Help Ukrainian students catch up learning amid war

Completed activities

Between July and November 2025, the POVIR team finalized the basic version of the POVIR mobile application for both iOS and Android. The app will allow access to the platform for those students who do not have PCs, laptops, or tablets, thus making the platform more accessible for all. 

In parallel, we conducted a dedicated IT-practicum for school students, engaging them in hands-on learning with the platform.

The POVIR Camp summer session was successfully carried out, where we piloted the group format of the Marathon and collected valuable feedback for scaling.

We have completed the pilot implementation of the POVIR model and reached a total of 2,005 children. The pilot, which started back in 2024 when we first launched the platform, has given us invaluable insight. Throughout the pilot we validated many of our initial assumptions — particularly that students are more likely to learn when participation is their own choice, when the learning experience is engaging, and when gamified approaches are used. We also explored what motivates a learner to “catch up,” how to build sustainable learning engagement, and what design features are necessary for future scaling. The pilot helped us better understand student motivation, refine our solution, and prepare it for further expansion.

Additionally, we launched the Fall Break with POVIR initiative, where students had s a chance to fully experience learning on the POVIR platform and feel its unique atmosphere of co-creation, trust, and inspiration. Learners tried new roles, discovered the value of shared learning and reflection, and gained a positive experience of personal growth. For the first time, we successfully tested a large-scale format — Demonstration Sprints and Face-to-Face sessions — combining learning, motivation, and interaction. Children practiced collaborative activities in Zoom, used online resources such as Wordwall, LearningApps and Canva, worked with tasks similar to national testing formats, and completed each session with reflection to strengthen learning outcomes.

Next steps

To prepare for further scaling, we have launched recruitment for the POVIR Talent Reserve School. Selected candidates are now completing group interviews and a professional learning program of 30 hours.

We have also started training the POVIR teaching staff (15 hours), which will ensure capacity-building and educational continuity in the next implementation phases.

The team has begun developing competency-based assessment tasks to diagnose learning losses and design individualized learning pathways for students. In parallel, we are upgrading platform functionality to support the scaling process and continuing to expand the knowledge base, POVIRpedia.

Implementation Progress

Four training waves were carried out during the project’s pilot phase:

• 61.92% of the total number of invited participants (2,327 students) submitted an application and became part of the platform’s student cohort,

• 56.33% of all invitees (2,117 students) registered for learning, representing 90.98% of the total student cohort,

• 1,661 students (44.39% of all invitees and 78.79% of registered learners) began using the platform,

• Of those who started learning on the platform, 1,300 children ordered and attended at least one Sprint (a one-hour session with a teacher on catching up learning), which constitutes 78.2% of active learners.

• 769 children out of 1,661 participants in the pilot phase (46.3%) expressed a desire to participate in the Marathon (10 sessions with a teacher and an SEL educator for carching up learning and boosting learning confidence). Of these:

  • 204 learners (12.3%) applied for the English module,

  • 365 learners (22%) for Mathematics,

  • and 200 learners (12%) for Ukrainian Language.

These data confirm the assumed correlation between learning motivation and student engagement in leveraging opportunities to improve academic outcomes.

Key Achievements

One of the project’s most significant achievements was the successful assembly and preparation of an implementation team. This team included:

• 24 individuals from the core team and supporting functions,

• 17 members of the methodological support group,

• 184 educators involved as trainers and SEE Learning (Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning) teachers.

Public Presentation of Pilot Results

On May 12, 2025, the pilot outcomes of the POVIR platform were publicly presented during an open event titled:
"Social-Emotional Skills for Life in a Changing World: (Un)Report on Results and Plans."

The findings confirmed all previously formulated hypotheses, particularly those related to closing learning gaps. These include:

• a 19% improvement in selected catch-up subjects identified by learners,

• and a 14% improvement in overall subject performance.

Our psychometric analysis confirmed these gains, aligning with the positive trends observed in pedagogical evaluations — specifically with effect sizes falling within the medium to large range (Cohen’s d coefficient).

Next Steps

The project outcomes are planned to be scaled to expand learning recovery opportunities to a broader group of children — across all grades and subjects — through a national-level platform. Furthermore, Ukraine’s experience in this area will be showcased internationally, with some education systems already showing interest in it.

Links:

• POVIR pilot results presented at (Un)reporting event, 12.5.2025
• POVIR platform link