Ukrainian Higher Education in a Time of War

Professor Svitlana Tsymbaliuk is a visiting scholar at the University of Leeds. This visiting is connected to a twinning arrangement established between UK and Ukrainian Universities. Svitlana represents a partner institution: Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman. Her talk will be focused on how her University and the higher education sector more generally have been working since the start of the war against Ukraine in 2022. Please see the abstract of the presentation for further details. Svitlana's presentation would be of interest to wider members of the University of Leeds academic community and to all of those who wish to understand how Ukrainian Universities have been focused on delivering their mission in research and teaching in spite of daily violence.  

Ukrainian Higher Education in a Time of War:  

Ensuring the Continuity of Learning at Universities 

On February 24th of the last year, the world shuddered at the news of Russia’s military attack on Ukraine. The occupation of parts of the Ukrainian territory, the introduction of martial law, the destruction of infrastructure, constant air strikes, threats of bombing and shelling and the internal evacuation and external displacement of vulnerable sections of the population caused chaos in the country. It led to the temporary shutdown of higher education institutions across the country, which negatively affected the educational process and research activities. As of the end of February 2023, the total amount of damages caused to the education sector by Russia’s full-scale invasion was estimated at around $8.9 billion.  

Despite extreme challenges faced by the Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, administrative and faculty staff not only managed to continue the educational process and research activities, but by the end of 2022 achieved results of a considerable long-term value. This presentation will explore the management of the educational process, the communication strategies used by academic staff and students during the war, changes to the University’s admission policies and, finally, the provision of psychological support provided by the Centre for Social Adaptation and Psychological Assistance. This presentation will include the survey results of reported students’ satisfaction with the educational process and will discuss the impact of the war on research activities and professional development of academic staff. A particular attention will be given to the discussion of results related to the implementation of international partnership projects.  

Svitlana Tsymbaliuk,
Dean of Personnel Management, Sociology, and Psychology Faculty,
Professor of the Department of Socioeconomics and Personnel Management,
Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, Ukraine