The support covers four main areas:
- renovation and refurbishment of shelters as fully functional learning spaces;
- inclusion — ensuring that shelters are accessible to people with reduced mobility;
- installation of photovoltaic systems to increase energy autonomy;
- thermal modernisation of buildings — insulating façades, replacing windows and repairing roofs to improve energy efficiency and create comfortable learning conditions.
One of the key areas is the reconstruction of shelters. EdUP transforms them into modern, multifunctional learning spaces where students can continue their studies during air-raid alerts.
The shelters are equipped with lighting, electricity, ventilation, heating, water supply and sewage systems, fire alarms and emergency notification systems. They also include learning spaces, internet access and barrier-free access, as well as solar power systems for autonomous electricity supply.
Stage 1
In 2024–2025, during the first phase, the EdUP project reconstructed nine shelters in vocational schools in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Romny, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Mykolaiv. Two shelters were renovated in Kharkiv.
Mykolaiv
Before reconstruction
After reconstruction
Zaporizhzhia
Before reconstruction
After reconstruction
Odesa
Before reconstruction
After reconstruction
The renovated learning spaces cover a total area of 1,769.5 m², enabling 2,300 students to study offline. The total cost of the first phase of shelter reconstruction was UAH 38 million (CHF 760,000).
Stage 2
The second phase started in 2026. The project plans to renovate 11 additional shelters in vocational schools in Lviv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Pryluky, Cherkasy, Poltava, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. By the end of 2026, EdUP plans to have created a total of 20 safe learning spaces.
EdUP’s infrastructure support helps vocational schools ensure the continuity of face-to-face learning during the war and promotes an approach in which shelters become an integral part of educational infrastructure.