Virtual Annual Conference Plenary Session Highlights How Ukrainian Universities See International Partnerships as Key to Their Future After War

At a powerful plenary session during The Forum on Education Abroad’s virtual Annual Conference on Thursday, February 12, higher education leaders, faculty, and international partners examined how Ukrainian universities have been impacted and continue to operate and plan for the future under the extreme pressures of the ongoing war.  

“It is incredibly important to keep Ukraine and the impact of the war on individuals, families, and the entire system of higher education right in front of us, and in front of the world,” said Melissa Torres, President and CEO of The Forum on Education Abroad. “Colleges and universities across the U.S. are supporting Ukraine through innovative partnerships, setting the stage for a robust network of international academic connections that are vital to Ukraine’s future.” ​

​Plenary panelists included: 

• Dr. Allan Goodman, President Emeritus, Institute of International Education (IIE), moderator 

• Kateryna Priazhnikova, Deputy Director, Dnipro University of Technology 

• Kateryna Smagliy, Counselor, Political Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Embassy of Ukraine in the USA 

• Dana Turchaninova, Head of the Department of International Relations and European Integration, National Aerospace University (Kharkiv Aviation Institute) 

• Jessica Zychowicz, Director of Fulbright Ukraine and IIE International Office Kyiv, Institute of International Education (IIE) 

• Melissa Torres, President and CEO, The Forum on Education Abroad ​

Understanding What Life Is Like in Ukraine Now 

Speakers described the hardships experienced yet also demonstrated remarkable resilience and innovation. 

Priazhnikova detailed the daily realities facing Dnipro University of Technology and its community: transitioning to fully remote schooling, designing academic schedules around air alerts, experiencing power outages and nightly drone and missile attacks, being aware and accommodating of displaced students, and suffering constant psychological pressure.  

“Our university, as did many other universities in Ukraine, had to organize almost fully, all aspects of our operations, starting with security protocols and extending through to student support systems,” said Priazhnikova.  

For Turchaninova, who works at National Aerospace University (Kharkiv Aviation Institute), the biggest impact is that they “lost their wings.” The university, which is near the Russian border, has already been hit 230 times, Turchaninova said.  

“For our students to be prepared for their area of specialty, they must be prepared, but, unfortunately, a lot of practical lessons cannot be provided because we are online,” added Turchaninova. What has helped is when teachers go to the lab and make lessons available in video mode for their remote students and using technology, like virtual reality, to provide students with real-life experience. Despite the university’s best efforts, she worries their students will be left behind if access to the latest technology, including AI, is unavailable to them because of constraints imposed by the war. 

Zychowicz shared that the Fulbright scholarship program is still happening in Ukraine, functioning as a diplomacy program even more than a traditional capacity building effort. To ensure Fulbright would continue, Zychowicz explained that IIE did a lot of fundraising and philanthropy in concert with many organizations in Ukraine to respond in adaptive and resilient ways. “We have, at any given point, 50 students and scholars moving throughout the country to take exams to come to Kiev for visa interviews, and to take trains to travel to their grant hosts,” explained Zychowicz. “So now, it’s a lot of advanced planning we need to do to protect their security in the conditions of war.” 

Assisting students and faculty remains a core priority as communities navigate trauma and displacement. 

“Supporting each other became as important as delivering education itself in our reality,” said Priazhnikova. 

The Importance of International Partnerships 
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International engagement emerged as both a lifeline and a responsibility. “The war showed the real importance of international partnership and collaboration,” said Priazhnikova. “We became much more active in mobilities and international projects. International cooperation is no longer an optional element in education in Ukraine and for all our educational institutions. It’s a core condition for the sustainability and quality of education that we are delivering, and for the future.” 

Turchaninova agreed, explaining the importance of building bridges and international relationships to create career opportunities for the university’s students. “A lot of our former students work in the United States, at Boeing and the Google Main Office. We really have a lot to offer for our students and for our partners.” 

Priazhnikova and Turchaninova will be exhibiting at The Forum’s Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, from March 11-13, for those interested in discussing further partnership opportunities. 

Priazhnikova added that Dnipro University of Technology and other Ukrainian institutions are interested in exploring alternative models of institutional partnerships: co-funded mobility, joint academic projects, co-teaching, joint research and supervision, COIL, and virtual exchanges, to name a few.

The Future of Ukraine 

Tuesday, February 24, marked four years since the war first began. More than 500 students have died in the war, along with about 100 professors, said Counselor Smagily. “With the fourth year of this war going on, our challenges and our requests and needs have not become smaller,” said Counselor Smagliy of the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA. She shared the following statistics: 

• 30% of Ukrainian research institutes were lost, which were either damaged or destroyed; we’re talking about 1,500 buildings.  

• Researchers lost access to their laboratories, to their essential resources.  

• 25% of Ukrainian scholars were forced to flee the country or relocate internally. 

• 30% of Ukrainian scholars have transitioned to remote work.  

 
As Ukraine envisions its post-war future, its universities will play a critical role in rebuilding society. “It’s very difficult to continue your work under these unstable working conditions when you have no heating, no electricity, no internet, lack of funding,” added Counselor Smagily. “All of this jeopardizes not only our reconstruction, but also our long-term recovery.” 

Continued global partnership and support, participants stressed, can help ensure the sector remains stable now and emerges stronger when peace returns. 

“Everything we can do to help matters,” said Dr. Goodman. “Doing everything we possibly can, contributes to a future for Ukraine.”

 ​How You Can Support Ukraine 
​

• Meet with Kateryna Priazhnikova and Dana Turchaninova in the expo hall in Nashville 

• Connect with Ukraine Global University about partnerships 

• Join Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies 

• Participate in the Twinning Initiative, now open to US institutions and which may soon have additional seed funding 

• Tour the Ukrainian Embassy with student groups traveling to Washington, D.C.  

• Screen the free documentary film, 20 Days in Mariupol  

• Encourage more exchange programs with Ukraine 

• Host Freedom in the Equation art exhibit (currently at Harvard University through April 10, 2026) 

• Visit or host Ukraine: War and Resistance, an exhibition of American and Ukrainian photographers who are also Fulbright alumni 

• Aid Ukrainian scientists who suffered from the war 

• Learn more about Fulbright Ukraine 

• Join the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies 

• Find out more about Ukraine Beyond Borders 

 
Read more about The Forum’s virtual Annual Conference 2026.