From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023 GENIUS

(https://kneu.edu.ua/ua/University_en/international_connections/center_international_academic_mobility/Gender_Project_KNEU/) together with the University of Konstanz implements the project "Female Leadership in Academia and Management in Germany and Ukraine" (FLAMINGU) financed by DAAD from the funds of Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (Grant No. 57514585).

The project aims at creating structures to ensure equality, empower women research and teaching staff and establish gender parity at KNEU. Its task is to lay the foundation for the implementation of European standards of equality by introducing appropriate structures, documents and processes, sensitizing the university management for gender issues, promoting the advancement of women to leadership positions and training the management staff.

The FLAMINGU project team from KNEU is:

Yevgenia Kolomiets-Ludwig - Director of the Center for International Academic Mobility, Associate Professor of Business and Corporate Law, Ph.D. - project leader

Lina Kurchenko - Associate Professor of German, Ph.D. - project coordinator

Svitlana Tsymbaliuk - Dean of the Faculty of Personnel Management, Sociology and Psychology, Doctor of Economics

Oksana Vinska - Associate Professor of European Economics and Business, Ph.D.

Kateryna Ilikchiieva - Associate Professor of the Department of Constitutional, Administrative and Criminal Law, Ph.D.

The project "Female Leadership in Academia and Management in Germany and Ukraine” (FLAMINGU) provides a series of trainings to enhance women's leadership in the university environment with the involvement of the best European experts on equal opportunity. On December 4th and 11^th in 2020, January 22th, February 19th and March 19^th in 2021, the author and moderator of the trainings was Dr. Hanna Fearns, a partner in the women's mentoring program at the University of Konstanz, the founder of Sophia Academia, a consulting firm for successful women.

The purpose of the trainings was to reveal the leadership potential of women who perform administrative functions at KNEU and strive for further professional growth and personal development.

Steps of the FLAMINGU project implementation (Grant No. 57514585)

In 2020:

- A review of KNEU documents on their gender sensitivity fnd non-discrimination was conducted

- February 10-15, 2020 - project leader Ievhenia Kolomiets-Ludwig and project coordinator Lina Kurchenko visited the University of Konstanz to plan the stages of the project

- Curricula of two training courses – one for trainers and one for female academic managers were drafted and approved (108 hours each).

- The Train-the-trainer advanced training course is aimed at development of gender, equal opportunity and inclusion competences and skills. Following trainings were conducted:

06-07.07.2020 - Internet seminar on planning and monitoring gender equality policy at the university (for the project team of Kyiv) - lecturer Marion Woelki, head of the Equal Opportunity Office of the University of Konstanz.

Workshop on implementation of gender equality policy and discussion of gender monitoring - lecturer Christine Abele, quality assurance expert of the University of Konstanz.

- The curriculum of the advanced training course for female academic managers (108 hours) aimed at development of leadership qualities of women in middle and higher management positions at the university was drafted and approved.

- Trainings “Women Empowerment in Academia” were conducted for 11 KNEU women managers and 5 members of the Genius team. Trainer - Dr. Hanna Ferns (Konstanz) (December 4, 2020, December 11, 2020)

- A gender survey developed by the KNEU team was discussed with the Konstanz team and positively assessed by quality assurance expert Christine Abele (Konstanz)

- On November 25, 2020, a panel online discussion "Women's Leadership and Business Projects Changing the World" was organized within the framework of the VIII International Business Forum "Science-Business Education: Strategic Partnership"

https://kneu.edu.ua/ua/news_fupstap/zinoche_liderstvo/

 Publications:

- Svitlana Tsymbaliuk, Lina Kurchenko, Volodymyr Tokar, Oksana Vinska and Tetiana Shkoda (2020). Gendered perceptions of professional development in academia: evidence from a Ukrainian university. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 18(1), 394-404. doi:10.21511/ppm.18(1).2020.34 (SCOPUS indexed)

https://businessperspectives.org/journals/problems-and-perspectives-in-management/issue-340/gended-perceptions-of-professional-development-in-academia-evidence-from-a-ukrainian-university

- Information on the project was published in bulletin of German-Ukrainian academic community  The UKRAINE Network Newsletter, 24 (No3, 2020)

http://ukrainet.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/24.pdf

Spillover effect:

- Activities under the FLAMINGU project related to gender equality have been reported to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and this information should be taken into account in national reports on equality in education

