On 19 Feb 2024 Dr Aijan Sharshenova joined our SHAPEDEM project (and IGSD team) as a lead Research Fellow. Prior to this Aijan was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. Dr Sharshenova holds a PhD in Politics awarded at the University of Leeds, UK. Prior to joining the OSCE Academy, Dr Sharshenova worked at the UN and UNDP country offices in the Middle East, and taught courses in International Politics and Academic Writing. Aijan’s research interests include public diplomacy, the EU and Russian policies towards Central Asia, EU policies towards the eastern neighbourhood, and international development. Recently, Dr Sharshenova published her book ‘The European Union’s Democracy Promotion in Central Asia’ available here.

Aijan replaced Dr Asya Kudlenko, who is currently on maternity leave.

Delighted to see the birth of a Warwick's stellar team led by Jonathan Clarke (Warwick GSD-SCFS) and Raquel Nunes (Warwick Medical School), both IGSD Thematic Fellows, working together to create synergies between IGSD, Economics, Education Studies, WBS, Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, Estates at Warwick and external stakeholders in their multi-million UKRI bid for 'health co-benefits of the transition to next zero'. The effort of their team has been stupendous, and the RIS support - Aidan, Alan, India and Andina - as always, unparalleled! Good LUCK, and sincere best wishesto you all!

Dr Bo Kelestyn (Associate Professor, WBS, and IGSD Thematic Fellow) and Professor Gwen van der Velden (Professor of Education) were recognised for their brilliant ‘Ukrainian Summer School’ project, and received the October WOW award! Heart-felt congratulations to them both, and look forward to with Bo and Gwen- both as part of the Ukraine Working Group and IGSD ECR STS!

https://vimeo.com/880838833/81d0e3cfcc?share=copy

Prof. Elena Korosteleva has been awarded Policy Support Impact (PSF) funding to connect her Oxford Belarus Observatory work with Warwick's Ukraine-Belarus hub (WUB-hub). The project will focus on the topical issues in the relations between the two peoples, in the context of the ongoing Russia's war against Ukraine. The project will run webinars, podcasts, policy briefs, workshops and a conference in the summer 2024, and prepare the ground for a large bid. Watch the space! Elena is grateful for the support of Rachael Kirwan and RIS in designing this project.

Horizon Europe SHAPEDEM_EU project, launched in October 2022, has had its first annual in-person meeting in Krakow on 9-11 October 2023. The meeting brought together 12 institutional members of the consortium, to share and discuss knowledge co-production by different Work-Packages (WPs), and to engage with the EU officials on the developments in the EU neighbourhoods. In particular, Warwick team leading WP2 on assessing democracy promotion in the eastern neighbourhood, engaged with WP1 - the conceptual framework of the project - and discussed the progress and challenges for WP2 in undertaking fieldwork in Eastern Europe and capturing perceptions and practices of democracy on ground, covering Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasus - the countries affected by war, conflict, and internal/external oppression.