Far from being objects of pity, the staff and students of at least 40 universities displaced by Russian occupation in Ukraine have demonstrated resilience, collaboration and tested new boundaries of what a university is and how it should operate – with significant implications for Australia.
Despite being robbed of its campus, research repository and infrastructure, Professor Yana Sychikova’s Berdyansk State Pedagogical University (BSPU) now has a higher research output than prior to invasion – with goodwill from other universities opening up places for displaced academics around the world, as reported in this week's Future Campus feature – A New Class of Conflict: Inside Ukraine's Phoenix Universities.
Operating its administration from a borrowed floor of a building on the campus of another university in Zhaporizhzhia, 30 km from the front, the BSPU has an enrolment recovering to its pre-war levels, is conducting critical research to support the war effort and post-war reconstruction and is also introducing new curriculum to help plug skills gaps in the nation’s war-torn workforce.
Institutions facing crises
While many Australian universities struggle with reduced funding as a result of international student limits and changes in regulation, Ukrainian institutions faced crises of a different magnitude – but with some similar themes. The displaced Ukrainian institutions faced an existential crisis as soon as the Russians invaded, with Universities forced to adopt Russian language, curriculum and control, including working to support the Russian war effort in occupied areas.
As a result, students and staff were abruptly forced to leave behind campuses, research repositories, libraries, homes and even basic infrastructure like laptops in order to escape to unoccupied territory. Mobile phone towers were jammed or destroyed, banks closed and curfews imposed within days of the Russians arriving.
While far more dramatic than the change programs currently underway in Australia, the need to adapt, develop new ways of working and cleave more closely to the community being served are common themes across the two countries – with plenty of lessons from the Ukrainian experience that are relevant to Australia.
Social licence reboot
While trust in Australian universities has plummeted of late, with recent Deakin University research showing a third of Australians doesn’t have faith in universities, the displaced Ukrainian universities have regrown social licences amidst difficult circumstances. Professor Sychikova said BSPU staff suddenly found themselves in closer contact with community than ever before, after both community and university had to flee occupied territory. They could build their social licence by responding to needs, first helping with food and connection, but over time, rapidly revising curriculum to respond to new needs created by war.
Key lessons for Australian HE from Ukraine's displaced universities:
- Data protection can be a life and death issue – Open data is critical to collaboration and access, but responsible science involves developing operational frameworks for research processes, enrolment systems and databases that do no harm. In lessons that are critical for Australian institutions which have suffered a range of data breaches, BSPU found that digitisation of the university website, research assets and high levels of security of personal data were paramount.
- Growth is possible with no campus real estate – BSPU learned the importance of reorganising institutions around the needs and potential of people, not infrastructure, leading to greater flexibility in delivery location and mode, prioritisation of mental health and wellbeing for staff and students over institutional metrics and much deeper connection and alignment with needs and priorities of community. This restructure has unlocked improved enrolment and research outcomes for BSPU. Could Australia reduce costs and improve student-centric operations through co-located campuses?
- Shared values between staff, students and community are critical – particularly in a crisis. In the midst of their crisis, BSPU found that values were critical, not just words on a page. Russian officials tried to convince staff and students not to leave, and instead to turn their back on Ukrainian language and culture, to work under Russian law. Shared values meant that staff and students instead chose to relocate so they did not lose freedom of enquiry and expression, as well as coalescing as a university family, with shared values between staff and students. How many Australian institutions have consistent values that are closely held and shared by both staff and students?
- Borderless solutions can open up amazing results – international collaboration has been key to sustaining the survival of BSPU but also opening new doors to discovery and achievement. The university will seek to sustain strong and deep international collaborations into the future, beyond the war. How this aligns with responsible science is key, to protect IP and national interests.