Karazin University Representatives Take Part in the Third Annual ValEUs Conference 2026

Representatives of the Karazin University Education and Research Institute of Sociology and Media Communications took part in the Third Annual ValEUs Conference, "Values, Democracy, and EU Foreign Policy. Paths to a New Policy Agenda", held on 29 September–2 October 2026 in Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice.

Organised as part of the international ValEUs project, the conference brought together researchers, representatives of universities, civil society and expert communities from different countries to discuss current challenges to European democracy, EU foreign policy and international academic cooperation.

Olena Muradian, Director of the Education and Research Institute of Sociology and Media Communications, Dmytro Boiko, Head of the Department of Political Sociology, and Ruslan Zaporozhchenko, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Sociology, prepared a video presentation for the roundtable "Strengthening Support for Ukrainian Academia", dedicated to the prospects for international support for the Ukrainian academic community.

The key message of the presentation was the need to move from a model of emergency assistance to Ukrainian academia towards long-term and equitable partnership. This involves not only supporting individual scholars, but also preserving and strengthening Ukrainian universities as full-fledged research institutions capable of independently shaping research agendas, initiating international projects, and assuming coordination and leadership roles.

Representatives of Karazin University emphasised the importance of supporting research teams and university infrastructure, developing academic mobility while maintaining scholars’ institutional ties with Ukrainian universities, and strengthening the capacity of higher education institutions to independently initiate and coordinate international projects. Particular attention was paid to the need to involve Ukrainian universities in international consortia at the stage of developing project ideas. Under this approach, Ukraine should be regarded not merely as a recipient of international assistance, but as a full-fledged partner capable of producing knowledge, setting research priorities and contributing to the shaping of the European academic space.

As part of the conference, Daria Yashkina, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Sociology, also presented a paper entitled "European Integration through Vulnerability: How War Reconfigures the Dependencies of Ukrainian Universities". The study focused on the impact of the full-scale war on the position of Ukrainian universities, the transformation of their international ties, resource dependencies and institutional capacities. Particular attention was paid to the university’s third mission — its interaction with society and contribution to the development of communities and the country beyond its traditional educational and research functions. In wartime, this mission takes on particular importance, while international academic partnerships become an important resource for preserving universities’ institutional capacity, supporting society and deepening Ukraine’s integration into the European academic space.

For Karazin University, which continues its educational, research and international activities amid the full-scale war, participation in such discussions is an important component of developing international partnerships. The future of Ukrainian science lies not in a state of permanent emergency support, but in sustainable institutional partnerships, joint research projects and the full-fledged participation of Ukrainian universities in shaping the European academic space.

The project is funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The European Union and the granting authority cannot be held responsible for them.