Ukrainian delegates return from Warwick with new academic approaches and connections

The University of Warwick welcomed 40 education professionals from Ukraine to campus last month to participate in the Leadership for Educational Transformation programme.

The programme was initiated by Dr Bo Kelestyn from Warwick Business School. Dr Kelestyn, a Ukraine-born Associate Professor, co-designed the scheme with Professor Gwen van der Velden, Professor of Education, and Ivanna Kurtyk, Deputy CEO of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy. In partnership with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, the programme looks to transform Ukraine’s education system post-war.

I am confident that these connections will transform into successful projects for education development in Ukraine

Diana Rakus, Staff member, Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine

Participants highlighted the “transformative tools tailor-made for efficacious deployment in Ukraine”. Another said the programme was a “beacon of investment in Ukraine’s future”.

Diana Rakus, a key staff member at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, said: “The University of Warwick is all about the people! I am so grateful to the organisers and our amazing group for such a unique opportunity and unforgettable experience. I am confident that these connections will transform into successful projects for education development in Ukraine.”

Dr Dmytro Chumachenko, Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Modelling and Artificial Intelligence at the National Aerospace University (Kharkiv Aviation Institute) in Ukraine remarked: “Just today, my university’s campus bore the brunt of 160 shellings by Russian forces. Yet, in the face of extensive physical devastation, our educational and research endeavours persevere undeterred.”

The programme has equipped us with transformative tools tailor-made for efficacious deployment in Ukraine

Dr Dmytro Chumachenko, Associate Professor, National Aerospace University

He added: “In my estimation, the Leadership for Educational Transformation programme stands out as the most impactful of all the initiatives geared towards bolstering Ukraine. By curating a cohort of the crème de la crème of the educational sphere, the programme has equipped us with transformative tools tailor-made for efficacious deployment in Ukraine.”