Ukrainian academics visit University of East Anglia
Some of the visitors were looking into how to decontaminate Ukrainian soil affected by warfare
Ukrainian academics have visited a Norfolk university as part of a cultural exchange.
Researchers in science, journalism and economics from the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University (PNU) in Ukraine visited the University of East Anglia (UEA) campus earlier this month.
During the two-week visit, the academics took part in many cultural and educational activities, which fell into three different groups:
• Joint research on soil and water remediation, preparing for the monumental task of decontaminating Ukrainian soil affected by warfare
• Stimulating development of eco-innovative start-ups in Ukraine
• Raising awareness of the global environmental impact of the war through journalism and filmmaking
The scientists visited several sites in the south of England to see the development of previously contaminated land, including a trip to the Tipner Regeneration site.
Meanwhile, the academics working in business and economics learnt about UEA’s work to support business innovation and technology transfer.
Those from PNU’s journalism department held collaborative workshops at UEA Broadcast House and met officials from the Norwich City (NCFC) media team and Community Foundation at Carrow Road.
They also visited Blickling Hall.
Matthias Neumann, Professor of Modern History, and the academic lead of UEA’s partnership with PNU, said:
“The first in-person visit of our Ukrainian colleagues from PNU as part of our twinning partnership really exceeded everyone’s expectations.
"Our joint multidisciplinary programme seeks to help Ukraine to prepare the ground for reconstruction through fostering scientific collaborations, knowledge exchange, entrepreneurship, and technology transfer.
"But this partnership is far from a one-way street. We also had much to learn from our PNU colleagues during two incredibly fruitful weeks of scholarly collaboration.”