By Tor Bagger, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.
Photo:  Embassy of Denmark in Ukraine

Last year, Denmark took on part of the task of rebuilding and developing the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv after President Zelenskyy proposed it in his speech to the Danish Parliament on 29 March 2022, and Aalborg University is now actively involved. Mykolaiv on the northern part of the Black Sea has been compared with Aalborg in the 1980s with its history and location. The hope is that NUoS and the entire Mykolaiv region can learn from Aalborg University’s experience as important for Aalborg's transition from an industrial city to a city of knowledge.

"It is very gratifying that Aalborg University is now partnering with the Shipbuilding University in Mykolaiv, and that the Orient Foundation supports the initiative. It speaks well of Denmark that our partnership with Mykolaiv is not only a state matter, but also builds on the commitment of other Danish actors," says Denmark's ambassador to Ukraine, Ole Egberg Mikkelsen.

According to the ambassador, President Zelenskyy, the city's mayor and the region's governor all have a strong desire to develop NUoS, both because the shipbuilding tradition is part of the city's DNA and because the university is important for keeping young people in the area.

"It will also support the city's and region's maritime companies which will be an important part of the city's and the region's future business structure. The contacts made through the university collaboration can also benefit Danish companies, so this is a win-win in every way. A big thank you to Aalborg University for entering into the collaboration despite the unsettled conditions in Ukraine. This is the kind of thing that gives hope to Ukrainians in a difficult time," the ambassador emphasizes.

Mykolaiv and Aalborg became twin cities in 2023, and in September 2024, a delegation from Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding in Mykolaiv visited AAU to investigate the opportunities for collaboration. The agreement is now in place, and AAU will receive DKK 8 million from the Orient Steamship Company Foundation for a pilot project with NUoS in 2025 and 2026. The agreement includes student and researcher exchange, collaboration on specific research, and sharing experiences about AAU's internationally recognized problem-based learning (PBL) to bolster NUoS’s ability to rebuild the region.

Mykolaiv is a port city of great importance for all of Ukraine's transport, logistics and exports, including the country's large grain exports where the Black Sea is an important route. As the name suggests, Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding is particularly known for research and expertise in shipbuilding and the maritime field in general, but a new master plan for Mykolaiv emphasizes the transformation of the waterfront and the need for innovation centres around NUoS and the private sector. NUoS has the potential to boost the maritime area, focusing on green fuels, shipbuilding capacity and the European expansion of offshore wind. Both NUoS and AAU will thus benefit from the new collaboration.

"We want to do our part to ensure that Ukraine and Mykolaiv develop well, and that’s an important task, no matter how you look at it. There are also academic gains to be made for us in Denmark given that researchers at NUoS have extensive knowledge in areas like drones, energy technology and robots that can make for an interesting collaboration. Their rector visited earlier this year, so we know there is a strong basis for a productive collaboration," says Olav Geil, Vice Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University.

The collaboration agreement officially takes effect in the beginning of 2025, but the UNESCO Centre for Problem Based Learning and Sustainability at AAU has already started to introduce NUoS management to how to transition to PBL teaching with a focus on group-based, self-directed and project-organized learning, which will educate engineers for the sustainable society of the future and help facilitate innovation.

Contact:

• Olav Geil. Vice Dean for Education, Faculty of Engineering and Science, AAU Tel.: +45 30 12 58 65, Email: prodekan-eng-udd@aau.dk
• Ole Egberg Mikkelsen. Ambassador to Ukraine. Tel. +38 044 200 1260, Mobile +38 067 441 71 01