As part of the international research project «Safe, Sustainable, and Swift Reconstruction of Ukraine» (S3RoU), a delegation from Lviv Polytechnic National University – Associate Professor Oleksii Hunyak, Project Lead from Lviv Polytechnic (Department of Highways and Bridges), and Professor Taras Markiv (Department of Building Rehabilitation) – paid a working visit to the University of Leeds (UK). The visit took place in September 2025 and marked an important milestone in advancing inter-institutional collaboration aimed at innovative approaches to Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
During the trip, the Lviv Polytechnic team met with the project’s technical lead at Leeds, Professor Theodore Hanein, Chair of Construction Materials Science, and Professor Leon Black, Professor of Infrastructure Materials. The Ukrainian researchers toured laboratories and world-class facilities at the University of Leeds, exchanged expertise, and discussed project delivery and future joint initiatives. The parties focused on upcycling construction rubble into low-carbon building materials and on the social dimensions of rebuilding damaged infrastructure – addressing the needs of affected communities, displaced people, and veterans, and developing scalable solutions for different regions of Ukraine.
Beyond engagements with Leeds researchers, the delegation also met Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds Central and Headingley and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ukraine, and Professor Nick Plant, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds. Discussions covered the role of science in post-war recovery, opportunities to collaborate on evidence-informed policy, and ways to involve the public in delivering innovative projects – laying the groundwork for effective UK-Ukrainian research partnerships that can translate project results into real-world reconstruction.
The UK Government supports S3RoU through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s InnovateUkraine initiative, bringing together partners from the UK, Ukraine, and the Netherlands. The project explores safe, circular methods to transform asbestos-free construction and demolition rubble into low-carbon building materials suitable for the reconstruction of housing and critical infrastructure.
The involvement of experts from Lviv Polytechnic National University ensures that Ukrainian scientific capacity helps shape modern approaches to rebuilding based on sustainability, environmental safety, and social responsibility.
For more on the visit and technology in action, see coverage by BBC and Radio Free Europe.
