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Abertay and Kharkiv National University of Economics have worked together on curriculum content, online resources and research
An academic partnership between Abertay University and a higher education in Ukraine is going from strength to strength as the world commemorates the second anniversary of the war.
Abertay and Kharkiv National University of Economics (KhNUE), the largest higher education institution specialising in economics in Eastern Ukraine, were paired under the Twinning for Ukraine initiative back in 2022.
Since then, the partnership has flourished, notably with the launch of a jointly delivered MBA programme at the beginning of the current academic year.
Led by Abertay’s Division of Accounting, Business, and Marketing, this online business course has been tailored to meet the needs of Ukrainian students, with a strong emphasis on cybersecurity and sustainability.
To date, 18 students have enrolled in the programme, benefiting from financial support from Abertay, KhNUE, and the MOSAIK fund. The students engage in fully online studies, enabling them to continue learning even if they have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict.
Efforts are currently being made to secure additional funding to extend the programme’s availability into future academic years.
Claire MacEachen, Dean of International and UK Partnerships, said:
Watching our partnership with KhNUE thrive and grow over the past two years has been an absolute delight. We’re in awe at the strength and resolve of staff and students at KhNUE who are determined to continue working and learning in the most challenging of circumstances. The joint delivery of the MBA programme has proven to be highly successful, providing Ukrainian students with a valuable opportunity to pursue their degrees despite adversities. We hope to welcome new cohorts in the coming years, offering more students the opportunity to receive a quality education.
This month (April 2024), three KhNUE staff members are visiting Abertay to explore potential research projects and collaborations, with funding already identified to support their work.
Additionally, Abertay staff are actively seeking additional funding opportunities to enable Ukrainian students to participate in short study visits to Scotland.
Dr Yuliya Dobroskok, Head of International Relations Office at KhNUE, said:
The development of a partnership with Abertay University is extremely valuable and important for supporting our University in the difficult times of a full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine. The implementation of the Double Degree Programme "MBA: Organizational Transformations" for Ukrainian students was the result of fruitful academic cooperation and partnership efforts. Common approaches to teaching and learning, common requirements for quality assurance of education are impressive. We hope that the development of scientific partnership will become the next stage of fruitful and long-term cooperation between KhNUE and Abertay.
Launched in March 2022 by the Cormack Consultancy Group with support from Universities UK, the Twinning for Ukraine initiative seeks to aid Ukrainian universities during and after the war by fostering meaningful partnerships with international higher education institutions.
After the launch, Abertay University joined over 100 other UK universities in participating in the scheme and was paired with KhNUE.
Since formalising the partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2022, Abertay and KhNUE have organised numerous collaborative online webinars, facilitating the exchange of knowledge between the two institutions.
Furthermore, KhNUE staff and students were granted access to the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) and Jisc library resources, with staff also benefiting from Abertay’s academic CPD resources available through the Abertay Learning Enhancement (AbLE) Academy.
