The KIU is a project funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a period of four years to strengthen Ukraine-related research, teaching, networking and transfer activities. Initiated and managed by the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), KIU includes the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS), the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW) and the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin, as well as many partner institutions from Ukraine and other European countries.
With the opening ceremony on 11 July 2024 the KIU ambitious programme has been launched. It includes a Ukraine Studies Teaching Certificate, summer schools, a guest residency program for international scholars and much more.
The Keynote Lecture “Ukrainian Studies, Archive and Nation in Times of War” was given by Prof. Dr. Tamara Hundorova, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Panel Discussion “Ukrainian self-determination: challenge and prospect for Europe” was moderated by Gesine Dornblüth, freelance journalist. Panellists included:
- Prof. Dr. Dominique Arel, Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada
- Dr. Anton Hofreiter MdB, Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs in the German Bundestag
- Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Sasse, Director of the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS);
Einstein Professor for the Comparative Study of Democracy and Authoritarianism at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schmid, Professor of East European Studies University of St. Gallen
- Kateryna Stetsevych, Head of the project group “Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe”, Federal Agency for Civic Education
- Prof. Dr. Mychailo Wynnyckyj, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Professor of Sociology, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Dr. Susann Worschech, Scientific Coordinator of the KIU. Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Frankfurt (Oder) – Berlin, provided an outlook for the KIU: Prospects for Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies.
More:
- Opening ceremony (Video-recording)
- Report (in German): Eine Mission und eine Einladung – Kompetenzverbund Interdisziplinäre Ukrainestudien eröffnet
- Report (in Ukrainian, Amal, Berlin): У Франкфурті-на-Одері відкрили Центр україністики
DAAD funds over four years two centres for interdisciplinary Ukrainian studies: The “Denkraum Ukraine” centre at the University of Regensburg and the “Kompetenzverbund Interdisziplinäre Ukrainestudien Frankfurt (Oder) – Berlin (KIU)” centre at the European University Viadrina in cooperation with Berlin universities and scientific institutions. A total of almost five million euros will be available until 2028.
The selected centres are aimed to contribute to the expansion of expertise on Ukraine in Germany and strategically bring together social science and humanities research and teaching on Ukraine between departments and institutions. The centres will also play a special role in science communication and the networking of German, Ukrainian and international players from science and civil society: current research results are to be prepared for the specialist audience and a broader public, especially for institutions involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine.