Three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s academic landscape stands at a critical crossroads. Universities have been damaged, relocated, or merged; thousands of scholars have been displaced; and yet, teaching and research continue against all odds. The SCIENCE AT RISK Monitoring Report traces both the structural transformations of higher education and the lived experiences of Ukrainian scholars navigating war and psychological strain.

While many international initiatives have offered crucial lifelines, most remain short-term. The report presentation will open a discussion on how these emergency measures can evolve into a sustainable long-term strategy for supporting Ukrainian academia—balancing immediate relief with durable capacity-building.

Join us to discuss how the balance between relief aid and long-term academic rebuilding can be achieved, what governance and funding models ensure integrity, transparency, and autonomy, how can principles of good governance, and participation strengthen the resilience of Ukraine’s academic institutions, and how can wartime adaptation become the foundation for post-war renewal?

• Moderation: Gabriele Freitag (DGO – German Association for East European Studies)
• Welcome remarks: Anastasiya Leukhina (ZOiS), Philipp Christoph Schmädeke (SCIENCE AT RISK Emergency Office)
• Presentation of the SCIENCE AT RISK Monitoring Report: Consequences of the Russian military aggression for Ukrainian science and higher education: Maryna Rabinovych (UNET fellow, Kyiv School of Economics, UiT the Arctic University of Norway), Konstantin Fedorenko (ZOiS)
• Discussion: Dr. Olena Bogdan (UNET fellow, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine), Maryna Rabinovych (UNET fellow, Kyiv School of Economics, UiT the Arctic University of Norway), Jörn Achterberg (DFG – German Research Foundation)

The event is organised by SCIENCE AT RISK Emergency Office by Academic Network Eastern Europe (akno e.V.) in cooperation with DGO - German Association for East European Studies.

Registration