Advanced Research Workshop «Energy infrastructure resilience in response to war and other hazards» within the framework of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme

From 23 to 26 September 2024, the Ukrainian delegation from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute took part in the Advanced Research Workshop «Energy infrastructure resilience in response to war and other hazards» within the framework of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, which took place at the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Rzeszow University of Technology, Poland. The main goal of the Workshop is to unite international efforts to develop effective approaches to protecting and restoring energy infrastructure, especially in emergency situations caused by war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters or cyber threats. For more than two years now, Ukraine has been facing challenges due to Russia’s criminal attacks on our country’s energy infrastructure. That is why the importance and relevance of this event, as well as the participation of the Ukrainian delegation, cannot be overestimated. The Ukrainian delegation consisted of scientists from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (Oksana Vovk, Natalia Zuievska, Liubov Shaidetska, Olena Borychenko, Anatolii Cherniavskyi, Olena Yarmoliuk, Vitalii Opryshko, Viktor Gurieiev, Olga Demydenko), NTU Dnipro Polytechnic (Yurii Papaika), and representatives of the State Labour Service of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation presented the results of their research in the following areas: analysing the risks and vulnerabilities of energy infrastructure in the context of military operations and cyber threats; discussing innovative technologies to improve the resilience and restoration of energy systems; studying the experience of different countries in responding to energy emergencies; and restoring schools and kindergartens partially destroyed during the war in compliance with energy efficiency requirements.

The seminar brought together experts, scientists and practitioners from different countries to discuss topical issues related to the resilience of energy infrastructure in the face of war and other threats. Special thanks to our colleagues from Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Georgia, Latvia, Germany, Turkey for their informative presentations and subsequent discussions, which are extremely valuable for Ukraine in understanding a number of contemporary security issues and their further resolution. This seminar has become a platform for strengthening international cooperation between academics and practitioners in the field of energy security, as well as creating a network of contacts for future joint research and projects.

During the discussions at the Workshop, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute scientists informed the participants about the implementation of the international project HORIZON-MISS-2023-CIT-02 «Associating Ukrainian cities to the Climate-neutral and smart cities Mission» under the HORIZON-CSA programme and offered to cooperate in this project as experts.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to our colleagues from the Rzeszow University of Technology (Poland), in particular to the Rector of the University Piotr Koszelnik, Vice-Rector Jaroslaw Sep, and the event director Dominik Strzałka for the warm welcome of our delegation, as well as for organising and holding the event at the highest level!

The Advanced Research Workshop «Energy infrastructure resilience in response to war and other hazards» is an important step in strengthening global security and resilience of energy systems. It will provide an opportunity for the international community to join forces to prevent the devastating effects of war and other threats to critical infrastructure.