Ukraine's tech excellence is playing a vital role in the war against Russia
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Loading... - Manu Anttila
- 03 Oct 2022
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is now in its sixth month with no end in sight to what is already Europe’s largest conflict since WWII. In the months following the outbreak of hostilities on February 24, the courage of the Ukrainian nation has earned admiration around the world. Many international observers are encountering Ukraine for the first time and are learning that in addition to their remarkable resilience, Ukrainians are also extremely innovative with high levels of digital literacy.
This tech sector strength is driving the Ukrainian response to Russia’s imperial aggression. It is enabling the country to defy and in many instances defeat one of the world’s leading military superpowers. A start-up culture that owes much to Ukraine’s vibrant IT industry is providing rapid solutions to frontline challenges in ways that the more traditional top-down Russian military simply cannot match.
The tech component of Ukraine’s battlefield success is perhaps not as surprising as it might at first appear. According to the 2022 Global Skills Report by Coursera, the country ranks among the global top ten in terms of technological skills.
This high position reflects the impressive progress made in recent years to support the growth of the country’s IT sector and to foster greater digital literacy throughout Ukrainian society. Since 2019, the Ukrainian authorities have prioritized digital skills and have sought to promote learning through the Diia.Digital Education online platform, which serves as an “educational Netflix” featuring courses conducted by experts and celebrities.
This approach appears to be working. The platform currently boasts a completion rate of 80% among those who sign up for courses. Nor has Russia’s invasion prevented Ukrainians from enhancing their IT skills. Around 60,000 Ukrainians have registered for courses since the start of the war, with the most popular topics being training for new tech sector professions, media literacy, and cyber hygiene. Read More...
