Two years of twinning: UUKi Director Jamie Arrowsmith

Ambition and collaboration

In the two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the work between UK and Ukrainian institutions has been ambitious, collaborative, and transformative.

Ambitious, in that we have seen work ranging from constructing bomb shelters to capturing oral histories of the war; collaborative, in that these partnerships are genuinely built on two-way exchange; and transformative in the demonstrative power of what a united sector can do.

As we reflect on the twinning scheme two years on, it’s important to appreciate both how far we have come in such a short time, and how much is still to be done.

Twinning for hope

The twinning scheme was established quickly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The aim was to coordinate action, with UK universities keen to offer support but unclear on how best to proceed.

We partnered with great success with Cormack Consultancy Group (CCG) to deliver the scheme. Over 100 initial partnerships were created, and it is inspiring to see just how much has been achieved. Through the twinning partnerships, UK and Ukrainian institutions worked together to, for example:

• Physically rebuild the campuses of Ukrainian universities that had been damaged or destroyed;
• Share mental health support – particularly for Ukrainian staff and students suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD);
• Support displaced students and researchers and provide them with access to UK resources and labs to continue their education and research.

This scheme showed UK universities at their best – collaborating with international colleagues in a united front.

Our Ukrainian colleagues agree. Last year, Alla Tsapiv, Vice Rector of Kherson State University, told our The Future of Higher Education Today podcast:

Similarly, in our recently published interview with Durham University and their twinning partner Zaporizhzhia National University (ZNU), Vice-Rector Olena Tupakhina told us:

In the same piece, Durham’s Dr Markian Prokopovych highlighted that this collaboration went both ways, with UK colleagues benefitting from their Ukrainian counterparts’ experience and expertise:

These are powerful testaments to the scope, ambition and impact of a project that has forged new friendships – and has genuinely changed lives. As a sector, we can look at the work done so far and be proud of this impact.

Looking to the future

This moment is good vantage point to look back on the work completed so far. However, it is also a good point at which to focus on the work ongoing.

UK and Ukrainian partners have long been laying the groundwork for these partnerships, created in a specific and painful context, to flourish into long-term and even permanent collaborations.

In 2023 we saw the UK-Ukraine R&I grant scheme created with funding from Research England. This provided support for 32 institutions looking to transform their twinning partnerships into long-term strategic partnerships.

The immense appetite amongst both Ukrainian and UK institutions to build on their partnerships with an eye to long-term collaboration is heartening to see, and reflects for the desire for long-term partnerships and engagement between the UK and Ukrainian higher education sector.

This month, we have been profiling a few of these partnerships. You can find out more about these stories with Durham, Cardiff and Nottingham.

Final thoughts

It has been a privilege to see these relationships flourish between our two countries in the last couple of years, and one I believe we will continue to enjoy in the future. We all hope for a free, peaceful Ukraine – but we know that the partnerships we see today will endure.

The response to Ukraine was unprecedented in its scope, and we sought to identify lessons from the approach in a report by Halpin. The response to the invasion of Ukraine benefitted from a unique confluence of factors, including bilateral government buy-in and substantive political and policy support - and, importantly, funding - which enabled a coordinated, high-impact programme to be developed. How we mobilise that level of cross-government and cross-sector support in a similar way in other contexts is the key challenge for the future.

Two years on from the shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we can see that higher education flourishes when it is collaborative, international, trusted and coordinated. UUKi and our partners will continue to point to the twinning scheme to illustrate this point.