Ukraine-Czech Republic: Expanding Cooperation

On February 5, a delegation from the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ukraine visited Oles Honchar Dnipro National University. Representatives of the Embassy held a business meeting with the university administration and toured the new communication location opened at DNU with the financial support of the Czech government.

The first secretaries of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ukraine, diplomats for cooperation with Dnipro region Ladislav Horak and Pavel Kamenik, and the project manager of the Embassy Natalia Andreeva came to DNU on a working visit. Together with Rector Sergiy Okovytyy, Acting Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs in International Cooperation Viktor Gasso and Vice-Rector for Research Oleh Marenkov, the distinguished guests discussed the current results of the academic cooperation between DNU and Charles University in Prague, which has been going on since 2022. The fruitful cooperation between our universities is carried out within the framework of the grant program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic “Strengthening the Capacity of State Universities in Ukraine and Moldova” under the project N23-PKVV-UM-4 “Support for Improving the Quality of Teaching, Research and International Activities at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University”. During these years, with the assistance of Czech colleagues, internships were conducted for DNU scientists and joint research projects were implemented under mini-grants. We also actively improved the skills of our specialists in modern educational technologies and methods of open science, and increased their knowledge of the basics of fundraising and international project management.

The rector spoke in detail about the practical implementation of these areas of cooperation, as well as about new promising opportunities outlined at a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Czech Republic Vasyl Zvarych. First of all, Sergiy Okovytyy thanked the Czech partners for their solidarity and support of Ukrainian higher education in times of full-scale war. The rector directly noted the great assistance of foreign colleagues in strengthening the academic potential and management resources of our Dnipro University in the current crisis conditions.

In response, Ladislav Horak, First Secretary of the Czech Embassy, said he was pleased to see such a positive dynamic of cooperation between Oles Honchar Dnipro National University and Czech institutions. Realizing how important the topic of physical and psychological rehabilitation of the population is for Ukraine, Mr. Horak also spoke about Czech assistance with medical equipment for one of the hospitals. In this regard, the representative of the Embassy also personally invited representatives of the Faculty of Medical Technologies of Diagnostics and Rehabilitation of the DNU to participate in the forum of medical workers of Dnipropetrovs'k region, which will be organized by the Czech Republic in May.

Other Czech initiatives include cooperation in the field of water purification in Ukraine. Thus, Ladislav Horak reported that the previous year the Czechs provided 13 mobile units that are currently treating river water in the Kryvyi Rih district of the region. This year, it is planned to supply another 25 units of similar equipment. Oleh Marenkov, Vice-Rector for Research, spoke in detail about the possibility of cooperation between the specialists of the Faculty of Biology and Ecology of DNU and Czech colleagues in the field of research of the aquatic ecosystem of the Dnipro and its tributaries.

Інформаційно-аналітичне агентство
Дніпровського національного університету