Behind the scenes of British politics: meeting of international students with representatives of the United Kingdom

On February 20, 2025, students of the specialty «International relations, public communications and regional studios» of the NUBiP of Ukraine, within the framework of active cooperation with the department's partner — the ADASTRA information and analytical center, participated in an exclusive meeting with influential representatives of the UK — those who shape the country's politics, public opinion and economic agenda — «Behind the scenes of British politics».

Before the start of the event, there was a good opportunity to touch, literally and figuratively, modern nano-technologies, the results of AI. We listened with interest to the mentors' story about Silicon Valley as the pinnacle of innovation on the planet, about the Spanish embassy and its activities, about the model of office research grants in Israel and its annual investments in startups in the amount of 20-30 thousand dollars annually. They talked about the definitions of the words "fall" and "rise", tolerance for mistakes, and why there are no mistakes in Japan. Like Mark Zuckerberg, it took hundreds of meetings to get results. How the Coca Cola decade went to its first billion. About the small country Estonia with its five unicorns, the Netherlands, Belgium and the EU with their best global startups.

During the meeting, students had an interesting discussion with members of the British parliament and political advisers, including James O'Keefe (political adviser to the Labour Party), David Taylor (MP, Labour Party, International Development Committee), Phil Brickell (MP, Labour Party, Foreign Affairs Committee, Public Accounts Commission), John Mann (adviser to David Taylor, parliamentary adviser), Noah Hoffman (political correspondent for The Sun). In the form of a constructive dialogue, they analyzed the areas of cooperation between Ukraine and the UK, outlined plans for the future and, importantly, heard support for the Ukrainian society.

They had an insider conversation with the GB News team about the impact of media on politics; felt a look at the UK business environment from the CEO of a top business association; talked about the role of networking for a future international career.

Taking into account the fact that the language of communication was exclusively in English, this created a good opportunity for young people to improve their knowledge of the language by communicating directly with its native speakers.

The organizers of the event offered everyone a sightseeing tour for a better acquaintance with the first Innovation Park in Ukraine. During the "journey" through the technology center, they demonstrated the mission of operating such a powerful center as UNIT.City in the capital of our state. The history of the center is similar to that of Silicon Valley, which is located in the United States. A large-scale first innovation fleet in Ukraine has now grown from the former BMW motorcycle factory. Today, it manages to bring together startups, corporations and international companies, creating an ecosystem for the development of high-tech, innovative and creative businesses. On the territory of the park there are offices, residential premises, educational institutions, R&D centers, VR and AR laboratories, as well as 3D printing. UNIT.City regularly hosts seminars, meetings and conferences, providing residents with additional business development services such as consulting, mentoring and acceleration programs.

Students of the specialty «International relations, public communications and regional studios» got a unique opportunity to join the field of International communication, get acquainted with the experience of representatives of different countries, as well as present themselves as future international specialists who study at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.

The department of international relations and social sciences has established relations with the representative office of the UNIT Center.City for further fruitful cooperation. We sincerely hope for new interesting meetings!

Lyudmyla LANOVYUK, Lyudmyla RADCHENKO,
associate professors of the department of international relations
and social sciences