OREANDA-NEWS. On 03 July 2009 was announced, that МТS - Ukraine mobile communications operator, 100% daughter company of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MTS), Wimm-Bill-Dann Kyiv Investment Group and METRO Cash and Carry Ukraine wholesale company, announced about launching of Intercorporate University joint innovative project.

The official singing of the Memorandum on cooperation within Intercorporate University project took place in the Hall of the Academic Council of the Kyiv National Shevchenko University. The document was signed between the Ministry For Education and Science of Ukraine, the Kyiv National University named after Taras Shevchenko, the National Kyiv Mokhyla Academy, the Kyiv National Technical University with the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in its structure and the leading employers of Ukraine: МТS Ukraine communications operation, Wimm-Bill-Dann Kyiv Investment Group and METRO Cash and Carry Ukraine Ltd. According to this Memorandum the participants plan to render financial support for a successful project implementation.

Intercorporate University is a long term project initiated by MTS – Ukraine last year. It unites the leading employers of Ukraine, high educational institutions and student organizations. The project is targeted at development of students’ curriculum with regards of the requirements of the modern business and the real situation at the labor market.

The key task of Intercorporate University project is creation of the adaptive system of task management and improvement of professional level of specialists in different branches, namely, technical and humanitarian, which should correspond to employers’ requirements towards candidates.

“Business can form and introduce education standards. Internships in operating companies are vitally important for the education quality, namely for the teaching level. Young people trust successful businessmen and their cases: business representatives are expected already today in classes of our universities with their lectures, master-classes, seminars”, Ivan Vakarchuk, Minister for Education and Science, announced.

“National Kyiv Mokhyla Academy believes that the project we are launching becomes of vital importance not only due to the current crisis.  The business initiates a strategically important program, doing a favor to the progressive universities. Our project is the first step towards reform of the whole educational system in Ukraine, which today, unfortunately, in most cases, does not correspond to the real needs of the market”, Sergiy Kvit the President of the National Kyiv Mokhyla Academy, underlines.

“The idea of Intercorporate University was born after implementation of our first national educational project “Professionals of the future”. It pushed us to the conclusion, that, a true national educational program, which covers the majority of the specialties, shall be created and realized by the high school in the close partnership with the majority of the leading national companies, where such specialties are needed. The partnership within the framework of Intercorporate University project meets the worldwide tendencies of education development. For the companies, first of all, it is a chance to realize their responsibility before the society, where they run their business. This is the business cooperation between the high school and business for the State”, Natalia Bereza, HR Director of МТS-Ukraine, considers.

“All companies operate in the external business realities. The world changes rapidly and the fact, which was the competitive advantage at the market yesterday, today can be a vain instrument. Wimm-Bill-Dann Company thinks about the future, and that is why invests in today. We join the Intercorporate University project, in order to help to overcome the existing gap in teaching young specialists and requirements of the business, and form a new generation of professionals”, Olena Yefrema, Director of Wimm-Bill-Dann OJSC, said.

“Integration of different companies and business segments into this project demonstrates understanding of the existing difficulties with the development of young talents by the business. I consider this integration as the unprecedented one within the frame of the business and education of Ukraine. In case of a successful project implementation, we will receive the new format of work “theory and practice” for the graduates of the educational institutions in our country”, Vladyslav Rutytska, Director of the Staff Management and Development Department of Kyiv Investment Group, explains.

“Our company actively works with the student community, taking the students from 40 educational institutions for practice, supporting the educational projects, sponsoring publishing of special literature. Nearly 750 students passed the practice in METRO Cash and Carry Ukraine Ltd. during the last year only. The development of the future professionals is the important part of the strategy for us, in some countries of our presence our own program METRO Education is implemented, as present in Ukraine we decided to unite the efforts in this sphere with other companies and join the Intercorporate University project. We plan to grow professionals with practical and theoretical knowledge, adapted to the modern reality of the business. We provide the financial support to the project and attract our trainers to it”, Mikhailo Zavylov, HR Director of METRO Cash and Carry Ltd., says.