Educational institutions in wartime: partnership conference with the University of Hull

The full-scale war has become a real challenge for educational institutions in Ukraine: some have lost everything and had to start from scratch in a new location, others remain in frontline areas under constant shelling, and some, even being hundreds of kilometers away from the fighting, still have no certainty they will not share the same tragic fate. Yet wherever there is a threat to life, there is also a great desire to grow, dream, and strive for more.

Mariupol State University is a unique case of resilience in higher education. Its difficult experience of relocation, rebuilding, and gaining new meaning in its mission has impressed the world.

The question of what role an educational institution should play during war became the foundation for an international conference held by MSU and the University of Hull, the British strategic partner of the invincible community. For two days, from November 4 to 5, its educational space became a platform for important discussions.

Mariupol University was represented at the event by Acting Rector Tetiana Marena, Director of the Center for International Education Iryna Sikorska, Professor Anna Chechel, Associate Professor Stepan Yankovskyi, and Senior Lecturer Maksym Stiopin, who traveled for an in-person partner visit to the British colleagues.

This was a great opportunity to emphasize that Mariupol University is more than just an educational institution. Today it acts as a flagship of the post-war reconstruction of Mariupol, a humanitarian hub, a leadership center, an institution capable of uniting communities, and also a platform for public diplomacy,

— notes MSU head Tetiana Marena.

Other leading universities also actively joined the event. Speakers included representatives of the University of New Haven (USA), with which MSU officially joined efforts a year ago to achieve shared goals, as well as experts from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Swansea University, and the University of St.Andrews, all of which have been actively cooperating with Ukrainian universities since the beginning of the full-scale invasion as part of the UK-Ukraine Twinning initiative.

Participants discussed the effectiveness of partnership as an international solidarity symbol , connected current experiences with historical lessons, and focused on social mission — supporting veterans and displaced people. The conference closed with a creative component: a workshop “From Home to Home: Objects of Memory,” where creative writing was used as a tool for reflecting on experiences of war and displacement. 

The focus on lived experience, particularly support for veterans and migrants, emphasized the practical value of our cooperation. I truly hope that the results of the conference will transform into concrete long-term joint projects that will significantly contribute to Ukraine’s recovery and the strengthening of international ties,

— shares Senior Lecturer Maksym Stiopin.