On June 25, 2025, a working meeting was held for the winners of the Gender Equality Partnerships, which is implemented by the British Council in Ukraine with the aim of supporting gender equality in higher education. The event was attended by representatives of Ukrainian higher education institutions — winners of the 2023–2025 competitive selection, who presented their initiatives and discussed key areas of cooperation.
During the opening of the meeting, a new wave of partnerships for 2024–2025 was presented. The project of Khmelnytskyi National University, prepared in cooperation with Bangor University (UK), won the competition in December 2024, becoming one of two selected in Ukraine. Subsequently, in March 2025, thanks to additional funding, three more Ukrainian-British partnerships joined the program. In total, 12 projects will be implemented in Ukraine under this initiative during 2023–2025.
Khmelnytskyi National University was represented at the event by Kateryna SkybaVice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work and International Relations, who presented the project “3R SheLeader: Резильєнтність, Ресурсність, Результативність”The initiative aims to develop women's leadership in higher education through mentoring programs, training, and research. The main goal of the project is to support women in the academic environment by promoting the development of three key qualities of a modern leader: resilience in the face of challenges, effective use of available resources, and the ability to achieve strategic goals. The project includes a mentoring program for women leaders from partner universities.
All teams presenting their projects shared their experiences of partnership and outlined the priority topics they will be working on. These include strengthening women's leadership, overcoming gender stereotypes, particularly in STEM fields, and developing an inclusive academic environment.
The meeting helped strengthen professional ties between universities and provided a better understanding of the partners' areas of work. This was an important step towards forming a unified professional community capable of influencing gender policy and practices in higher education both in Ukraine and internationally.
The Gender Equality Partnerships program continues to develop a powerful international network of universities that share common values of equality, inclusiveness, and leadership, opening up new opportunities for women in higher education.
As part of the 3R SheLeader project, a conference was held at Bangor University (March 12, 2025), where a delegation from Khmelnytskyi National University gave a presentation on women's leadership in wartime. During the visit, a meeting was also held with partners, at which the next stages of the mentoring program and training activities were agreed upon. In addition, the project team conducted a large-scale sociological survey of men in leadership positions at higher education institutions to examine their role as allies in advancing women in the academic environment.
Khmelnytskyi National University continues to actively support initiatives aimed at strengthening gender equality and is confidently integrating into the international community of universities that are changing the academic world for the better.