University of St Andrews - National University of Ostroh Academy twinning partnership

• Twinning Impact

  As part of the University’s commitment to UK-Ukraine twinning partnership, two dedicated scholarship places have been created for undergraduate students from Ostroh Academy to spend a semester at St Andrews. This initiative provides valuable academic and cultural exchange opportunities for the students and strengthens institutional ties.

  With the support of colleagues from the School of Computer Science, Ostroh colleagues were introduced to a virtual museums project and received the donation of a professional book scanner. In July 2023, the scanner was delivered to Ukraine by the ReusingIT charity and is now used in the Ostroh Academy for scanning valuable books, manuscripts and documents. Furthermore, two dedicated visiting Ukrainian scholars from the school of Computer Science developed and delivered a series of online subject modules during the spring and fall semesters of the 2023-2024 academic year. Their strong professional relationships with colleagues from Ostroh have laid the groundwork for potential future collaborations, including the co-delivery of courses, enhancing the educational experience for students at both institutions.  

  Moreover, a successful UK-Ukraine R&I Twinning Grant project entitled “An Ostroh Academy-University of St Andrews Partnership for Advancing the Public Humanities” (2023) was awarded to Professor Victoria Donovan and Dr Emily Finer from the School of Modern Languages. Collaborations supported by this grant achieved the following:  

  • Project brought five Ostroh residential fellows and two dependent children to St Andrews from 16 May to 24 June 2023. Concurrently, four non-residential fellows were funded to pursue their own research at Ostroh University. All fellows were specialists in humanities and social sciences.  

  • Collaborative links were established and strengthened between Ostroh fellows, St Andrews faculty and PhD students, researchers at the Lviv Centre for Urban History, and colleagues from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Durham Universities at two major workshops: St Andrews and Ostroh Workshop for Advancing the Public Humanities held at St Andrews on 2 June; Public History in the Context of War: Rethinking Approaches and Formats held in Lviv, Ukraine from 16-19 August. 

  • The St Andrews/Ostroh Workshop for Advancing the Public Humanities fostered ongoing collaborations with museum heritage professionals from Pokrovsk and Sloviansk, resulting in an exhibition #НаГранi (#OnTheEdge).  

  • Two residential fellows from Ostroh, supported by PhD students from St Andrews and Glasgow universities, contributed specialist expertise and interviews to the “5am. 24.02.2022. Testimonies from the War” project, a Europe-wide public history consortium to document the forced displacement of Ukrainians following the full-scale invasion.   

  •  “City in a Suitcase is a collaboration and co-production work between University of St Andrews, Center for Urban History in Lviv, and Ostroh Academy on digital archive and capacity building. “City in a Suitcase” document displaced heritage from the occupied and destroyed territories. 

  An extension to the grant in 2024 allowed the St Andrews PIs, a Ukrainian scholar-at-risk and three St Andrews PhD students to attend the inaugural conference of RUTA in the Carpathian Mountains in June 2024. RUTA is a new international scholarly association formed in response to Russia’s 2022 escalation of its war against Ukraine and comprised of scholars whose research focus and public engagement aligns with the idea of transforming area studies. Emily Finer’s panel was the first opportunity for members of her research network “Children’s Literature from Ukraine Present and Future” to meet in person, bringing together Ukrainian children’s authors, illustrators and publishers. The network has published a response to the bombing of a major publishing house and warehouse in Ukraine with an article in The Conversation on 6/6/24: Ukraine war: a wave of books to give traumatised children hope and members have given further lectures and workshops in Ukraine, USA, Canada and UK, including a Byre World Event in St Andrews: Writing for Ukrainian Children in Wartime. 

• Testimonials

  ‘St Andrews is a remarkably pleasant place to be in and I felt extremely privileged to be here. St Andrews is busy and always full of all sorts of different people to meet, different cultures to acquaint, bright and sparkling when you need a bit of a festive celebration, but also this place can be calm and quiet in times when you need some thoughtful solitude. There is the seashore, nice trails to walk on just inside the city of St Andrews, along with cozy cafes, fancy restaurants, and pubs for socializing. You can find a library in every mile you walk through the city – if you are going to appear here – take advantage and visit them all, one by one. And then share your thoughts on which of the libraries you loved the most. The important thing – here in St Andrews, I've met amazing people, experts in my field, who have greatly stimulated my personal development as a scientist, as well as a warm and supportive community of peers and friends. Here in St Andrews, you never feel alone – and if you do, you just go out of your room, close the door behind you, and take a step outside, allowing a new adventure to grab you and fill you with joy.’ 

   

  ‘This internship at the University of St Andrews is an unquestionably crucial stage in my professional biography. Thanks to this grant, I managed to spend one and a half months at one of the most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. I would like to highlight the valuable experience of communicating with colleagues from Scotland. During my time at St. Andrews, I effectively worked on my research. Colleagues at St Andrews managed to create a very positive environment for communication and work, fostering the development of ideas for new joint projects, for which I express deep gratitude.’ 

   

  ‘I really liked the approach to studying at St Andrews. Especially the fact that it was possible to review missed lectures or catch up on learning through lecture recordings and discussions. The space of the University is impressive. My favourite place in St Andrews is the Main Library. I love reading and researching libraries in different countries and cities. The Library in St Andrews has become a place for me where I have had a spiritual and moral rest, met friends and learned a lot. One of my favourite shelves is the shelf with Ukrainian literature, where I read a lot of books. Exploring Scotland became one of the tasks we implemented on a daily basis. We ate haggis, danced Scottish dances, celebrated St Patrick's Day, visited the Highlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, The Glenfinnan Viaduct, Botanic Gardens and many other places. One of the most vivid memories was hiking, where we found many new friends, saw a rainbow in the sea and Scottish sheep and cows. It was an unforgettable experience. As for St Andrews itself, we really wanted to explore the city where we lived and where the University was located, so we walked the streets every day, to explore new places whenever possible. I feel very warm about communicating with people from Scotland. I've never met a more friendly nation in my life’.