Many companies in North Karelia are interested in collaborating with Ukrainian companies and organisations, as well as contributing to the reconstruction of Ukraine. There is interest across various sectors, including business, construction and education. Organisations are also keen to learn about and engage with Ukrainian culture.
These are findings from the Ukraine Cooperation Project launched at the University of Eastern Finland. The project conducted a survey targeted at North Karelian companies and organisations, exploring their needs regarding knowledge of Ukraine, and mapping their interest in collaborating with Ukrainian partners.
“As part of the project, we are also conducting a bidirectional survey to assess the interest of Ukrainian companies and organisations to collaborate with their North Karelian counterparts,” Project Coordinator Veera Kukkola says.
Relations with Ukraine are also being built with the assistance of a Ukrainian coordinator involved in the project. Olha Shevchenko is gathering information not only from Ukrainian companies but also from Ukrainian refugees residing in Finland. The goal is to determine how their work and educational potential could be utilised in developing collaboration between Finnish and Ukrainian companies.
Forging links between academia and companies
Based on the results, suitable collaboration opportunities are being sought in both North Karelia and Ukraine. The project is particularly interested in organisations that are committed to facilitating the resumption of normal life in Ukraine. For instance, a multidisciplinary Finnish company operating in Lviv is currently familiarising itself with local structures of industry and exploring needs and opportunities for collaboration with Finnish partners.
The goal of the bidirectional survey is to develop staff training for company needs and, where appropriate, to target training at new staff groups. For example, the University of Eastern Finland could provide education for guidance counsellors, which is a role not yet established within the Ukrainian educational system.
“Another aim is to tailor the university’s education in the Ukrainian language and culture for the needs of businesses and organisations interested, and to forge links between academia and companies. In other words, we strive to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine through education,” says Professor of Russian Language Larisa Leisiö, who leads the Ukraine Cooperation Project.
According to her, an analysis of the survey, together with interviews conducted with company representatives, now paint a clearer picture of the type of short- and long-term training that would benefit companies in their collaboration with Ukrainian partners.
Another objective of the project is to establish networks with companies and social welfare services already working with Ukrainians, as well as to forge links with Ukrainian universities for educational and research collaboration.
The project is funded by the Regional Council of North Karelia through an AIKO allowance, as well as by the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Eastern Finland.
For further information, please contact:
Professor Larisa Leisiö, [email protected]
Ukraine Cooperation Project https://uefconnect.uef.fi/en/ukraine-cooperation/
