Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, met with the Never Give Up team — students of the Opornyi Lyceum in the village of Zymne, Volyn region. In May, they represented Ukraine at the international FIRST Championship in Houston, USA. The students became the only Ukrainian team among 362 participants from different countries worldwide to advance to the final of the prestigious international robotics competition.

The Opornyi Lyceum in Zymne is a pilot educational institution of EGAP Program. With the support of Switzerland, a STEM laboratory and a robotics club were established at the school, giving students the opportunity to work with modern equipment, create their own projects, and design robots.

During the meeting, the students presented their Jet Aqua Machine (JAM) project to the Minister — a device designed to clean historical artefacts from contamination after archaeological excavations.

“Currently, archaeologists around the world, except in Japan, clean artefacts using toothbrushes. It is a complicated process that takes a lot of time and can damage the find. Our device makes the cleaning process more convenient and safer for artefacts,” said Roman Fostyk, an 11th-grade student at the Opornyi Lyceum in the village of Zymne.

According to the student, the JAM device is a special enclosed box: an archaeologist places the find inside, adjusts the water pressure, and cleans the surface using a special nozzle. This allows for more precise control of the process and reduces the risk of damaging historical objects.

The team developed the device together with archaeologists. The students tested it at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and collaborated with archaeologist Artem Borysov from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Experts recommended ways to improve the technology, and the students refined their invention. The team has already received an order from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy to manufacture such a device.

During the meeting, Oksen Lisovyi emphasised that Ukraine’s future requires specialists in technological fields, engineers, scientists and researchers.

“If we want more engineers and technology entrepreneurs to emerge in Ukraine, we need to create the right conditions for this already at school. Engineering thinking is not formed through textbooks alone — it develops through the opportunity to experiment, work with modern equipment, create your own projects, and see the results of your work. That is why the state is investing in modern educational environments. This year, a total of more than 3 billion hryvnias has been allocated to upgrading learning spaces and laboratory equipment in schools. We want stories like that of the Never Give Up team to become not an exception, but a regular part of Ukrainian education,” said Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The Never Give Up team shared their plans with the Minister. After finishing school, Roman Fostyk plans to pursue a future in the IT sector, while Valeriia Popik aims to work in biotechnology. The team also includes younger members — Denys Sorochuk and Vitalina Popik. The students plan to bring new participants into the team and continue working on their projects.

The Opornyi Lyceum in the village of Zymne is one of 21 educational institutions selected as part of the “STEM and Robotics” project. The project is primarily focused on supporting rural and township schools to ensure that modern technological education is accessible to children regardless of where they live. The project is implemented by EGAP Program, carried out by East Europe Foundation with the support of Switzerland.