The ongoing conflict in Ukraine remains of immense concern to us all. As a University, we are proud to enter the third year of partnership with our Ukrainian twinned university, Zaporizhzhia National University (ZNU), with continued sharing of best practice, institutional capacity-building and research collaborations.
This summer will see a spotlight on innovative research, deepening academic partnerships and a continued effort by UK universities more widely to support the resilience and recovery of Ukraine's higher education, during the ongoing conflict with Russia.
A long-term partnership with impact
Supported by Universities UK (UUK) and the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, our twinning with ZNU is part of a large-scale initiative launched in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The joint efforts between UK and Ukrainian institutions have been ambitious, collaborative and transformative.
On 4-5 July 2024, Durham and ZNU representatives took part in the UK-Ukraine Second International Twinning Conference to discuss how UK and Ukrainian universities can work together to continue to support the resilience of Ukraine's higher education sector and Ukraine's post-war recovery.
The event celebrated the remarkable strength of Ukrainian higher education amidst adversity and highlighted the invaluable contributions of UK twinning partners like Durham.
Durham was represented at the conference by Professor Janet Stewart, Executive Dean, Arts and Humanities, and Professor Markian Prokopovych, Department of History, who were joined by ZNU's Professor Mykola Frolov, Rector, and Professor Olena Tupakhina, Vice-Rector for International Affairs.
Emerging new research
From 6-13 July, we welcomed ZNU academics Professor Tupakhina, Professor Galina Shilo, Head of Computer Science and Professor Viktor Kuvalenko, Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Cyber-Physical Systems, to Durham to explore future areas of collaboration including history, emerging technologies and renewable energy.
The visit reaffirms both institutions' commitment to broaden further our strong partnership and builds on last year's Universities UK International (UUKi) funded research projects. The projects focused on building research capacity and resilience during conflict and brought over 30 ZNU researchers, academics and students to Durham.
During their recent visit, the ZNU delegation gave a presentation to the Durham Energy Institute Advisory Board. They also met colleagues from Durham Renewable Energy Group, the Institute of Advanced Study, the Institute for Hazard, Risk and Resilience, and the Artificial Intelligence and Human Systems Group.
ZNU students experience Durham
Our inward mobility scheme of ZNU students to Durham is entering its second year.
From autumn 2024, we look forward to welcoming up to five history and biosciences ZNU students for a period of study here at Durham.
