UK government to help fund Ukraine university twinning scheme

The British government announced on June 28 that it would provide £190,000 in funding for a program that matches UK universities with Ukrainian ones to support students and academics affected by the war.

A total of 71 UK institutions have already been paired with Ukrainian counterparts through the scheme launched in April, including the University of Liverpool, Wrexham Glyndwr University and the University of Glasgow.

In particular, the University of Sheffield (UoS) has been paired with the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI). Specifically, UoS is keen to develop joint researches with KPI, look at the possibility of opening research groups, or offering remote visiting professorships.

A further 61 UK universities are looking to partner with Ukrainian institutions, with eight of these “nearing formal agreement” according to Universities UK, which runs the program alongside Cormack Consultancy Group.

Under the agreement, universities will partner with their Ukrainian counterparts for a minimum of five years.

The funding was part of a wider package of support from the British government for Ukraine’s science, technology and research sectors, including the allocation of an additional £9.8 million to the “Researchers at Risk” program, which launched in March to support Ukrainian academics to continue their work in the UK.

The scheme will support over 130 Ukrainian academics to come to the UK and receive a salary, and cover the costs of research work and living for up to two years.

Meanwhile, individual organisations and institutions in the UK have set up their own schemes to support Ukrainian academics, researchers and students.

Cambridge University said on June 27 that it would support at least 30 students and academics displaced by the war through fully-funded residential placements, clinical placements for medical students, and help for academics working in Ukraine.

Foreign Exchange company XTX Markets announced its new £15m “Academic Sanctuaries Fund” which will support at-risk students and academics from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus over the next three years.

More information:
https://thepienews.com/news/uk-government-ukraine-university/?mc_cid=f5abf409ad&mc_eid=ae0736c715