On November 5, BridgeUSA Ukraine and Ukrainian Displaced Scholars (UDS) programs organized a joint event “Resilience in Higher Education”. It brought together 56 current participants and alumni of both programs from 25 Ukrainian universities across hybrid mode – online via Zoom and in-person at American Councils office.
The meeting started with welcome remarks by Yarema Bachynsky, American Councils Country Director in Ukraine, Ksenia Ivanenko, Program Manager, Higher Education Partnerships and Capacity at American Councils, Diana Shalashna, BridgeUSA Program Coordinator, and Eugenia Moskalevych, UDS Coordinator.
The discussion focused on strategies for fostering resilience within academic environments, highlighting personal journeys and institutional best practices from various higher education institutions. Through shared narratives and collaborative dialogue, the event aimed to promote a deeper understanding of resilience as a key component of academic and professional success.
During the interactive panel discussion, three outstanding speakers shared their personal and institutional lessons on resilience:
- Yurii Kaganov, Professor and Vice-Rector for Academic and Pedagogical Affairs at Zaporizhzhia National University;
- Vladyslav Panchenko, Vice-Rector for Academic and Scientific Affairs at Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport. BridgeUSA 2024 alumnus;
- Viktoriia Tkachenko, Professor at the Department of Therapy, Infectious Diseases, and Dermatovenereology at O.O. Bohomolets National Medical University; mhGAP Trainer. BridgeUSA 2024 alumna.
The speakers’ presentations in English can be found here.
Despite the power outage in downtown Kyiv including the American Councils office, the event didn’t interrupt. Due to the careful preparation of
the Ukraine team, the office was equipped with Internet, additional light and power stations, allowing to continue participant discussions and networking.
The event was simultaneously interpreted from Ukrainian to English by Dmytro Sokolyuk, EducationUSA Adviser and Special Projects Coordinator.
Special thanks to Anatoliy Kurta, Assistant Country Director, and Daria Syrota, Office Assistant, for their invaluable administrative support throughout the event.
BridgeUSA Ukraine Program for Resilience and Reconstruction provides a 1-month fellowship for Ukrainian faculty at the U.S. higher education institutes for long-term collaboration on joint research, shared pedagogy, course development, and publications. The alumni network comprises 26 participants, with the program set to run through the end of 2026. The program is funded by the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Displaced Scholars Program was created to support Ukrainian academics whose lives and careers have been severely disrupted by the war. By late 2027, American Councils aims to provide targeted fellowships and project funding to 80 scholars from the Ukrainian universities most affected by the Russian Federation’s war on Ukraine, air strikes, and pervasive uncertainty. The program is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.