Kyiv School of Economics has launched a long-term strategic partnership with King’s College London. KSE Rector Tymofiy Brik and Vice Rector for International Cooperation Kostiantyn Kyrychenko signed a five-year memorandum with one of the world’s leading universities. The agreement operates under the UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative, which pairs universities from the two countries in long-term partnerships.
The Twinning Initiative: A Partnership Built for the Long Term
KSE’s partnership with King’s College London is built within the UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative. It is a long-term, deep institutional collaboration covering education, research and international programmes.
The Twinning Initiative emerged in 2022 as a response by UK universities to the full-scale invasion. It was launched and is coordinated by Cormack Consultancy Group, with the support of Universities UK International, the President’s Fund of Ukraine for Education, Science and Sports, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science. The idea is that each participating Ukrainian university is paired with a British partner that commits to supporting it for at least five years.
The initiative aims to preserve the integrity of Ukraine’s higher education system, prevent brain drain, and help universities emerge from the crisis with new resources, skills and international experience. The programme is also part of the UK-Ukraine “100-Year Partnership”, which identifies education and science as the foundation of Ukraine’s long-term recovery and its integration into global academic networks.
For KSE, taking part in the Twinning Initiative means that its cooperation with King’s College London is built as a systematic strategic partnership with international backing. The five-year memorandum with a university ranked among the world’s top 40 makes it possible to plan student exchanges, joint research, double degrees and participation in European programmes years ahead.
King’s College London in Numbers
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37th in the world and 6th in the UK: QS World University Rankings 2027. This places King’s in the top 2.5% of universities worldwide (QS assessed 8,808 institutions).
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38th in the world: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026.
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7th in Europe: QS World University Rankings: Europe 2026.
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26 subjects in the global top 50: QS Rankings by Subject 2026, a record for King’s.
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95% of graduates are in employment within 10-15 months of completing their studies.
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Founded in 1829: one of the two founding colleges of the University of London and the fourth-oldest university in England.
New Opportunities for KSE Students, Academic Staff and Researchers
KSE’s partnership with King’s College London covers areas on which Ukraine’s future depends: politics and economics, security, engineering and war studies. It is also a step in KSE’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the United Kingdom.
Students will feel the first changes as early as this year: under the agreement, exchanges and joint projects will begin through the EU’s Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes. Internships, cooperation with industry partners and the opportunity to earn dual degrees will follow.
Science is a special focus. KSE is building its research capacity and global influence, and to that end it is developing an international project office. The office will now prepare joint projects with British partners, and KSE’s academic staff and researchers will be able to work together with colleagues from one of the world’s leading universities.
