner.
More routers
“One of the focuses of the education transformation strategy is to create conditions in which as many children as possible can study offline. To do this, educational institutions should be equipped with shelters or bomb shelters. With the support of our partners, we are providing them with the necessary equipment and the Internet,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development, Minister of Digital Transformation.
A total of 1600 Wi-Fi routers and 1000 webcams will be donated as part of the Digital Schools project. In the near future, schools in 23 regions of Ukraine will receive them. The routers will be installed in school shelters so that the educational process can continue even during alarms. And the webcams will be connected to school computers for online classes.
“Today, the availability of a shelter is a basic requirement for the full-time operation of educational institutions. At the same time, it is very important to provide shelters with everything necessary for a normal stay there during air raids. This is an additional challenge for teachers – to distract and calm children, to find an interesting activity in the shelter. Some schools also set up an educational space in the shelter. Therefore, the availability of the Internet is more than a necessity,” said Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi.
Public control
In the near future, the distribution of gadgets by schools and regions will be available on a public dashboard. This will minimize corruption risks and make the process of transferring equipment as transparent as possible.
In June, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Cisco signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of innovation and digitalization. As a result, Ukraine was able to join the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration program.
The program operates in almost 50 countries. Its goal is to accelerate digitalization, job creation, and GDP growth. It also promotes the active use of innovations in the public and private sectors.
Ukraine’s participation in this program helps to more effectively implement technological tools and innovative solutions in educational projects, including the digitalization of Ukrainian schools.
The Digital Schools project is being implemented by Cisco in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine as part of a memorandum of cooperation in the field of innovation and digitalization.
