WIHEA Alumna Dr Bo Kelestyn (WBS) and Honorary Fellow Professor Gwen van der Velden (Professor of Education) have won the October Warwick Wow for their Ukrainian Summer School. Nominated by staff, the awards celebrate outstanding people and amazing work, projects and achievements at the University.

Over the summer of 2023, Bo and Gwen teamed up with the Ukrainian Leadership Academy to create a pioneering seven-day co-creation programme - Leadership for Educational Transformation - for 40 Ukrainian leaders.

Bo and Gwen's nominator shared:

"Bo and Gwen secured funding from the Ukrainian Leadership Academy for the group of teachers, educationalists and policy makers to travel from Ukraine and spend eight days at Warwick. During this time they learned from specialists in the field of educational leadership - exploring themes such as policy making, education reform, inclusion, diversity, well-being, curriculum development, leadership challenges, institutional challenges and resilience, and much more.

The summer school was incredibly well received and our Ukrainian colleagues felt the sessions and support provided by Bo, Gwen and the extended team were exceptional. Not only were our Ukrainian colleagues provided with knowledge and understanding of educational challenges and potential solutions, but the summer school also gave them a platform to gather strength, form networks, and take this momentum back with them to further motivate and encourage their teams at home.

It was an inspirational project and one that was deeply powerful for both Ukrainian and Warwick colleagues."

Stuart Croft, our Vice-Chancellor, had this to say about Bo and Gwen's win:

"This partnership was amazing, as was the energy that came across from the participants - they really felt this was something being co-created. Thank you so much to Bo, Gwen and a number of other colleagues, for their brilliant initiative, work and enthusiasm."