On 7 April, Mariupol State University hosted a roundtable discussion on “Features of Modern Higher Education Applicant Training: Ukrainian Practices and Foreign Experience”. The event was moderated by First Vice-Rector of the university, Professor Olena Bulatova.

Educators and experts from Moldova, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine joined the roundtable. Faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students of the Faculty of Law and Economics and the Faculty of History took part in the discussion of topical issues in contemporary professional training.

The peculiarities of formation of quality educational programmes and the main components of their accreditation in Moldova were presented by Professor Angela Solcan, Head of Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, vice-deans of the Faculty of Business Management and Administration, Expert of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Research (ANACEC), Associate Professor Irina Doroga and Associate Professor Ion Negru.

Current problems in the development of doctoral programmes in the context of the reform of higher education in Poland were highlighted by Professor Łukasz Dona of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

The importance of stakeholder engagement was highlighted by Volodymyr Panchenko, Director of the Analytical Center for Economic and Legal Research and Forecasting and Center for Survey and Rating of the Federation of Employers, Dariusz Pawliszczy, Chairman of the Gmina Gromadka in Bolesławiec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship and Mykola Tryfonov, Head of the Division of Investment and Project Management of the Mariupol City Council. The panellists welcomed the rapporteurs' proposals to strengthen the practical component of specialist training and the continuous monitoring of educational programmes.

Jan Čapek, Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, University of Pardubice, speaks about academic integrity. The scholar noted that there are many similarities between Ukrainian and Czech universities in ensuring academic integrity and combating plagiarism.

The exchange of opinions among the round table participants on the existing practices of forming educational and training programmes at the Institute of International Relations Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Professors Nataliia Rieznikova and Oleksii Chuhaiev), Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University (expert of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, Professor Tetiana Oriekhova), Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics (expert of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, Professor Anna Duhinets) was useful and of mutual benefit.

Professor Olena Borzenko, Head of Sector of International Financial studies at the NASU Institute for Economics and Forecasting of Ukraine, addressed the issues of combining teaching, learning, research and consideration of current trends in international economic relations. It is pleasing to note that the topic was presented using the example of the Mariupol State University's international economic relations education and research programme.