Stirling University partnering with Ukrainian researchers

The University of Stirling is to work with a Ukrainian institution, in a bid to improve water quality in post-war Ukraine.

They'll be teaming up with Odessa State Environmental University.

Stirling is one of six Scottish universities to be awarded money as part of the scheme.

Professor Andrew Tyler is leading the project:

Professor Tyler said: “Everything in Ukraine has been impacted by the war, including the quality of freshwater in lakes and reservoirs.

“Water quality is crucial to human health but conventional sampling of aquatic systems is challenging during military conflicts.

“The availability of free-to-access, consistent and long-term Earth observation (EO) data provide the ability to observe aquatic systems remotely.

“Few countries have the capacity to fully exploit the potential of these new satellite data products so our aim is to build the expertise in Odessa State University to exploit the EO opportunities for national monitoring.”

Commenting on the research collaborations, Universities Scotland’s Convener and Principal of St Andrews University, Professor Dame Sally Mapstone said:

“The circumstances which have led to this announcement are deeply distressing but the collaborative research taking place between universities in Scotland and Ukraine is immensely practical and hopeful.

“The funding commitment is very welcome. It demonstrates an understanding both that university research is an essential part of Ukraine’s war-time infrastructure and of the role that universities will play in helping to rebuild a successful country after the war’s end.”