On June 23, 2025, ONMedU joined the strategic session dedicated to the 3rd anniversary of the Twinning partnership project between Ukrainian and British universities

The First Vice-Rector of Odessa National Medical University, Professor Valeria Marichereda, and the Rector’s Assistant, Iryna Savchenko, took part in a strategic online session dedicated to the results and prospects of the Twinning initiative between universities in the UK and Ukraine.

The event was opened by Cormack Consultancy Group Project Director Angela Stashchak, who outlined the purpose of the meeting: to discuss the achievements of the Twinning initiative, as well as challenges and further steps. The Chairman of Cormack Consultancy Group, the founder of the British-Ukrainian Twinning initiative, Charles Cormack, presented the achievements of the program over three years: more than 100 partnerships were created, more than £70 million in support was attracted, academic exchange opportunities were expanded, and support was established for Ukrainian universities affected by the war.

Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykhailo Vinnytskyi recalled the real consequences of the war for Ukrainian education: serious damage to institutions, in particular KPI and Sumy State University, due to drone attacks. Despite this, the system remains resilient and continues to develop. He also stressed the importance of double degree programmes as a tool for long-term partnerships and presented the Ukrainian Studies initiative, which aims to counter disinformation through education.

Martin Cushing, Director of Science and Innovation at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, focused on three areas of sustainable development for the project: strengthening the communication network, supporting research for post-conflict reconstruction and engaging with Horizon Europe programmes.

During the discussions, Professor Valeria Marichereda highlighted that ONMedU has been an active participant in the Twinning partnership programme for three years and expressed deep gratitude to Queen Mary University of London for its continued support. Thanks to this cooperation, ONMedU students had the opportunity to undergo clinical practice at St Bartholomew’s Clinic, which was an extremely valuable experience that, according to her, will significantly impact their professional path.

She also noted that Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, Honorary Professor of ONMedU, is an important figure in the development of this cooperation. Among the recent joint initiatives is a conference dedicated to methodological issues of education, where the latest approaches were discussed, including the use of artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality in simulation training in medicine. ONMedU plans to integrate these ideas into its educational process.

The participants discussed current challenges, including damaged infrastructure, risks of brain drain and the need to preserve the country’s academic potential.

Concluding the session, Angela Staszczak encouraged universities to be more active in sharing cases of cooperation in order to attract the attention of donors. The participants agreed on the importance of preserving the Twinning network and developing partnerships as elements of a long-term strategy for the recovery of Ukraine.