On Monday, March 2, an informal meeting was held at the Ukrainian Catholic University with the Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy in Ukraine, Charlotte Suren.
Charlotte Suren’s visit to UCU
The event took place within the framework of the “Art of Constructive Dialogue” course, which was implemented by the Student Career Center through the “Worldview Core” program.
The meeting was open to the UCU community and was an opportunity for students from various educational programs to learn more about practical experience, important professional skills and features of negotiations conducted in challenging conditions and during times of change.
Charlotte Suren‘s visit to UCU began with a tour of the university campus with the Deputy Vice-Rector for External Relations and Public Service Halyna Protsyk and Communications Manager of the Department of International Academic Relations Olha Chaplya.
After the tour, Ms. Suren had an informal meeting with students that was moderated by Myroslava Chekh, Head of the Master’s Program in Public Management and Administration. She emphasized that the university is proud of its permanent academic ties with institutions of higher education in Great Britain and thanked them for their support.
“Great Britain is a reliable and stable partner that steadfastly supports our country,” said Myroslava Chekh.
Charlotte Suren’s meeting with UCU students. The moderator is Myroslava Chekh
Charlotte Suren said that she has been working in the field of diplomacy for almost 20 years. Previously, she worked in Central and South-East Asia and led teams at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office dealing with Eastern Europe and Central Asia. For several years now, Charlotte Suren has been the Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy in Ukraine. The British diplomat spoke in Ukrainian very well. During the meeting, she emphasized that it is a great honor for her to work in Ukraine.
The format of the meeting included a dialogue between Ms. Suren and the moderator, Ms. Chekh and an opportunity for students to ask questions relevant to them.
UCU students’ meeting with Charlotte Suren
Charlotte Suren shared how she prepares for negotiations, because it is an integral part of a diplomat’s daily life. She emphasized that one of the difficult issues in daily activities is the ability to find a balance in communication, to be both assertive and to maintain professional etiquette in order to establish trust.
“We all need to expand the scope of our training. It is difficult and requires a lot of resources.” said the Deputy Head of Mission.
At the same time, according to her, “it is very important that universities, in particular such as UCU, develop students’ critical thinking skills. It is much easier to make people believe that we cannot trust institutions than to comprehensively assess a situation. This type of education is important and challenging – for educational institutions to focus on teaching critical thinking skills.“
Charlotte Suren expressed her admiration for the resilience of Ukrainians, stressing that Ukraine’s experience makes us stronger in the face of global uncertainty.
Charlotte Suren at UCU
“When I am in Ukraine, I see that you have a kind of superpower for adaptation and innovation. It is earned through all the hardships you have already experienced. But this experience can be very important not only for you, but also for other countries. Fairness is very important to us in the UK. And that is why our support for Ukraine is permanent. It’s about justice, trust and our common values,” Charlotte Suren emphasized.
Meeting of UCU students with Charlotte Suren
After the event, our students shared that such meetings are important and significant in the educational process, because “it is not only about getting answers to questions, but also about an open and meaningful conversation,” shared Anna Vdovchenko, a fourth-year student in the “Philology” program.
The community of the Ukrainian Catholic University thanks the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Great Britain in Ukraine and the Lviv office of the Embassy of Great Britain in Ukraine for the opportunity to have this meeting on the UCU campus.
