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(Left to right) Sofiia Doskich, an assistant professor of geography at Lviv Polytechnic National University, and Kostyantyn Mezentsev, head of the Department of Economic and Social Geography at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, in front of the Global and Multicultural Building on FSU’s campus in Tallahassee. \t\t<\/p>\n
Last month, two Ukrainian scholars visited Florida State University to collaborate with faculty, observe classes and shape new research ideas through the BridgeUSA Ukraine Program for Resilience and Reconstruction (BridgeUSA UPRR)<\/a>, a U.S. State Department\u2013funded exchange that connects Ukrainian and American researchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Funded by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, and administered by the American Councils for International Education, BridgeUSA aims to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people of other countries. It remains vital to U.S. national security and to building connections around the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sofiia Doskich, an assistant professor of geography at Lviv Polytechnic National University, and Kostyantyn Mezentsev, head of the Department of Economic and Social Geography at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, spent a month at FSU conducting research, observing classes, developing new course materials, delivering lectures and presentations and exploring the policies and culture that shape U.S. higher education.\u00a0<\/p>\n This marked the second year that FSU\u2019s Ukraine Task Force<\/a>, housed at the Learning Systems Institute<\/a>, hosted fellows from the program. Vilma Fuentes, director of the task force, coordinated the visit, including meetings across campus and trips to surrounding cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are thankful to the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and the American Councils for International Education for making these academic exchanges possible,\u201d Fuentes said. \u201cWe were honored to have hosted Dr. Sofiia Doskich and Dr. Kostyantyn Mezentsev and to have facilitated these new and growing engagements with Ukrainian academic partners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Topics covered during their visit included emergency management, homeland security, urban planning, drone applications, engineering, geography and the reconstruction of urban regions after disasters. The meetings generated a number of areas for research collaborations and partnerships.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n (Left to right) Kostyantyn Mezentsev with Vadim Kulichenko, visiting scientist\/researcher at the MagLab, Sofiia Doskich, and Mykhaylo Ozerov, research faculty at the MagLab. (FSU’s Ukraine Task Force)Doskich and Mezentsev accompany Anna Romanova, a researcher at LSI at FSU, and others for a tour of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the largest and highest-powered magnet lab in the world. (FSU’s Ukraine Task Force)<\/p>\n At Lviv Polytechnic National University, Doskich develops Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) by monitoring land deformation and performing laser aerial photography. Most recently, Doskich has helped evaluate damage related to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine since February 2022. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the United States, you have more resources, you already have the infrastructure and experience in the field,\u201d Doskich said. \u201cWe can connect to your experience and point of view to create something new, something modern, something that can help other people and other societies.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n While at FSU, she collaborated with the Department of Geography<\/a> and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering<\/a> to maximize opportunities for joint research collaborations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI came to find collaboration, to share knowledge and research, and this will be very helpful for us, for our country, for other scientists, for other researchers and for other educators,\u201d Doskich said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to have someone who can look at your research from another direction and maybe notice some things that they can see from other perspectives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sofiia Doskich, assistant professor of geography at Lviv Polytechnic National University, delivers a guest lecture to a class during her one-month fellowship at FSU. (FSU’s Ukraine Task Force)<\/p>\n At Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University (KNU) in Kyiv, Ukraine, Mezentsev\u2019s research focuses on urban geopolitics, urban regeneration, urban resilience and urbicide, the intentional destruction of urban and civilian spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not just about us needing assistance and our country being in pain,\u201d Mezentsev said. \u201cWe can also exchange information. I\u2019m participating in the BridgeUSA program and it\u2019s a bridge for both sides, not just one way. It\u2019s for both sides to make this bridge more stable.\u201d<\/p>\n His current work, which focuses on rebuilding Ukraine\u2019s cities after the Russian invasion, struck a chord with numerous faculty members across FSU.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s look at what the impact is on cities through the lens of any disturbance, any disaster for a city,\u201d Mezentsev said. \u201cIt could happen anywhere. Tornadoes or hurricanes. Consider evacuation or seeking shelter in the event of a bomb threat. It\u2019s the same way we think about the impact of any external disaster. I asked a group \u2018How many of you evacuated during the last hurricane.\u2019 Who stayed at home? What does it mean for your city?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n During their monthlong visit, Doskich and Mezentsev traveled to nearby cities like Atlanta, Miami, Tampa and Gainesville to gain a comparative understanding of how different resilience and reconstruction projects could translate to Ukrainian cities with similar infrastructures. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery city is an exceptional case,\u201d Mezentsev said. \u201cIn terms of reconstruction, we should think about different cases. How, for example, urban farming as a tool\u00a0for community resilience, works in a small city like Tallahassee or Gainesville, or how it works in a large city like Miami or Atlanta or Tampa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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Taras Panchenko, head of the computer science department at KNU, spent a month on FSU\u2019s campus through the BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program. (Center for Global Engagement) <\/p>\n