Partnerships · Ukraine
Bogomolets National Medical University to adapt Norwegian veteran rehabilitation experience
December 2025
KBT Vocational College and Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv have signed a memorandum of understanding on veteran reintegration, capacity building and therapeutic innovation.
The memorandum, signed in Kyiv on 2 December 2025, commits both institutions to a shared programme of work on the reintegration of veterans, the development of veteran potential and the introduction of therapeutic innovation. The core of the cooperation is the adaptation of Norwegian experience with psychological support to the Ukrainian context.
The meeting gathered the university's senior leadership: First Vice-Rector Professor Oleksandr Naumenko, Vice-Rector for International Relations and European Integration Professor Rimma Skrypnyk, Vice-Rector Professor Oleksandr Kaniura, Vice-Rector Professor Volodymyr Tytykalo, Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation Professor Nazarii Kobyliak, Professor Serhii Zemskov of the Institute of Medicine, Associate Professor Ivanna Sakhanda-Piddiacha, Associate Professor Lesia Lymar, and Professor Oleh Chaban of the Institute of Mental Health.
KBT Vocational College was represented by Deputy Director Roger Santokhie, International Coordinator Nils-Erik Volden and Project Coordinator Trond Erik Berg. The visit was organised through the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies, which connects universities and research institutions worldwide to develop Ukrainian studies and strengthen Ukraine's international visibility.
The First Vice-Rector underlined that the university gives significant attention to mental health and to developing modern educational programmes in the field, and that it forms a strong base for training the doctors, psychologists and rehabilitation specialists who will play a decisive part in the reintegration of military personnel. He welcomed the initiatives proposed by the Norwegian side.
Presenting KBT, Roger Santokhie described the college as one of the leading institutions in Northern Europe within mental health recovery and peer support, with a unique expertise in building educational programmes grounded in the knowledge of people who have themselves lived through crisis and trauma.
Photographs from the meeting were taken by the university and are published courtesy of Bogomolets National Medical University.
