The Story of Creating the Web Platform
The story of creating the web platform "Ukrainian Scientific Diaspora" began three months after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. At that time, following the advice of the European Union Representation in the USA, three enthusiasts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Yulia Kukharenko, Michael Leskiw, and Rainer Frost - along with two future coordinators of the Scholar Support Office - Yevheniia Polischuk and Igor Lyman - met online. The representatives of MIT initiated the search for ways to support Ukraine from their institute. As a result, in less than two months, a visit by Yulia Kukharenko and Michael Leskiv to Ukraine was prepared, during which this MIT delegation held a series of meetings with Ukrainian governmental, scientific, and educational institutions.
In the autumn of 2022, MIT Science and Technology Initiatives launched a special program called MIT-Ukraine, aimed at fostering student and academic connections between the prestigious American institute and Ukraine. Elizabeth Wood became the head of the MIT-Ukraine program, and Svitlana Krasinska became the program manager.
One of the components of the MIT-Ukraine program was the creation of the web platform "Ukrainian Scientific Diaspora," an initiative of the Scholar Support Office – the project of the Council of Young Scientists under the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. To develop the platform, six MIT students were selected: Nisha Nkya, Michelle Luo, Vivan Chinoda, Sabrina Hu, Esther Kinyanjui, Suzanne Jiang. They were financially supported by the program. In early February 2023, an organizational meeting took place between Yevheniia Polischuk and Igor Lyman with Elizabeth Wood and Svitlana Krasinska, and starting on February 14th, their weekly working meetings with the students began. Thus, step by step, Ukrainians and Americans moved from the idea to the concept and its implementation.
The concept of the platform was refined through discussions at various events, including "Ukrainian Scientific Diaspora: connecting scholars for the future," which concluded the conference "One year of war in Ukraine, exploring the impact on the science sector and supporting initiatives," organized by the International Science Council (ISC) and All European Academies (ALLEA).
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine hosted the "Ukrainian Scientific Diaspora" platform on its domain.
For more details about the MIT-Ukraine program and the creation of the "Ukrainian Scientific Diaspora" platform, see here: MIT-Ukraine Program
For more details about the "Ukrainian Scientific Diaspora" initiative, see here: Ukrainian Science Diaspora Initiative