A delegation from The State Tax University (STU) in Ukraine, which was largely destroyed in the Russia-Ukraine war, visited some of the UK’s renowned academic institutions to support plans to rebuild their main campus as a modern exemplar of university design.

​Tours of the University of Cambridge, The University of Oxford, University College London (UCL), and the London School of Economics (LSE) will inspire plans to reconstruct the university in Irpin, which has historically been the cornerstone of civic education in Ukraine. STU says it aims to set a new standard for future universities as the country is rebuilt.

​International nonprofit Build Forward Ukraine hosted the visit, alongside global design and engineering firm Stantec. Last year, Stantec’s outline concept was selected as the winner of an international competition to help design the new university.​

“Rebuilding STU will restore a key educational institution teaching public administration, international law, and accounting—essential disciplines needed to reinforce Ukrainian democracy,” said Margie O’Driscoll, chief executive officer of Build Forward Ukraine. “This trip has served as a key milestone in our mission to help Ukraine develop a model for reconstruction rooted in partnership, learning, and resilience.”

​STU intends to progress initial designs for the new buildings with Stantec this year. The full timeline for reconstruction remains undetermined. As a beginning point, the concept design embraces the spirit of Irpin—known as the “City of Parks”―and is rooted in community, nature, and the pursuit of knowledge.

“Ultimately, it’s important that the destroyed buildings are not simply replaced but the whole campus is reimagined to suit the current and future needs of the population,” said Dathe Wong, design director for Stantec. “Our hope is for STU to be both a community gathering space as well as a regenerative civic and academic hub.”