USUST strengthens research partnership with RWTH Aachen University

A research partnership built over decades continues to create new opportunities for education, scientific advancement, and international academic cooperation. Another important step in strengthening collaboration between the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies and one of Europe’s leading technical universities, RWTH Aachen University (Germany), was the recent working visit of  the representatives from the SEI ‘Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture’, USUST.
 
From 8 to 12 June 2026, Professor Vladyslav Danishevskyi, director of the SEI ‘Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture’, and Associate Professor Denys Volchok, head of the Department of Automotive Transport Engineering and Construction Machinery, visited Germany in the framework of the Erasmus+ academic mobility programme.
 
During the visit, the USUST researchers delivered a series of lectures for students, postgraduate candidates, and researchers at the Institute of General Mechanics of RWTH Aachen University. Their presentations addressed a range of cutting-edge topics in contemporary science and engineering, including collective intelligence methods, nonlinear optimisation, fuzzy set theory, the dynamics of metamaterials and acoustic crystals, as well as innovative approaches to protecting buildings and structures from dynamic and seismic impacts.
It is particularly symbolic that the results of USUST research were presented at the Institute of General Mechanics of RWTH Aachen University, one of Europe’s leading research centres in the fields of mechanics, structural dynamics, and advanced engineering systems. The Institute is headed by the renowned German scientist Professor Bernd Markert, whose research interests include structural mechanics, smart materials, composite systems, and biomechanics.
 
Today, RWTH Aachen University is recognised as one of Europe’s most prestigious technical universities and holds the status of a German University of Excellence. The university has approximately 45,000 students, more than 260 institutes and research centres, and ranks among the leading institutions in the European higher education and research landscape in engineering and technology.

At the same time, cooperation between the scientific schools of USUST and RWTH Aachen University spans more than a quarter of a century. Over the years, dozens of international research projects have been implemented with the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the European Commission. This collaboration has resulted in numerous joint publications in leading international scientific journals, as well as successfully defended PhD and doctoral dissertations.

An important part of the visit was a series of working meetings with Professor Bernd Markert, director of the Institute of General Mechanics. During the discussions, the parties explored prospects for further strengthening of scientific cooperation and identified new areas for collaboration. In particular, agreements were reached on the preparation of joint project proposals for participation in the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ KA2 programmes.
 
The meeting between the USUST delegation and Professor Andriy Pich, the rector’s representative for support to Ukraine at RWTH Aachen University and a world-renowned scientist of Ukrainian origin was of special significance. During the meeting, Professor Vladyslav Danishevskyi informed his German colleagues about the impact of Russian aerial attacks on the university’s infrastructure and the damage sustained by USUST facilities. In response, Professor Andriy Pich reaffirmed RWTH Aachen University’s commitment to supporting the Ukrainian academic community and continuing its humanitarian assistance to the university.
 
As part of the visit programme, the USUST representatives also explored RWTH Aachen University’s state-of-the-art research infrastructure, visiting one of the university’s high-tech research facilities. The complex houses laboratories, research centres, and interdisciplinary platforms that support international projects in engineering, materials science, energy, and digital technologies.

Today, more than 25 years of cooperation between USUST and RWTH Aachen University are entering a new phase through international projects, academic mobility, joint research, and grant initiatives. Such partnerships contribute to the integration of Ukrainian science into the European Research Area and create new opportunities for the professional development of young researchers, academics, and students of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies.