Global food shortage to be aided by Partnership with University of the West of Scotland amid Ukrainian war

dailyrecord.co.uk:

University of the West of Scotland has partnered with the Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport (UkrSURT) on a £190,000 project which will focus on addressing rail freight transport challenges caused by the ongoing conflict.The conflict affects billions of people worldwide as Ukraine is among the world's leading food suppliers.

This project will help with the movement of goods to ports and further afield.Both universities will collaborate to develop degradation resistant railway sleepers, as well as optimised transport vehicle and logistics designs, to improve rail freight transportation, alleviating food supply issues.The announcement comes on the one-year anniversary of the twinning initiative, with the project funded by the UK-Ukraine Research and Innovation twinning grants scheme, and involves UKRI’s Research England and Universities UK.Professor Milan Radosavljevic, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Engagement) at UWS, said: “Rail freight transport is critical for the economic development and welfare of Ukraine, which has been significantly affected by the conflict – about 70 per cent of cargo transportation in Ukraine is carried out by railway.“We are delighted to be supporting the Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport through a collaborative research and development project.

It is a fantastic partnership due to the specialist nature and applied research of the twinning partners, which involves our highly regarded School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences.“The main aim of the partnership is to help the University achieve academic continuity and capacity strengthening through research and innovation, in the critical area of rail freight transportation.”The research