Sumy State University has been awarded funding under the Horizon Europe programme and is preparing to launch the international project RESTART – Resilience and Excellence for Social Transformation and Adaptive Recovery in Turbulence under the Horizon Europe Twinning instrument. The project has a total budget of €1,499,998.96 and will run for 36 months.

A key milestone for the University is that, for the first time, Sumy State University will serve as the coordinator of an international consortium bringing together leading European universities and research organisations:

• The University of Liverpool (United Kingdom) – a long-standing partner of Sumy State University through the UK–Ukraine Twinning Initiative;
• Universität Zürich (Switzerland);
• The University of Tartu (Tartu Ülikool, Estonia);
• The International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS, Estonia).

The project aims to strengthen Sumy State University’s scientific and innovation capacity, advance research excellence, modernise the management of research activities, and deepen the University’s integration into the European Research Area (ERA). Particular emphasis will be placed on developing long-term international partnerships, academic mobility, mentoring, joint research, and research management in line with European standards.

At the core of RESTART’s research component is the development of an interdisciplinary approach to studying social resilience and the adaptive recovery of society in times of crisis. The project addresses the psychosocial, socio-economic, governance, and information dimensions of resilience and envisages the development of practical tools for resilience assessment, scenario planning, and the preparation of policy recommendations for public authorities.

The programme of activities will include the exchange of expertise among partners, training sessions, summer schools, research placements, mentoring, and the preparation of joint scientific publications. Particular attention will also be given to integrating the project’s results into the educational process, strengthening research management, and expanding the University’s engagement with communities and public-sector representatives.

Following the international evaluation, the proposal received 14 out of a possible 15 points. European Commission experts highly rated the quality of the consortium, the interdisciplinary methodology, the well-designed approach to developing human and institutional capacity, and the project’s contribution to the further integration of Sumy State University into the European Research Area.

A significant contribution to shaping the project concept and preparing the proposal was made by Professor Andriana Kostenko, whose vision and expertise laid the foundation for this international research collaboration. The subsequent coordination of the proposal development and implementation of the project concept was led by colleagues from Sumy State University’s International Relations Office (IRO) – Dr. Alla Krasulia, Head of the IRO, and Dr. Tetyana Mayboroda, Deputy Head of the IRO – in close cooperation with the University’s Grant Support Unit. 

Coordinating RESTART demonstrates Sumy State University’s capacity to lead large-scale international initiatives under the Horizon Europe programme. Participation in the project will create new opportunities for researchers’ professional development, strengthen collaboration with European partners, and support the development of solutions that contribute to Ukraine’s recovery and enhance the resilience of its communities.

RESTART also marks another important milestone in Sumy State University’s successful participation in Horizon Europe. The University is currently implementing the MX-WOUND (Mxene-Based Multimodal Antibacterial Platforms for Targeted Wound Management and Regenerative Therapy) project under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme. The project is being carried out by the Department of Pathological Anatomy and Oncology at the Educational and Research Medical Institute.

With RESTART and MX-WOUND, Sumy State University is now participating in two Horizon Europe projects, with RESTART becoming the first to be coordinated by the University itself. This achievement reflects the University’s growing international research competitiveness and its continued integration into the European Research Area (ERA).

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