Universities can play an important role in responding to humanitarian crises and the response to the invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated what is possible when policy, funding and political interests align with the goodwill, creativity, and commitment of colleagues in the UK’s higher education community.

The broad spectrum of responses – which has drawn together funders, regulators, government agencies, universities, and both private sector and charitable organisations – has meant the UK’s response to supporting the higher education community in Ukraine has been significant. However, the scale and impact of this response has posed questions over how the UK sector can respond to, and support, other higher education systems experiencing humanitarian and other forms of crises. A new report launching on Monday 11 September, commissioned by UUKi from Halpin Partnership, aims to reflect on this work undertaken in the sector to support Ukraine, through the twinning initiative and beyond, and draw lessons for the future.

Join this webinar to reflect on how the UK higher education sector mobilised to support universities in Ukraine and what lessons we can learn from this for future humanitarian crises.

In this webinar:
• The Halpin research team will highlight how the UK sector was mobilised to support universities in Ukraine.
• They will reflect on the policy, funding and political levers which have enabled a broad-based response and how these need to be considered when formulating a response to emerging crises at individual, institutional and sector levels.
• Finally, they will introduce the humanitarian response framework that institutions might employ to help develop and tailor future responses, providing a practical tool that can help maximise the effectiveness and impact of university action.
• There will be an opportunity to submit questions for the research team in advance and during the webinar.

This webinar will be chaired by Susie Hills, CEO and Co-founder of Halpin, Project Director for the Lessons Learned project.

The panel will feature:
• Dr Paula Sanderson, Lead Consultant
• Emily Owen, Consultant.