Project Background

This suite of videos are the final part of a funding grant awarded by Universities International UK and UK Research and Innovation to the University of York in 2022.

The grant, awarded as part of the UK-Ukraine Twinning Scheme aimed to create a new partnership between the University of York and Karazin Kharkiv National University, developing a community of researchers who have the skills and knowledge to understand the impact of chemical pollution in war-torn Ukraine.  More information on the programme and its aims can be found on the University of York web page.

After completing a 10 week online training programme focusing on chemical pollution, material taken mainly form the Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment Towards Sustainable Chemical Use (ECORISC) Centre for Doctoral Training, eight PhD students from Karazin Kharkiv National University spend the summer of 2022 at the University of York. Embedded within the departments of Environment and Geography, Physics, Electronics and Engineering and the department of Chemistry, the students worked on research projects which matched their research interests and PhD projects.

The projects allowed the students to develop skills in monitoring chemicals in the environment, providing them with the experiences to take samples and conduct analysis in laboratories, skill which were not possible for them to develop in the Ukraine due to the war. The programme concluded with a workshop where research priorities around chemical pollution in the Ukraine were discussed. 

Training materials featured within the priorities identified and the videos produced are the first step in providing more students from Karazin Kharkiv National University and other universities within the Ukraine with information/skills and techniques on how to conduct a chemical pollution monitoring study.

The programme featured on Channel 4 news, with 2 of the students involved sharing their experience.