On August 18, 2022, representatives of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute took part in a round table entitled "Opportunities for joint ventures between Ukrainian and Romanian companies for the development of blue business in the field of maritime transport", which was held in a virtual format.
The event was held within the framework of the 4BIZ project ("Stimulating the Blue Economy in the Black Sea Region by Developing a System of Business Cooperation in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Coastal and Marine Tourism and Maritime Transport"). This project started in July 2022 and will last for 24 months. It is funded by the European Commission through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Facility (EMFAF) program and aims to develop the potential of small and medium-sized businesses in the Black Sea region. The project is coordinated by the Black Sea University Network (BSUN), with which Kyiv Polytechnic has a long history of cooperation. The international consortium implementing the 4BIZ project consists of 9 full partners (including Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute) and 17 associate partners from Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Greece, and France.
The event was attended, spoken and discussed by, among others, Executive Director of the Maritime Cluster of Ukraine Olena Zhukova, Secretary General of the Black Sea University Network (BSUN) Eden Mamut, Rector of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Michael Zgurovsky, Director General of the Romanian Shipbuilders Association Gelu Stan, Mayor of Galati Cesar Bicescu.
Sergiy Shukaiev, Head of the Department for Coordination of International Project Activities, told KP about the specifics of the 4BIZ project for our university: "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has resources, scientists, experience, and knows how to support startups; we have been successfully operating the Sikorsky Challenge Festival of Innovative Projects for 10 years. Our knowledge will be applied in this project, and this will be the contribution of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. I would like to note that such projects aimed at supporting our business and restoring our country are extremely important for us now."
One of the speakers, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych, told and showed in a video what misery and destruction the shelling by Russian aggressors caused and what efforts will have to be made to restore the city's infrastructure. Entrepreneurs participating in the event had the opportunity to communicate with each other and discuss prospects for cooperation.
In his speech at the roundtable, Rector of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Michael Zgurovsky, focusing on the current situation in Ukraine, emphasized: "Every war ends in peace. Having defended their right to live in their own sovereign state, the Ukrainian people will return to peaceful life. We will have to rebuild the country. Some regions will have to literally rise from the ruins. Naturally, it will be necessary to build a new, efficient, modern country with an economy focused on knowledge-intensive industries with high standards of innovation. In this area, close cooperation between large industrial and high-tech companies of Ukraine and Romania will be very important." Elaborating on the topic of cooperation between Ukraine and Romania, Michael Zgurovsky said: "We are trying to preserve our traditionally strong scientific schools at universities, in particular at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, and on the other hand, to deepen cooperation with international, especially European, teachers and scientists. Cooperation between Ukraine and Romania in this area is traditional, extremely important, and highly desirable at the new stage of Ukraine's reconstruction. Today, higher education and research in Ukraine continue. During the war, Ukraine did not stop training specialists. The border between Ukraine and Romania is 900 kilometers long and is shared by the Black Sea. Both nations share the Orthodox religion and culture. They are close to each other in terms of social structure, way of life and folk art, and have lived peacefully side by side for centuries. As an EU member state, Romania is in a more advantageous position to use the Community's resources and the opportunity to become an instrument of the EU's Black Sea policy. This situation expands the possibilities for cooperation between Ukraine and Romania at both the regional and European levels. This applies to such areas as the development of democracy and improvement of economic cooperation, regional, cross-border and environmental cooperation, transportation, fisheries and maritime tourism, energy security, and other areas. It is necessary to use all opportunities for cooperation to increase Romania's and the EU's interest in Ukraine as one of the main European partners."
Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and Reconstruction of the Black Sea Region
National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” joined the international project to support the blue economy of the countries in the Black Sea region.
The project is developed to support small and medium-sized businesses in the field of fishing, aquaculture, marine tourism and transport in the region.