Karlshochschule Celebrates Successful Completion of EU Project RE-DIRECTION with Partners from Ukraine and Georgia

Karlshochschule Celebrates Successful Completion of EU Project RE-DIRECTION with Partners from Ukraine and Georgia

Marlene May Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

Karlshochschule International University

Three years, 16 partners, four countries: Karlshochschule International University has successfully completed the Erasmus+ project RE-DIRECTION, delivering updated curricula and freely accessible online courses for universities in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as 29 policy recommendations developed jointly with the Ukrainian and Georgian Ministries of Education.

Karlshochschule International University has successfully completed the Erasmus+ project RE-DIRECTION, which it coordinated. The European Union funded the project under the Erasmus+ programme's Capacity Building in Higher Education strand from November 2023 to October 2026, providing approximately €720,000 in funding.

Since its founding, Karlshochschule has positioned itself as an internationally connected and socially engaged university of applied sciences. Through RE-DIRECTION, it has demonstrated that even a small, non-profit university can secure and successfully lead a major European collaborative project. The consortium brought together 16 partners from Ukraine, Georgia, Germany and Greece, including Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science as a full partner and Georgia's Ministry of Education, Science and Youth as an associated partner.

Higher Education in Times of War and Crisis

The project aimed to integrate digital, sustainability-related and inclusive competencies into existing degree programmes and to establish resilient distance and blended learning approaches for universities operating in regions affected by war and crisis.

Together, the partners revised 13 curricula and developed nine new courses, available as freely accessible teaching and learning materials (Open Educational Resources) in English, Ukrainian and Georgian. The courses are also accessible via smartphones and designed to function with unstable internet connections. This is an essential requirement in Ukraine, where air raid alerts and power outages have become part of everyday life, as well as in remote regions of Georgia. More than 400 students tested the courses, with nearly 95 percent providing positive feedback.

"RE-DIRECTION shows what a small university can achieve with a large network. Our partners in Ukraine have been teaching under conditions that are almost unimaginable here - and together, we have achieved our goals. As European partners, we have learned an enormous amount."

-- Prof. Dr. Robert Lepenies, President of Karlshochschule International University

The project also produced an Inclusive Guide featuring 20 practical tools for inclusive teaching, delivered five training sessions for university educators, and held a final conference on 15 October 2026, hosted at the invitation of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science.

"The project's objectives - to further develop curricula and embed sustainability, inclusion and digital transformation within them - represent a major opportunity, and I hope that universities will benefit greatly. Digital, inclusive and sustainable education is a significant challenge because it is closely connected to students' lives - their studies, their personal lives and their preparation for a better future."

-- Maia Shukhoshvili, Head of the Higher Education Department at the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia

"We educate philologists, linguists and translators. This certainly presents challenges, but we are working to advance digitalisation, sustainability and inclusion at our universities."

-- Prof. Dr. Tetiana Vysotska, Dnipro University of Technology, Ukraine

"Not Simply Delivering Policy Recommendations, but Shaping Them Together"

A key focus of the project was collaboration with policymakers. Working closely with the Ukrainian and Georgian Ministries of Education, the consortium developed 29 recommendations for inclusive and sustainable distance and blended learning. These ranged from emergency contingency plans for maintaining teaching activities to the responsible use of artificial intelligence. In mid-October, the recommendations were validated together with representatives from the ministries and participating universities.

"What made this project special was that the Ukrainian Ministry of Education was involved as a partner from the very beginning," explains Lisa Wiedemann, Project Manager at Karlshochschule. "The recommendations were not simply handed over at the end. Instead, they were developed collaboratively, round by round, with all partners. This gives them a strong chance of being put into practice."

The participating ministries also emphasised the value of European cooperation.

"The project gives universities the opportunity to update their curricula and courses and to make teaching activities more effective and seamless. It also strengthens cooperation between Ukrainian and European universities on our path towards European integration."

-- Serhii Shkabko, Head of the Expert Group on European Integration at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

The project also placed particular emphasis on supporting its Georgian university partners, which have been directly affected by the reform initiatives of the authoritarian government in Tbilisi. For this reason, the consortium actively sought dialogue with the Georgian Ministry of Education. Representatives of the ministry participated in all four project meetings.

About the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education Programme

Through its Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) funding strand, the European Union supports cooperation projects between higher education institutions in Europe and partner countries worldwide under the Erasmus+ programme. The aim is to modernise higher education systems and strengthen cooperation between universities and the business sector, policymakers and society.

The projects are administered by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Karlshochschule successfully secured funding under this programme strand.

Further information:

www.re-direction.org

www.karlshochschule.de

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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Partner Meeting at Karlsruhe Rathaus

Quelle: Lisa Wiedemann

Copyright: Lisa Wiedemann

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