Help Ukrainian students catch up learning amid war

Significant Developments Over the Reporting Period

As of March 21, 2025, the POVIR pilot program provided educational support on the platform to 1,622 students in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades. Of them, 331 students have participated in the Marathon, an intensive course designed for systematic learning recovery (84 students in English, 143 in Mathematics, and 94 in Ukrainian language).

To strengthen partnerships with schools, we launched the Satellite Schools in the POVIR Universe initiative, which has been joined by 111 schools from across Ukraine. Additionally, we conducted new recruitments and a dedicated training program for 44 teachers who joined the POVIR teaching team and are now helping students overcome educational losses.

The final phase of the pilot is currently underway, with an analytical report and a presentation of results in preparation.

Impact on Ukrainian Education

Preliminary findings from our analytical report indicate that POVIR’s pedagogical model has a positive impact. We initially hypothesized that students’ academic achievements would improve following Marathons. Early research results confirm this hypothesis, as a preliminary one-tailed test across pilot phases 1–3 shows statistical significance.

This means that Ukrainian students in need of professional support—to enhance their knowledge, boost their motivation, and rebuild their confidence—can effectively meet these needs through POVIR.

In student feedback, participants rate the platform’s attractiveness at 9 out of 10, express satisfaction with the game-based learning format, and highlight POVIR’s positive impact on their personal growth in the social-emotional domain.

How International Donations Support This Project

The work of POVIR educators who help students recover their educational losses is paid. The scale of the project’s impact depends on available funding—the more financial support we receive, the more students we can reach. Additionally, within the learning process, students accumulate virtual in-game currency, VIRcoins, by overcoming challenges. These VIRcoins can be exchanged for rewards such as pencil cases, waist bags, backpacks, headsets, wireless mice, and more. Funding is also required to purchase these rewards.

International organizations may be interested in becoming partners and sponsors to help provide these incentives for students.

Project Plans for the Next Three Months

• Launching the first cycles of the professional development program for educational teams from schools participating in the Satellite Schools in the POVIR Universe initiative. The goal is to train up to 3,000 educators, with 1,000 participants expected between April and June 2025.
• Developing the basic version of the POVIR mobile app to ensure that students without computers or laptops can access the platform seamlessly.
• POVIR Camp, in collaboration with Music Camp International (led by Connie Fortunato), will launch in June 2025, providing approximately 350 students with a unique opportunity to catch up on lost learning while participating in a music camp and learning to play various musical instruments.
• As part of the camp, we plan to pilot a group-based Marathon, where students will learn in small groups of up to six persons.
• Presenting the pilot results at a major educational event on May 12–14, 2025, with the participation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and unveiling the scaling-up concept for the project.

Links:

• POVIR webpage
• POVIR presentation: International Renaissance Foundation article