USAID ERA BUILDS UKRAINIAN YOUTH'S SKILLS IN ROBOTICS

Olesia Yankiv is one of 500 students at the Lviv Polytechnic University who now have access to robotics equipment provided by the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA). With support from USAID ERA, the university was able to open a robotics laboratory in their Tech Startup School - now equipped with a robotic arm, its accessories and six desktop robots.  

About 300 students at Lviv Polytechnic are pursuing AI Systems, a quarter of them women. Olesia was part of a group of teachers and students who installed and studied the equipment. 

"A large part of our training consists of practical classes, which I really like," Olesia shared. “When we got this laboratory, our opportunities increased significantly. We have already figured out the robot's possibilities. It can be used in various productions, especially for automated lines and in dangerous areas for rescuing people, recognizing and searching for objects. It's very interesting and promising and feels like a playground for my academic specialty, where I can get real experience." 

"Now there are many opportunities for girls in technology," Olesia explained. "Modern equipment and technologies allow them to join professions that were considered purely male in the past. International support also helps with this, which inspires me.”  

“During the war, many people left Ukraine in search of safety or a better life, but I see that we also have opportunities here," she said. "We just need to see them and use them for our development - that's why I stay at home.” 

Industrial mechanical engineering master's student Yurii Spolitak also helped to configure the robots. Yurii has taken classes in the new robotics laboratory and an engineering and robotics research/educational center which opened this summer with USAID ERA assistance. Laser, milling and metal bending machines were installed in the center, which Yurii used to design and cut one of his models.  

"Practical skills are what we students need now," Yurii said. "After all, young people looking for work are often asked by businesses if they have experience operating numerical program control machines." 

“Currently, there are many modern factories in Lviv Oblast that have such machines," he explained. "Some of them are relocated businesses, and all of them are looking for trained specialists. Therefore, the opportunity to acquire practical skills in laboratories significantly strengthens our competitiveness in the labor market." 

Thanks to USAID, these newly equipped labs are improving the technical skills of young men and women to enter the engineering sector and support Ukraine's economic recovery.