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“Higher Education in Turbulent Times”: A Roundtable Discussion between Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and George Washington University

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Published on Friday, 30 May 2025 09:14

The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the George Washington University held a roundtable discussion “Higher Education in Turbulent Times: Challenges, Resilience, Community Response, and the Role of Universities (US and Ukrainian Experience).” The event was held on April 29, 2025, in Washington, DC, at George Washington University.

The participants of the roundtable discussed the key challenges faced by Ukrainian universities in times of war, the experience of students and academics, the role of student activism and volunteering, international academic cooperation in overcoming risks, as well as psychological challenges and crisis response mechanisms.

Particular attention was paid to the Ukrainian experience of managing and operating universities in the context of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The unique experience of resilience of Ukrainian universities may be relevant for finding mechanisms to respond to current challenges in higher education in the United States. “We know very well how important the free and sustainable development of education, science and the search for knowledge is. That is why we want to share our experience. It is important to talk about the tragedies we have experienced so that they do not happen again,” said Dmytro Mazin, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.

“It is extremely important to stimulate the coverage of Ukrainian issues in leading universities abroad. The recognition of national priorities and values should come through high-quality scholarly research,” emphasized Volodymyr Venher, Dean of the Faculty of Law.

The participants of the event noted the high level, depth and sincerity of the discussion, emphasizing the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian university community. “It is hard to imagine that any other country in the world undergoing similar conflicts or wars would achieve such a successful continuation of teaching and research as demonstrated by Ukraine. Will other countries study Ukraine's experience and learn from it?” summed up Ulrich Hewer, the Professor of the University of Maryland and aprofessor who was involved in the development of the economic educational & research areas at NaUKMA, in his blog at the George Washington University website.

This conversation between the Ukrainian and American academic communities has become a significant contribution to strengthening academic connections between Ukraine and the United States and deepening international scholarly cooperation.

We are convinced that the cooperation between Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the George Washington University will give a new impetus to the continuation of research projects, exchange of experience, and strengthening of ties with leading institutions in the world.

“The Ukrainian experience of universities' resilience demonstrates effective adaptation strategies and can be useful for US universities,” summed up Olha Poliukhovych, Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs.

The issues discussed during the roundtable form the basis for the already initiated scholarly cooperation between the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and George Washington University.

The roundtable was coordinated and facilitated by the office of the Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs Olha Poliukhovych, of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Together with her, the Academy was represented by Dmytro Mazin, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities; Nataliia Rudnytska, Head of the English Language Department; Volodymyr Venher, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Ivan Yatskevych, Head of the Private Law Department. The event was moderated by Bernhard Streitweiser, Associate Professor of International Education and International Affairs Program at George Washington University.

The roundtable discussion “Higher Education in Turbulent Times” was held within the framework of the project “Ukrainian Scholars’ Seminar for NaUKMA” at Georgetown University, implemented by the Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation in Ukraine with the support of the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund.