This comprehensive report on the UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative is a true testament to the extraordinary power of international academic solidarity in times of crisis. This initiative began in 2022 as an urgent response to russia’s invasion of Ukraine and it successfully mobilised numerous UK universities to support colleagues in Ukraine.
At its core, Twinning creates one-to-one, strategic partnerships between Ukrainian institutions and international universities — primarily from the UK. Each partnership is designed to respond to the individual needs and priorities of the Ukrainian university. This can include emergency support such as equipment and resources, as well as longer-term collaboration in the form of joint research projects, academic exchanges, professional development, co-development of programmes, access to online courses, guest lectures and applications for external funding.
UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative in numbers:
- 105 institutional partnerships
- £70 million generated for Ukrainian universities
- As part of the UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative, Universities UK International (UUKi) awarded Research and Innovation Twinning Grants to support 33 joint projects between British and Ukrainian universities
- A full list of awarded projects is available on the UUKi website
- As part of the UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative, Universities UK International (UUKi) awarded Research and Innovation Twinning Grants to support 33 joint projects between British and Ukrainian universities
- over 50,000 students and staff directly engaged
- 300 students enrolled on double-degree programmes
- 10 dual-degree programmes established:
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (Sumy National Agrarian University – Royal Agricultural University)
- City Management and Smart Sustainable Cities (Alfred Nobel University – Coventry University)
- Marine Power Plant Operation (Kherson State Maritime Academy – University of Plymouth)
- IT for Sustainable Energy Development (Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas – London South Bank University)
- Psychological Well-being and Mental Health (Lviv Polytechnic National University – Nottingham Trent University)
- Organisational Transformation and Sustainable Development (Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics – Abertay University)
- The Future of Heritage: Culture, History, Literature (Ukrainian Catholic University – University of Nottingham)
- LLM in Artificial Intelligence, Digital and Cyber Law (Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University – Edge Hill University)
- Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chain Management (Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport – University of the West of Scotland)
- Computer Science and Software Engineering (Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics – University of Warwick)
- over 700 individual projects
- over 40 tonnes of equipment shipped to Ukraine
- 9 generators were installed at HEIs in Kyiv, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Ostroh, Lubny, and Uzhhorod. Funding has been secured for up to 22 additional generators, and further fundraising is ongoing through the Generators4Ukraine campaign. The initiative helps Ukrainian universities remain operational during power outages, ensuring continuity of education.
- over 48ooo users of the English4Ukraine platform, launched by Mariupol State University in partnership with Cormack Consultancy
Group and Reallyenglish to improve English language proficiency in Ukrainian higher education.
The UK-Ukraine University Twinning Scheme was founded by Cormack Consultancy Group in collaboration with Universities UK International, and supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) — the UK’s government department responsible for foreign affairs, international development, and humanitarian assistance, The Fund of the President of Ukraine for the support of Education, Science, and Sports and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The Twinning initiative has also been significantly enhanced by the contributions of international donors and philanthropic organisations.