At the Center of Innovation: Lecturers of the Department of Economics, Management and Finance at a Conference on AI and Digitalization

University education today is experiencing the most rapid transformation in history. In wartime conditions, digital resources have become not just a technological trend but the foundation of continuous learning, psychological resilience, and the humanization of education.

On November 19, academic staff of the Department of Economics, Management and Finance – Associate Professors Kateryna Lemish, Olena Tokarenko, Tetiana Sydorchenko, Oleksandra Dudukalova, and Senior Lecturer Viktoriia Shvachko – actively participated in the conference “Digital Space in Education: Learning, Motivation, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity.”

The experience they gained will be valuable for implementing educational and professional programs in Management, Organizational Management, Hotel, Resort and Tourism Service Management, Finance, Banking and Insurance, and Business Economics.

The event took place at the Ukrainian State University named after M. Drahomanov with support from partners of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service, and the NGO “Digitalization of Education of Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s educational space is experiencing unprecedented transformation. Key ideas of the conference emphasized the new role of the educator, the importance of partnership rather than competition with AI, and the unique significance of digitalization for Ukraine. For modern educational programs, this means forming a new generation of professionals – creators of meaning.

Under wartime challenges (destabilization, educational stress), digital resources have become the only tool for support, transforming from an option into a necessity:

Humanistic resource: digital platforms provide psychological and pedagogical support (online consultations, psychoeducational modules), help create a sense of belonging, and foster resilience.

A tool for competence development: they provide access to virtual laboratories, simulators, AR/VR environments – critical for shaping technical and creative thinking among future managers.

Mental health challenges: we acknowledge the risk of digital burnout (information overload, blurred boundaries). Therefore, digital hygiene and healthy use of technologies become essential elements of education.

The future – which has already arrived – is based on the full integration of AI, which acts not as a mentor but as a partner in learning. The myth that AI will replace educators has been debunked. It is the human who gives meaning to all pedagogical actions. The role of the lecturer is transforming:

• Facilitator of discovery: not a transmitter of knowledge but a partner in thinking.
• Creator of the environment: not a performer of a fixed program but an architect of the learning space.
• Mentor and intellectual leader.

AI enhances pedagogical intuition and frees educators from routine (up to 30% of workload):

• What AI does: automated test checking, academic performance analytics (Moodle, Brightspace), topic adaptation (expanding or reducing materials), early diagnostics of learning difficulties.
• What returns to the educator: time for student support, motivation, fostering trust, and developing ethics.

The concept of Education 5.0 is based on combining technology and human-centeredness, making humanity a core value.

• Value-based component: human dignity, civic responsibility, empathy, ethics, and environmental awareness.
• Competencies of the future: meta-skills (flexibility, self-regulation), socio-emotional skills (empathy, collaboration), and advanced digital skills.
• Inclusion and emotional well-being: AI makes education more inclusive (Lexia Learning, Immersive Reader), and emotional well-being becomes a key element of Education 5.0, requiring ethical guidelines for emotion analytics systems.

AI is shifting universities from lectures to global research environments. Students no longer merely consume knowledge – they create it using virtual labs, simulators, and interactive courts. This is a direct path to professional training across all fields.

For Ukraine, digitalization and AI are not just useful tools but strategic mechanisms to overcome the consequences of war:

• Personal learning trajectories: ensuring continuous education for displaced and evacuated students.
• Support for mobility: addressing the reduction in the number of operational educational institutions.
• Compensation for losses: helping close educational gaps.
• Quality under instability: providing educational services without additional risks.
• Support for educators: reducing workload for teachers working under stress.

Interactive content: a new dimension of the textbook. A modern textbook is an e-supplement with multimedia content (videos, simulations, 3D models), enabling interactive engagement and personalization that traditional print format cannot provide.

We encourage our lecturers and students to embrace a new role as leaders of thought and to use AI as a digital pencil for co-creating the future. Together, we are shaping a generation that will not only use technologies but create meaning and become active citizens of the digital age.

Based on materials from the Department of Economics, Management and Finance