The University hosted the UK – Ukraine twinning showcase and networking event which brought together delegates from the UK and Ukraine to share experiences and identify opportunites to foster new links and collaborative partnerships.
The event, which coincided with the two-year anniversary of the Liverpool-Sumy State partnership, was held both in-person and online and brought together stakeholders from the Ukraine and the UK.
The event included presentations, poster sessions and working group discussions to explore existing research activities and identiy potential new collaborative projects.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Jones welcomed delegates to Liverpool. He outlined the success of the Liverpool-Sumy State partnership activities which includes providing an International Summer School for Ukrainian students, sharing electronic library resources and assisting with Sumy’s cloud-based IT needs. The University has also provided accommodation and access to work space for visiting staff and students.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Jones
In addition, the University hosts academics supported through the UK National Academies – CARA (the Council for At-Risk Academics) programme, providing fellowships in English, Law and Paediatric Medicine which have enabled colleagues to continue their research, enhance their skills and build collaborative links with Liverpool.
Additional funding through Research England and the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) enabled Liverpool and Sumy to expand the collaborative partnership with seed funding and honorary fellowships to support collaborative research projects in addition to support for in-person research visits.
Professor Igor Potapov from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Computer Science presented the Science for Ukraine virtual mentoring scheme for UK and Ukrainian Universities. He also announced plans to support Early Career Researchers from Sumy State University to develop new research projects with the University.
Professor Potapov said: “The UK-Ukraine showcase and networking event was a key platform for sharing the valuable twinning experience and engaging in discussions about the future of sustainable academic collaboration between the two countries. This event provided a unique opportunity for approximately 100 participants from over 60 universities to come together and foster academic links with Ukraine.
“The programme consisted of presentations, a thematic working group and a roundtable discussion to identify best practice, address key challenges and map out new opportnities for development.
“Discussions centred on identiying potential new collaborations between universities, the co-supervision of Ukrainian PhD students and the establishment of research activities aimed at making a positive impact in both Ukrainian and UK societies, educational programmes as well as industrial sectors.”
The Twinning Initiative is coordinated by Cormack Consultancy Group with the support of Universities UK International, the President’s Fund of Ukraine for Education, Science, and Sports, and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Universities UK International Director, Jamie Arrowsmith has written a blog in reflection of the past two years of twinning partnerships.