- Activities under the FLAMINGU project related to gender equality include the KNEU report for the international higher education ranking according to the Times (THE Impact Ranking). In 2020, primarily due to cooperation with UKN in the field of gender equality, KNEU took first place among Ukrainian universities for SDG5 Gender Equality https://www.timeshighereducation.com/rankings/impact/2020/gender-equality#!/page/ 0 / length / 25 / locations / UA / sort_by / rank / sort_order / asc / cols / undefined

- At the initiative of the KNEU project team, the contact with UN Women was established. Participation of KNEU students in the HeForShe movement is prepared, including publication on UN Women web resources. Participation of UN Women lecturers in project activities to raise gender awareness is planned.

 In 2021:

- Gender Platform was created as a think tank for gender studies and research, and as networking platform for women of KNEU

- the position “Adviser on Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion” was established to mainstream gender into KNEU policies, documents and procedures and to council on legal aspects of gender equality, diversity, inclusion, and non-discrimination.  Kateryna Ilikchiieva – UN National Consultant (https://kneu.edu.ua/ua/depts5/Konstitucijnogo_administrativnogo_ta_kriminalnogo_prava/Vikladachi_kkatkp/jf_kpp_Ilikchieva.K.I/)

- trainings on creating the gender plan for universities were conducted. The trainer was Lorena Pajares, a gender and development consultant with 20 years of professional experience, a specialist in academic research in the social sciences and feminist methodology. Lorena Pajares is a participant in the Horizon2020 SUPERA project (support for the promotion of equality in research and academia) from the Complutense University of Madrid, and has collaborated with government agencies and NGOs in research and training projects aimed at gender transformation (https://u-academ / creating-your-gap /). The development of the Gender Plan is a testament to the significant progress made by KNEU towards achieving gender equality, as well as promoting this fundamental European value among the general Ukrainian academic community. The existence of a gender plan is extremely important for enhancing the international cooperation of KNEU, in particular in the framework of the EU research and innovation program Horizon2021-2027.

- the Advisory Board meeting was held to discuss the impact of the FLAMINGU project on enhancement of cooperation between universities, presenting its intermediate results and discussing prospects and challenges for its further implementation. The members of the Advisory Board emphasized the significant progress in the implementation of the project and expressed admiration for the effective work of its participants.

- the first "Gender Party" of KNEU was held. As part of the event, two new structural units were opened - the Gender Platform and the Office of the Adviser on Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion, which testifies the gender mainstreaming in KNEU. The event also included women's networking and gender quests (https://kneu.edu.ua/ua/kneu_vechornic_21/ ).

Publications:

-Kurchenko, L., Kolomiyets-Ludwig, E., & Ilnytskyy, D. (2021). Women's Empowerment as a Tool for Sustainable Development of Higher Education and Research in the Digital Age. In Neimann, T., Felix, J. J., Reeves, S., & Shliakhovchuk, E. (Ed.), Stagnancy Issues and Change Initiatives for Global Education in the Digital Age (pp. 141-172). Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4993-3.ch007

-Kurchenko,L. (2021). Gender Problematics in the Western Philosophical Tradition. In Artemenko S., Gaievska O., Severyn-Mrachkovska, L.et al. (Ed.): Interdisciplinary Discourse in Social Phenomena Research [collective monograph] (pp.54-73). Kyiv :КNEU (in Ukrainian).https://ir.kneu.edu.ua/bitstream/handle/2010/36321/md_km_3.pdf?sequence=1

 - Vinska, O., & Tokar, V. (2021). Female economic participation and dynamics of GDP per capita in EU Member-States. ВченізапискиУніверситету«КРОК».  № (2 (62). С. 19–26. https://doi.org/10.31732/2663-2209-2021-62-19-26

 - Tsymbaliuk, S. & Volkovska, A. (2021). Analysis of institutional factors that cause gender pay gaps in Ukraine. Social and labour relations: theory and practice. Vol. 11, № 1. Pp. 1-13. 

http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/slrtp.11(1).2021.01

-Vinska, O., & Tokar, V. (2021). Cluster analysis of the European Union gender equality and economic development. Business, Management and Economics Engineering Journal. Vol. 11, № 2. Pp. 373-388. DOI: 10.3846/bmee.2021.15382 (SCOPUS, Web of Science)

In 2022:

- The training courses “The inclusion and accessibility of teaching” and “The policy of equal opportunities and diversity in the University” were developed in 2022. The training were developed by Advisor on Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion.

