In March 2022, NAWA initiated the programme ”Solidarity with Ukraine”, which allowed students and doctoral students to continue their education in Poland after they fled their country because of the war. The project has now been complemented with new tasks and possibilities. Universities from our country receive additional funds to develop cooperation with Ukrainian partners. The funds can be spent on, among other things, organization of student, doctoral student and staff exchange, study visits, traineeships, summer and winter schools, seminars, workshops, trainings, courses, as well as development of modern teaching materials and development of novel and innovative teaching tools and methods. Such versatile actions will help the Ukrainian scientific community – today thanks to carrying on with their work and after the end of the war in quick rebuilding of the activities.

The new programme “Solidarity with Ukraine” has been designed for Polish universities, associated in consortia within the project “European Universities”. It is an initiative of the European Commission, which aims at enhancing and strengthening cooperation between HEIs from various countries; thus they can develop better and faster and become more competitive globally. In Poland there are 18 universities that are members of such consortia. Their effective international cooperation opens up interesting opportunities for Ukrainian partners.

It is so in case of the Warsaw University of Technology, member of the ENHANCE alliance. Participation in the project ”Solidarity with Ukraine” is for us and the whole alliance a step towards development of our relations with Ukrainian universities. This was stressed by the WUT Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs during the signing the agreement with the NAWA Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange.

– We have a few months of experience in cooperation, as we have invited the Kiev and the Lviv Universities of Technology to become associated members of our alliance – said Professor Jan Słyk. – So every meeting we hold is touching, since it stirs up genuine interest of West-European universities comprising the ENHANCE alliance.

During the meeting at the NAWA Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, which was held on 20 December 2022, the agreement on completion of the project ”Solidarity with Ukraine” was signed by members of two other Warsaw universities: Marta Mendel, PhD – Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of the SGGW Warsaw University of Life Sciences (partner of the alliance The Green European University) and Professor Jacek Prokop – Vice-Rector for International Relations of the SGH Warsaw School of Economics (partner of the alliance The European University of Social Sciences).

The event was attended by Vice-Minister for Education and Science and Government Proxy for development and internationalisation of education and science, Tomasz Rzymkowski, PhD.

WUT Vice-Rector Professor Jan Słyk talking with SGH and SGGW Vice-Rectors