How a twinning scheme with Ukraine is creating hope

In our inaugural episode of The future of higher education today, we speak to Alla Tsapiv, Vice Rector of Kherson State University, about her experience of war and how a twinning partnership is creating hope and keeping universities in Ukraine running.

We also speak to Rachel Sandison, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement), University of Glasgow, about what it means to be a UK member of the twinning scheme and the support that her institution has been able to provide Ukrainian universities with.

Q: How has life at your university changed since the war started?

Alla: The life of our university and the life of each Ukrainian has changed, because we had to face the biggest challenge in our life: the war. We had no instructions for how to behave, what to do, how to leave, or how to survive.

You are not responsible just for yourself and your family. You're responsible for the whole university, for the students. And I think that forced us to be really strong and to cope with everything.

Everything changed. We changed the way we understand our life, the way we appreciate everything we have, and the way we love our country. 

Q:  Your university has been paired with the University of Kent as part of the twinning scheme, which pairs UK universities with Ukrainian universities to offer support. What support has been offered to you through the scheme?

Alla: I think that it was firstly a great idea to twin Ukrainian universities and British universities. In our first meeting that we had, we just introduced our universities and discussed everything that we needed. Our partners told us: we do not need anything from you, we just are here to help you so you can tell us everything you need, everything you think that we can help you with, and we will do our best to do it.

So, the first thing that we asked was for computers or laptops, because when we escaped the university, we could not take anything with us. We had to escape the city on our own by cars and buses, and we just came to the empty building without anything. Our partners sent us 100 laptops. They have made special English courses for our students and our teachers, and we've had lots of solidarity events, so lots of meetings. And that was really touching and helpful for us. It makes us understand that we have this support. It's not just words, it's real support.

Rachel Sandison, Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement) at the University of Glasgow, told us more about how universities in the UK are working with Ukrainian universities under the twinning scheme. 

Q: How did your university get involved in the twinning scheme?

Rachel: We were approached about this twinning opportunity by Cormack Consultancy and by Universities UK International. We're really delighted that we've actually been paired with three universities in Ukraine. 

It really has been an incredible opportunity to engage with three very different partners facing very different challenges. And I would just like to say it has been overwhelming to witness first hand, I think, the resilience and the optimism of Ukrainian colleagues and students.

Crucially, this is not just about providing an immediate response to the war in Ukraine, but our desire is to really develop long term sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships which are based on trust and respect.

Q: What would you say to someone in a university that is looking into the partnership scheme?

Alla: Our mission to educate students, to preserve higher education in Ukraine is a great mission and I want to say that I'm really happy to be part of it. So many universities give shelter to our students. They give them opportunities to study. They help them to survive. They give them lots of opportunities. They give them accommodation and everything that they need. It is really helpful and it really helps the university to survive. 

I wish to all people who have already joined this initiative or who are going to do it to be strong, to be supportive and to be optimistic. Never give up. 

Rachel: I would really recommend any institution who is thinking of engaging to please, just do it. Reach out to colleagues. Be part of the solution. And through that, you will make incredible friendships and you will be able to develop powerful, mutually beneficial partnerships for your own community or staff and students as well. 

It really has been an enormous pleasure and privilege to be involved in the twinning initiative. I very, very much look forward to visiting Ukrainian partners, hopefully in the not too distant future.

You can listen to the full episode of The future of higher education today, where we also spoke to Universities UK international director, Jamie Arrowsmith, about the creation of the twinning scheme and how to get involved.