- Work shadowing of Evhenia Kolomiyets-Ludwig (02.05 - 30.05.2022) 

- Work shadowing of  Kateryna Ilikchiieva (15.05 - 30.05.2022)

- Due to the russian full-scale war of agr3ssion against Ukraine, the training programme was amended by an extraordinary module “Basics of Trauma, Psychological First Aid and Interventions to Strengthen Resilience”, delivered by the German psychologist and University of Konstanz alumna Eva Barnewitz.(Online training on 29.07.22)

- October 27 - 28, 2022: The annual FLAMINGU project meeting was held in Warsaw instead of Kyiv because of the full-scale russian war of aggression against Ukraine.  University of Warsaw (UW), a partner of University of Konstanz, and Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), a partner of KNEU, hosted two days of project activities and contributed to international networking with the following reports and joining the discussion:

Dr Anna Cybulko, Ombudsman (UW) “Rules and practice of Ombudsman office - over 10 years of building an institution” and “Experiences in dealing with cases of discrimination, sexual harassment and mobbing”

Dr hab Julia Kubisa, prof., Rector’s Plenipotentiary (UW)  “Preparations of GEP, process of institutionalization of gender equality policies at UW and current equality research at UW”.

Anna Grędzińska, Chief Equality Specialist, Anti-discrimination Coordinator for Rector’s Committee for Prevention of Discrimination (UW) “Work-life balance and support for families - projects at UW”.

Dr hab Joanna Wąsowska, Vice-Head of HR Recruitment and Development (SGH)  “Early Stage Female Researchers - mentoring and support project for women”

Prof. Hanna Majkowska-Godlewska, Rector Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment (SGH) “Equal treatment - Find out about your rights and procedures”

Iga Magda, PhD., Assoc. Prof., Institute of Structural Research (SGH) “Female Leadership in Academia: Experience and Challenges”

- Svitlana Rak, a Ukrainian-Swedish expert in mastery of public presentation, trained on the  “Art of Public Speech and Successful Self Presentation” (Online 26.11.2022 and 03.12.2022)

Publications and other spillover effects:

- Kurchenko, L. (2022). Invisible Barriers, Undeclared Wars: Subtle Resistances to Women's Leadership in Academia. In T. Neimann, J. Felix, E. Shliakhovchuk, & L. Hindman (Eds.), Policy and Practice Challenges for Equality in Education (pp. 1-23). Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7379-2.ch001

- The empowered team members have significantly expanded their applications for new grants, adding a strong gender focus to the variety of new topics. New grants received by team members with gender focus:

1. EU MIGRATION POLICY WITHIN HYBRID THREATS 101081717-EUMPHT-ERASMUS-JMO-2022-HEI-TCH-RSCH

2. EU ECONOMIC SECURITY  101083446-EUECOSEC-ERASMUS-JMO-2022-HEI-TCH-RSCH-CHAIR

3. EU FEMALE EMPOWERMENT FOR THE UNION OF EQUALITY 101077151 -EUFEUE -ERASMUS -JMO- 2022- HEI- TCH- RSCH

4.THE EU GENDER SECURITY 101078301-EUGENSEC-ERASMUS-JMO-2022-HEI-TCH-RSCH

In 2023:

- Work shadowing of Svitlana Tsymbaliuk (20 - 31.03.2023)

- May, 2023 the first round of “The inclusion and accessibility of teaching” was conducted.

- Sebastian Tillman from the Equal Opportunity Office finalised the series of trainings with „Bias Literacy Training“  (Online 05.05.2023)

- The survey was conducted to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and full-scale russian war of aggression against Ukraine on professional growth and research activities.

-  Training on trainers was conducted. Study format: online.  Combination of theory and practice .

The duration of training is up to 2 months (depending on the ability of the group to combine modules and allocate time).  Objectives: know about structure, methods, tools, kinds of participants and differences between off-line and on-line trainings.

Trainers: Natalya Chermoshentseva (training experience since 2010). Work with: UNDP, UN Women, UNITER Program, NED, NDI, Council of Europe, National Agency for Civil Service, regional and local administrations, etc.

Oksana Hlebushkina (training experience since 2004). Work with: Pact Int, UNITER Programme, Peace Corps, regional offices of the International Renaissance Foundation (Odessa, Kharkiv), UNDP Ukraine, TCC Creative Centre CF, Ukrainian Library Association, Mykolayiv Development Agency, the Kherson "Zakhyst" (Protection) Community Foundation, Kherson State Oblast Administration, bodies of local self-government, public organizations etc.

