Two years of twinning: Cardiff University and Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University (ZPNU)

Professor Omer Rana (OR): The initial contact happened in September 2022, when we delivered our ‘Night of Science' in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University. We conducted a number of online sessions for Ukrainian schoolchildren on why science is important and interesting. As part of this, we worked with ZPNU, and realised simultaneously that they had a lot of interesting things going on at their institution that also fit well with our expertise.

These shared interests, and prior work together, meant that when the UK R&I twinning grants scheme came around, we were building from an already strong foundation. We sat down with colleagues from ZPNU and did a ‘mapping session’ charting our capabilities and priorities and worked out a focussed approach that would target our resources effectively once we had won the grant.

OR: It was key to us that this partnership was long-term and sustainable. To address this, we really adopted a ‘bottom-up’ approach. We looked at interests of our respective staff and institutions and almost ‘twinned’ our academics too based on their interests – which really helped create those enduring partnerships.

Michelle Smith (MS): Yes, the staff who visited – which we will come on to – were very focussed on Physical Sciences and Engineering, which meant we could immediately connect them with like-minded colleagues from Cardiff.  A considerable benefit  in forming those early relationships.

OR: The idea of these visits was on one hand to make research and education connections, and on the other to identify potential areas for future collaboration. We basically wanted these students and staff to have as many experiences as possible – casting the net wide and in our follow-up meeting asking ‘where was the most interesting areas for you for future collaboration?’.

We did this by taking the staff and students in separate visits around as many of the relevant academic Schools to them as possible – Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics and so on. They were able to meet lots of people during this time and have these conversations they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to.

MS: We also recruited student ambassadors – all with cultural or language skills relevant to Ukraine –the staff and students were accompanied by the student ambassadors to their various meetings and sessions across the campus, which helped facilitate the conversations.

MS: Yes, definitely. Supplementing this educational exchange with culture was vital – it helped them to understand the UK and Wales better. We took the students and staff on a range of trips – Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons, Sain Ffagan Amgueddfa Werin Cymru / St Fagans National Museum of history, the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru. We encouraged them to get out and explore too. They visited London, the Harry Potter platform at King’s Cross, and the Houses of Parliament.

OR: I was greatly impressed with the quality and skills of the students. They were extremely bright.

I do remember one story – when the students came to Cardiff, one of them came through immigration in the airport and the person at the desk called them back, as they had forgotten a document. They said ‘hey love, you have forgotten to take this!’. The student blushed and said ‘she called me love and she doesn’t even know me!’ – little things like this made you laugh along the way.

MS: On the flip side, they spoke often about their home region, and we began to understand so much about their lives, customs and families. They were very keen that one day we visit them in Zaporizhzhia.

OR: It came out of listening to ZPNU colleagues in the discussions we had. We facilitated the procurement of MATLAB licenses they could make use of directly at ZPNU, and worked with them to use the ‘toolboxes’ within it – little bits of additional functionality for MATLAB. Not only does it address their needs, but it means that it uses the Cardiff University computer infrastructure, meaning we can futureproof it and protect our long-term collaborations with one another.

MS: Yes, these were also really powerful for both the students and staff in terms of solidifying that future relationship. When some of the students arrived, for example, their English levels were more mixed – with some more confident and some less confident. On their last day, the students delivered a presentation on their whole experience, and you could really see the improvement and confidence in their English language skills as well as the academic and personal development they’d experienced and benefitted from during their time in Cardiff.

OR: We took the staff to visit Bristol and again just introduced them to as many people as possible. I think it’s important that, as UK institutions, we show a united front with international partners. I think you can see that in our Great Western Four (GW4) partnership** on this; we really enjoyed that visit to Bristol.

MS: It was good to discuss the practicalities of operationalising the visits and coordinate within this network – the South-West Twinning Group – of people in similar positions at other institutions. It gave me a bit of a reassurance and encouragement, being able to hear from other colleagues on their challenges and experiences.

MS: We are continuing our partnership and the work we have started and I believe will expand into different areas. Hopefully an opportunity opens in the future, where I can realise my ambition to visit them in a peaceful Ukraine.

OR: Their students and staff inspired me – I found them to be fantastic to have here [in Cardiff]. But at the same time, don’t discount Ukraine as one of the really innovative places in scientific research itself, standing in its own right.