A Ukrainian delegation from Donetsk National University visits UBE
From 30 March to 3 April 2026, UBE welcomed a delegation from Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University. The university was relocated from the city of Donetsk to Vinnytsia during Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
The partnership currently being established with Vasyl Stus University follows on from the first eight partnerships set up by UBE with Ukrainian universities since the large-scale invasion of the country in 2022. It is of particular significance given the twinning arrangement between the city of Vinnytsia and Dijon Métropole, and between Vinnytsia Oblast and the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
The members of the delegation – Rector Illya Khadzhynov, Vice-Rector for Research Serhii Radio and Director of International Relations Svitlana Zhyltsova – took part in several meetings with UBE teams, notably with President Vincent Thomas and several Vice-Presidents (Grégory Wegmann, Edith Sales-Wuillemin, Nadine Millot and Laurent Gautier). These fruitful exchanges demonstrated the resilience of Ukrainian universities, laid the foundations for future cooperation initiatives and enabled plans to be made for welcoming students and staff from Vasyl’Stus Donetsk National University to UBE in the coming academic years.
In addition to the meetings held at the University, Lydie Pfander-Meny, Vice-President of Dijon Métropole, hosted a meeting at the Palais des Ducs with the teams responsible for international cooperation at Dijon Métropole, the BFC Region and the UBE. This provided an opportunity to discuss the history of relations between the two cities and regions, to enhance the impact of the UBE’s partnership at a local level, and to explore avenues for cooperation to be developed jointly.
The visit concluded with a number of activities offering our Ukrainian guests the opportunity to discover the unique features and landscapes of Burgundy, whilst continuing the discussions centred on the many points they have in common.
Cooperation with Ukraine is facilitated by funding from the European Erasmus+ KA171 programme, for which the UBE has been awarded grants on two occasions, in 2023 and 2025. Thanks to these funds, mobility programmes for 30 students and 20 staff members have already been funded, and several more will be funded over the next two years. The UBE currently has nine Ukrainian partners spread across the country, some of which are located near the front line, in the cities of Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Poltava.
- Read the testimonial from Sofiia, a Ukrainian student who came to UBE through the Erasmus+ programme.
Further information: International Relations Office
- Sections: International Strategy and Project Development.
- Contact: Cooperation Department, University House (office R27), cooperation@ube.fr,+33 (0)3 80 39 52 85.
Co-funded by the European Union