ToT script:

Training as a form of adult education.  Training as a form of adult education.  Interactive learning methods (7.04.2023)

Learning styles. Colby's theory.The structure of the training (21.04.2023)

Online tools in training work (4.05.2023)

Training methods (23.05.2023)

Practical module (participants have to practically conduct part of the training) (16.06.2023)

Types of participants. Work in pairs. Group dynamics. Coach's roles. Monitoring and evaluation of training (21.06.2023)

- 28th September, 2023, The Academic Council unanimously adopted the Concept of Implementation of the Policy of Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion of Vadym Hetman Kyiv National University of Economics

- Follow-up conference In Konstanz  4-5 October, 2023.

The conference included Panel Discussion on 4^th October with both online and offline participants.

Dr. Kateryna Ilikchieva (FLAMINGU Project coordinator at the KNEU; Attorney at Law, Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Expert; Gender Equality Consultant and Lecturer in Law and Violence Against Women at Kiev National Economic University; Advisor on equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion in KNEU) informed the audience on the results of the project.

Prof. Sabine Boener, Chair of Organisational Behavior, University of Konstanz, presented her research on “Female Leadership  - Between Female Leadership Gap and Female Leadership Advantage“.

 Debates on the relevant gender issues took place, where participants represented both universities (Prof. Dr. Sabine Boerner, Chair of Organisational Behavior, University of Konstanz; Prof. Dr. Inna Riepina, Professor of Economics; Head of the Department of Business Economics and Entrepreneurship; Prof. Dr. Liane Wörner, Chair of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Comparative Criminal Law, Medical Criminal Law, and Legal Theory, University of Konstanz,Director ofthe Center for HUMAN | DATA | SOCIETY) and external expert Dr. Oksana Kysseliova (Expert on Gender Mainstreaming in Ukraine; Team Leader of the EU-funded EU4Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk project)

Debates on 4/10/2023

On 5^th October meeting of the Advisory Board of the Project FLAMINGU was held. The results of the project were discussed and the members of Advisory Board gave their recommendations.

Advisory Board meeting on 5/10/2023

Workshop for the FLAMINGU team  on the challenges for the project during pandemic and full-scale war was organized by Dr. Sebastian Tillmann,  Equal Opportunity Office, Konstanz University

Workshop on 5/10/2023

On 6^th October Toolshop on the future cooperation of FLAMINGU project members was organized by Dr. Raban Fuhrmann, Director of the Academy for a Learning Democracy. FLAMINGU project team members from both sides concluded that KNEU and Konstanz should embrace the European Union concept of gender mainstreaming and include gender aspect into all common projects between two universities.

Toolshop on 6/10/2023

- 13-20th October 2023 – Survey “Development of female leadership in academia in Germany and Ukraine” was held. 14 participants of the training course “Gender awareness raising in academia” expressed their opinion on the training course and its influence on their career advancement and leadership.

- 20th December 2023 - the second "Gender Party" of KNEU was held. The Konstanz team greeted the participants online. Participants of the training course “Gender awareness raising in academia” held within the framework of the project  during October 2020-october 2023 (120h) received certificates.The event also included women's networking.

Gender party, 20/12/ 2023

Publications and other spillover effects:

- Vinska O., Harbuza T., Teslenko N., Tokar V.  (2023). Gender Dimension of the European Union’s Communication Ecology Problems in High-Technology Sectors. In: Alareeni, B., Hamdan, A. (eds) Explore Business, Technology Opportunities and Challenges ‎After the Covid-19 Pandemic. ICBT 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 495. Springer, Cham. pp 1303–1315  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08954-1_113 (indexed in Scopus)

- Vinska, O., Tokar, V., Novak, N., Sierova, L. (2023). Clustering EU Member-States and Ukraine by Female Empowerment in Business. In: Hamdan, A., Harraf, A., Buallay, A., Arora, P., Alsabatin, H. (eds) From Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 470. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28314-7_9 (indexed in Scopus)

- The Project impact is clearly reflected  in growing position in THE Impact Ranking.  By the end of the Project the KNEU took an unprecedently high position for Ukraine (301-400)  in SDG5 (gender equality) among more than thousand universities worldwide.