‘Twin for Hope’ How the invasion brought universities in the UK and Ukraine closer together

From supporting the efforts to preserve vital rail networks, to offering financial assistance to fix bomb shelters so Ukrainian institutions can continue to conduct classes; UK universities have played a pivotal role in helping to support Ukraine over the past year.

From supporting the efforts to preserve vital rail networks, to offering financial assistance to fix bomb shelters so Ukrainian institutions can continue to conduct classes; UK universities have played a pivotal role in helping to support Ukraine over the past year.

Today [29 March] marks one year of the “Twin For Hope” campaign which has gone from strength to strength, boasting more than 100 twinning partnerships between universities in the UK and Ukraine.

The landmark programme has enabled Ukrainian campuses to stay open, academics to continue vital teaching and research activities and most importantly, students have been given a lifeline to continue their studies.

Set up soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Universities UK International (UUKi) supported by Cormack Consultancy Group* established the UK-Ukraine Twinning scheme in the hopes of reducing ‘brain drain’, and to further support universities in Ukraine to come out of the crisis with increased resources and skills. The positive impact of the scheme was recognised by government through a £5m UKRI investment that was made in late 2022 to support its work.

A key feature of the twin for hope campaign is the amazing relationships it helped to foster between universities. One example of this can be found in the collaboration between University of Sheffield and Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic University. The university which is located in the capital city of Kyiv received £20,000 from their ‘twin’ for the construction of a bomb shelter, which enabled them to start in-person education again.

On the one-year anniversary of the twinning initiative, it’s being announced that 33 UK universities are being awarded funding through the UK-Ukraine Research and Innovation twinning grants scheme – provided by Research England – to enable twins to further their research and innovation collaborations.