Best of CASE Europe Region Award
 

Institution: King's College London

Title of entry: Ukraine Explained

About this entry: When Russia invaded Ukraine, King’s academics were uniquely placed to provide expert commentary and analysis at a time of crisis and likelihood of misinformation. In addition, in March, King’s Sanctuary Programme announced it would lead the higher education sector’s response to sponsoring Ukrainian student and academic refugees so that their education and research could continue uninterrupted. Strategic communications were required to reach Ukrainian nationals in need of support, promote the initiative to other universities who might be interested in taking part, and encourage members of the King’s community who wanted to act as a host to get in touch.

In order to reach different target audiences with a small £5k budget, we took a multi-channel approach to communications, using a media matching database, events, social media, the King’s website and strategically placed media exclusives to promote initiatives and shape conversations.

This included a 'Ukraine Explained' essay series on the King’s website for academics to answer vital questions on the latest issues (which we further supported via boosted social media posts), free online events featuring King’s top experts on Russia and Ukraine open to all, a ‘Defence of Europe’ conference bringing together academics, policymakers, ambassadors and diplomats, including UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Ukrainian Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, and utilising strategic exclusives with the Guardian, WonkHE and Times Higher Education to promote the Sanctuary Programme initiative to reach our target audiences in the higher education sector, as well as using our social media channels and internal communications to reach King’s staff.