Since the University of Bristol and Kharkiv Aviation Institute (KhAI) teamed up in 2022, they’ve co-ordinated a number of events, from maths training schemes, one-to-one English lessons, the sharing of knowledge and resources as well as attempting to address the challenges of emboldening universities trying to function during wartime.
Over the past year, Engineering scholars at both Universities have shared their experience and swapped expertise in specialist areas such as radar science, where both institutions excel.
In March, experts from KhAI were invited to Bristol to discuss further collaboration on light aircraft and composite materials, fuel efficient engines and robotics.
Led by colleagues from the University of Bristol Business School, they also addressed building research and human capital resilience of universities in tough environments such as war.
Beyond research, the University of Bristol is now organising English courses for KhAI including one-to-one sessions for the leadership of KhAI, and is sharing library resources.
Dr Oleksiy Klurman from the School of Mathematics has set up maths training camps for Ukrainian students by securing funding from the Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics (RICAM), the Heilbronn Institute and particularly XTX Markets, an algorithmic trading firm. More than 25 young Ukrainians took part in the camps, with the final six-strong team all receiving medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Contestant Ihor Pylaiev beat 600 competitors to emerge victor.
Professor Agnes Nairn, Pro Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Bristol, said: "Partnerships like these are vital to ensure that education, research and academic collaboration can continue in the face of hostility and war.
“We are extremely proud to twin with National Aerospace University: Kharkiv Aviation Institute in Ukraine, as it continues to deliver higher education and research activities despite unimaginable disruption to its students and staff.
“I look forward to seeing how this partnership progresses as we mark one year of the Twinning Initiative.”
Olena Agapova, Director of Innovation and Development Centre at KhAI, said: “We highly appreciate the support of the Cormack Consultancy Group, University of Bristol and the UK in our struggle for survival. We hope that our Ukrainian- British relationship will grow for many years to come and will flourish after the war ends.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to visit the University of Bristol, meet our colleagues and exchange experience."
The five-year partnership, between the University of Bristol and the specialist aviation and space engineering university based in eastern Ukraine's second largest city, is set up to support schemes to help the Institute’s 2,700 researchers and 7,000 students to continue to work and study. In addition to the sharing of cloud and IT support, the University of Bristol team are working to try and establish research and education mobility schemes as well.
Established in 1930, KhAI was created as a research centre to provide specialists in the field of aerospace engineering. It is known for its creation of the first in Europe high-speed plane with a retractable landing gear, and design of the turbojet engine. However, since the invasion, its campus has been targeted by shelling and gunfire by Russian forces, suffering damage to its buildings and forcing many of its staff and students to relocate.
The UK-Ukraine twinning scheme is a collaboration between Universities UK International (UUKi) and Cormack Consultancy Group (CCG), supported by a government contribution of £190,000 of financial assistance.
There are over 100 UK to Ukraine university twinning partnerships now - 106 in total, with 92 UK universities involved – showing solidarity with their counterparts on the continent.