The Georg Forster Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) has been awarded to Ukrainian guest scientist Dr. Olena Matukhno in 2023. She also won the Green Heart Leader honorary award at the Women’s Leadership for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development forum on 15 June 2023.
Olena Matukhno has been a guest scientist at the German Emissions Trading Authority at the German Environment Agency since June 2022. The experts from the worlds of academia and policy implementation actively supported her application for an AvH research fellowship and are now enthusiastically anticipating the upcoming collaboration with Dr. Matukhno.
The research project, which they will conduct as part of the Georg Forster Research Fellowship, is focussed on achieving the climate goals in the Ukrainian iron and steel industry. The first part is centred around the current situation in the iron and steel industry, as well as the emissions-related impacts that various technological investment decisions will have after the war. The second part of the project focuses on analysis of the implementation process of carbon offsetting in Ukraine and, in particular, of the balancing system for CO2 emissions. In particular, recommendations will be developed for the iron and steel sector to strengthen the integrity of the system. The German Environment Agency is the guest institution here.
Dr. Olena Matukhno is an associate professor in the Faculty for Ecology and Environmental Protection Technologies at the Dnipro University of Technology in Ukraine, where she has continued to teach online since moving to Germany. She came to Germany to escape the Russian invasion and now lives in Dresden with some members of her family. She also works as an expert in the accreditation of inspection authorities at the Ukrainian national accreditation agency.
About the Georg Forster Research Fellowship
The Georg Forster Research Fellowship is a German fellowship programme offered by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The fellowship is aimed at post doctorands and experienced researchers from developing and emerging countries. It gives fellows the opportunity to conduct their research projects in close cooperation with German research institutions. The funding provides financial assistance and usually lasts 6 to 24 months. The Georg Forster Research Fellowship is an opportunity for international researchers to familiarise themselves with the German research landscape and engage in academic discussion.
About the Green Heart Leader honorary award
The Green Heart Leader award ceremony was held as part of the Women’s Leadership for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development forum in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Dnipro simultaneously with the aid of a video conference. It was held by the “Office of Sustainable Solutions, Professional Association of Environmentalists of the World” and the “Department of Environmental Policy of the Dnipro City Council” with the support of the United Nations Development Programme. The aim of the forum is to create a network of female managers who promote sustainable development, decarbonisation and ecotransformation in Ukraine despite the current conflict and crisis. It enjoys financial backing from the European Union as part of the United Nations peacebuilding and rebuilding programme.
Dr. Olena Matukhno was nominated for the Green Heart Leader honorary award by the Dnipro city council’s environmental policy department in recognition of her involvement in the “green movement” in Ukraine. She is a long-standing honorary member of the scientific and technical council of the environmental policy department. She also advises companies on how to improve their environmental impacts, implement the best available technologies, and monitor and report greenhouse gas emissions.
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