I had the privilege of attending a two-day event (23-24 March 2026) at the University of Liverpool entitled ‘The UK-Ukraine Research Twinning Showcase and Networking 2026’.  It was organized by Dr. Igor Potapov and held at Liverpool’s School of Law and Social Justice. I was impressed by the number of initiatives between the UK and Ukraine aimed at supporting scientists within the Ukraine and across the Ukrainian diaspora. I would encourage you to take a look at #ScienceForUkraine to see the many programs for funding and in-kind support, such as through the cross-national twinning of university units.

At a 2024 conference in Gdańsk, Poland, organized by Young Network TransEurope, I met many Ukrainian researchers, including Dr Yevheniia Polishchuk, when we were lost in the Gdańsk Shipyards [formerly the Lenin Shipyards, where Lech Wałęsa organized protests and later worked as an electrician before receiving a Nobel Peace Prize in 1983] and trying to find the venue for the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, which performed in the concert hall for the opening ceremony. We found the venue and helped each other navigate throughout the conference. [My presentation led to an article: Dutton, Bill (2025), ‘The War on Information in Ukraine: A Global Ecology’, pp. 62-71 in Roland A. Römhildt , ed., Reclaiming Europe: A Collection of Essays. Berlin: Young Network Trans Europe.]

Following the conference, Dr Polishchuk asked me to play a role as her mentor in one of the Science for Ukraine initiatives. She originally had the development of a center for financial inclusion as a goal, but over several mentoring sessions she transitioned to creating a ‘Ukrainian Science Diaspora’ to network researchers.

It has been a rewarding experience in advising Dr. Yevheniia Polishchuk on her creation of an innovative Ukrainian Science Diaspora, for which she is a co-founder. Her progress since our meeting in Gdansk in 2024 has been extraordinary. The Ukrainian Science Diaspora (USD) is “a community of Ukrainian scientists, researchers, and other educators who work abroad and seek to join forces to work together, support Ukrainian science, integrate Ukraine into the global scientific community, and assist in the country’s recovery.” I have no doubt but that this is a clear and important set of objectives.

These objectives are validated early on by the fact that she has a strong team of seven co-founders, managers, and coordinators as well as over 390 scientists who have already joined the USD. As an Oxford academic and Co-President of The Portulans Institute, an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan research, and educational institute based in Washington D.C., I am open to help support the continued development of the Ukrainian Science Diaspora. For example, the The Portulans Institute might be able to feature the diaspora in our Ukraine Case Studies.

My colleagues and I are available to advise and assist in establishing an independent charity, which she has underway in Ukraine. Most generally, I’ll speak with my colleagues at the Portulans Institute and ask Dr Yevheniia Polishchuk how we can help her in supporting the development of what is a vital network during as well as after the war in sustaining and restoring science and educational institutions in Ukraine. As you can see, mentoring a young scholar can be rewarding.

You might not yet have heard about any of the Ukraine-UK science intiatives, but the many scholars and scientists that populate this global diaspora and which are supported by these programmes may not know it but are powerful ambassadors for Ukraine across the world.

See: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ukrainian-science-diaspora