Karazin University Representatives Joined the Gender Equality Partnerships Networking Day

On September 24, 2025, a meeting was held for 12 university teams from across Ukraine participating in the Gender Equality Partnerships program. The event brought together both those who had already implemented their initiatives in 2024 and those who started in 2025.

The event was organized by the British Council in Ukraine.

Karazin University was represented by Professor Maryna Vasylieva, Deputy Director of the Education and Research Institute “Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogics Academy,” and Roman Nesterenko, Deputy Head of the University’s International Relations Office, with the project “A Career Roadmap for Women’s Leadership in Higher Education in Ukraine.”

This project was implemented by Karazin University in 2024 in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire (United Kingdom), Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, and the NGO Innovative Generation.

Its goal was to identify and compare the barriers and challenges faced by women leaders in higher education institutions in Ukraine and the United Kingdom, as well as to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian higher education institutions and expand opportunities for women scholars and leaders. The initiative aimed to develop a gender-sensitive career roadmap — “Women Leaders in Higher Education” — taking into account Ukraine’s cultural and socio-political context and various academic disciplines.

The Gender Equality Partnerships initiative was launched in 2021 and has since grown from five partnerships between the UK and three other countries into a global network of 70 joint projects involving 120 institutions across 12 countries.

The meeting focused on ways to implement gender equality and social inclusion policies in higher education, research results, experiences from mentorship programs, and new opportunities for partnership. It became an important step toward strengthening collaboration and advancing gender equality, inclusion, and women’s leadership development in Ukrainian higher education.

During the event, participants shared changes in their work, as well as their personal challenges, sources of inspiration, and professional insights during an interactive session with gender equality and non-discrimination expert Kateryna Ilikchiieva.

They also worked in groups on practical steps toward the sustainability of gender initiatives, assessing change, and institutionalizing projects together with facilitator Oksana Pavlenko (Divoche.media). In an informal setting, participants exchanged experiences, discovered new opportunities for cooperation, and learned about upcoming British Council initiatives in the field of gender equality.