Ukrainian Migration and Academic Life

Location: SSC 5220
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Time: 4:00 p.m.

Ukrainian Migration and Academic Life: Comparing the Current Russo-Ukrainian War with the World Wars of the Twentieth Century

Featuring Dr. Serhiy Kvit

In a world marked by uncertainty, increasing fragmentation, declining trust and a crisis of values, contemporary Ukrainian intellectual migration raises important questions about resilience, identity and the role of academic life during times of conflict.

Drawing comparisons between the current Russo-Ukrainian War and the world wars of the twentieth century, Dr. Serhiy Kvit will explore the experiences of Ukrainian intellectuals who have witnessed and lived through national resistance. His talk will consider the roots of Ukrainian resilience and the profound questions these experiences raise about the values, convictions and sacrifices that shape human lives today.

About the speaker

Dr. Serhiy Kvit is President of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He previously served as Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science (2014–2016) and as Head of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance (2019–2022). In 2001, he founded the Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism.

Dr. Kvit has received several prestigious international research fellowships, including Fulbright Scholar grants at Ohio University (2006–2007) and Stanford University (2017–2018), as well as fellowships at the Kennan Institute in Washington, D.C. (2009) and through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Cologne (2010).

His research focuses on mass communication, higher education reform and philosophical hermeneutics. His scholarly work has been published in Ukraine, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.

All are welcome to attend.

Co-sponsored by the TJCenter.

Organized by the Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations.