SoftServe and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv bring the education system closer to the needs of graduates and the labor market. From this September, partners will launch unique joint programs with a dual form of education, within which students will combine study and work.
69.5% of LNU students started to work during their studies, 26.4% started to work in the third year of study, and 21.5% in the second year. These are the data from the alumni survey conducted by the university in 2020. Among the most popular reasons that motivate students to look for work during their studies is the opportunity to gain maximum practical knowledge and the desire for financial independence. SoftServe, one of the largest IT employers in the country, and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, one of the oldest educational institutions, combine their expertise to provide students with the opportunity not to choose between university and work.
The features of SoftServe and LNU joint programs
In-depth education during the 1st and 2nd years. 25-50% of all academic disciplines for the 1st and 2nd year of dual programs will be modernized by SoftServe IT specialists together with university lecturers. The students will have an opportunity to learn the newest technologies, different programming languages, develop their soft skills, work in teams, and present their ideas.
During the first years, SoftServe IT specialists will organize motivational lectures, workshops, and presentations of technologies and IT professions for the students to get acquainted better and choose their future specialization. The lessons will be conducted by software developers, business analysts, project managers, technical leads, and heads of departments, etc.
Studying in the company during the 3rd and 4th years. During the 3rd and 4th years, the theoretical part of the education will take place at the university, and the practical part – in the company. The number of modernized disciplines will be between 50-70%. All practical lessons will transform into the work on real industry projects at the company. The students will work together with experienced IT specialists, and their performance will be evaluated.
Each student can choose additional tech courses from the company’s experts to deepen their knowledge of programming languages and tools. If in the first years of study on the programs, the students are supposed to choose their future specialization, in the 3rd and 4th years, they will deepen their knowledge. A middle software developer is an expected professional level of graduates.
“Dual education is a format that will help students gain not just the knowledge, but the knowledge that they will need the most. These programs will prepare a new type of graduates – motivated and highly qualified specialists who are not afraid of professional challenges or searching for a future workplace. I want to see such students, and I want our joint education programs with LNU to have a big impact on qualitative changes in the education system in Ukraine”, comments Taras Kytsmey, co-founder and member of the Board of Directors, SoftServe.
How to get to the SoftServe and LNU joint programs?
In September, the dual education degree programs will start at two faculties of the institution – the Faculty of Electronics and Computer Technologies (Computer Science Program) and the Faculty of Applied Mathematics (Computer Science Program). The application for the dual education degree programs at LNU will start on July 14 and will end on July 23. The unique programs are available for everyone.
“Dual education allows the university to attract additional resources from companies and improve the quality of education. At the same time, this system of studying is also useful for the business, because it creates the conditions for the company to participate in the shaping of future IT specialists together with the university. In our case, it starts from the first year of study,” says Vitaliy Kuharsky, Pro-rector for Scientific and Pedagogical work and Informatization, LNU.