Initiative for Twinning Partnerships between Ukrainian Universities and European Universities Alliances
The initiative for twinning partnerships between Ukrainian and European Universities Alliances, started by EPICUR Alliance and European Universities Alliances Forum FOR-EU1 & FOR-EU2 and officially launched at Eurocampus in Versailes on 30 June 2022.
The initiative is based on the coming together of the vast majority of European Universities Alliances funded by the European Union within Erasmus+ Programme to express their full solidarity with – and strong willingness to assist – their Ukrainian colleagues, students and institutions in surviving the war and, looking towards future, in order to help completing their integration into the European education area and the European union.
It is a bottom-up initiative to reinforce the European coordinated action towards supporting all levels (from the students to the lecturers and researchers, and from the departments or faculties to the governance university bodies) of all institutions shaping the Ukrainian Higher Education sector.
You can find the statement here with the list of signatories.
The goal is simple in order to be as efficient as possible: it is to make available our resources as European integrated networks of alliances, based on our institutions or at the level of our joint resources and expertise, to one or more Ukrainian universities in order to answer current and future pedagogical, research and strategical needs, and explore networking opportunities.
For this to happen, we are offering the possibility for a twining partners matching process where universities and networks, on a voluntary basis, get to know other potential partners sharing similar interests. The first step is to share contacts and basic information for then bilateral discussions to develop.
We aim at a European coordinated action and we are calling for the European union to support this initiative as an instrument to accelerate the assistance towards the Ukrainian Higher education and research sector. We strongly believe it will help restore the cohesion and prosperity of the Ukrainian society in the perspective of the country accession to the EU.
Information on interested participants
LIST of participants with link to website (for European universities alliances: respective website and factsheet from DG EAC): see document “list of participants twinning initiative” (updated 15.07.2022).
More generally, National Erasmus + office – Ukraine website is presenting a Database on existing Erasmus+ funded projects involving Ukrainian partners. Their team provides consultations for the Ukrainian and European universities on the Erasmus+ Programme from the idea to the projects design and implementation. Please do not hesitate to contact them about the national specifics and especially challenges and needs during the war.
Ukrainian universities have already jointed European Universities Alliances Initiatives in 2021 and are eligible as an Associated Partners for the new calls for proposals.
Within coming calls for proposals of Erasmus+ the Alliances are interested in working together with Ukrainian universities for the opportunities under Learning Mobility and Cooperation of Organisations and Institutions Actions. Such cooperation will contribute to the development of the Ukrainian universities capacities for further transformation to rebuild Ukraine after the victory!
Details on the Erasmus+ opportunities.
Ukrainian Higher Education Institutions are welcome to contact the relevant Alliances partners with concrete initiatives for support and cooperation based on the SWOT analysis with short project ideas descriptions – objectives, activities, expected results, potential partners and initiatives, responsible person contacts.
Contact&Follow up
- EPICUR: (Dr.) Mrs. Sabine Menu (smenu@unistra.fr); (VP Prof.) Jean-Marc Planeix (planeix@unistra.fr); (VP Prof.) Rafal Witkowski (rwitkows@amu.edu.pl)
- National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine: Ms. Svitlana Shytikova (office@erasmusplus.org.ua)
- Ukrainian Rectors Union: prof. Volodymyr Bugrov, Vice President; contact person: Ksenia Smirnova: smyrnova@knu.ua